Team Sailing

I had a great time with most of the MindTouch product team today. We sailed in the San Diego harbor. It was a bit too windy and the swells were too big to sail in the ocean comfortably. But we did sail to the edge of the ocean and turn around. It’s important to know one’s limits and I know from experience where my limit is with respect to motion sickness.

I am blessed with brilliant and fun coworkers. See more photos.

Being with the team got Damien and me reminiscing. It caused me to think about the coworkers we’ve had that were less than successful at the company. There has been a common theme among these individuals. A lack of interpersonal chemistry. There have been times we’ve hired and overlooked a potential cultural mismatch in favor of a person’s work experience. To date I’m not aware of this ever working out. It is important to have diverse personalities, backgrounds and skills within a team, but the individuals must compliment and mold the culture not actively fight it in an attempt to eek out more control or clout for themselves.