We Don't Have NPCs

Anyone paying attention to the various 'off-topic' blog posts here will probably have inferred that the author is of a certain age, perhaps sufficiently old to have seen a few trends come and go, both inside and outside of the workplace.

Very recently, I was able to observe a team meeting held at a very well-known British and International manufacturing company, and the popular meme reproduced at the top of this article forced its way into my mind.

As a result of a series of ill-judged recruitments over the past few years, a once-productive and thriving team had morphed into an underpowered and largely ineffective group of Non Playable Characters. It was clear that, collectively, the NPCs actually have a detrimental effect on the productivity of the competent members of the team. This is not only through energy-sapping low-level questions (the same questions, repeated every few days, as if on a loop) that take time to answer, but also through the insidious and enervating destruction of morale.

After all, if productivity, commitment and enterprise are not only unrewarded but unrecognised, then even the most self-motivated among us will eventually become frustrated.

Sadly, the corporate malaise that I witnessed first-hand is probably being replicated in many other companies. This is exactly why it's important, here in this Blog, to provide insights to the 'human' side of the team here at Photon Project Management.

We don't have any NPCs among us, because all of us want to take part in building a company that stands out among its peers. I'm not suggesting that this desire is altruistic, it's simply the natural consequence of having a group of professional people working together supportively and with the emotional maturity to take responsibility for our own work, and to help in the work of others.

You can find many examples of our work on our LinkedIn page and sprinkled here in the Blog, but please take a moment also to consider the people behind the success. You might like us.