My Boss Screamed at Me Tonight

Sure it wasn't the roommate being passive aggressive over the a/c?

 

Sorry Moddy.

Point is this: Screaming is bad, but it happens. Calling your bosses assholes, all of them, on a board like this should NEVER happen.

 

C'mon now. That's on the Seattle itinerary. I checked.

 

Quite a guy.

 

Funny how this thread started looking like it wouldn't end well. Then it shifted into a damn good discussion.

Yelling to let off steam when it's not directed at someone else is fine. Yelling to be heard because of distance or background din is fine. Screaming at someone? Not OK. Posting that your editors are assholes on an industry message board? Someone call the Bad Idea Bears.

 

I'm guessing NightOwl's problem had something to do with being yelled at by a woman, judging by his PM to IJAG.

 

If that's the case, then he has another problem entirely. One that we can't help him with.

Of course, I haven't seen the PM, so I have no way of basing it on actual knowledge.

 

Neither have I, but "pussycat" seems to be a clue.

 

Obviously he's never been married, then.

 

I'm going to take the dissenting opinion on screaming.

Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to work with some very, very talented people, who were passionate about putting out great products.

We didn't always agree on how to do it.

Sometimes, it required a heated exchange to reach a conclusion both parties could live with.

While I'm not a screamer by nature, here are the ground rules, I've found for fair fighting:

- Fight over what's worth fighting for - the best product you can make, not some pissy turf war.

- It has to be between people who genuinely respect each other to begin with.

- Do it behind closed doors.

- It has to be about the product or the process, not the people. It's OK to say, "A 96-point head would look stupid on that story." It's NOT OK to say, "You couldn't design a decent page if you're life depended on it." Lame example, maybe, but you get the idea.

- Both parties have to go into the argument with a common goal - in the context of SportsJournalists.com, that would be to put out the best product possible.

- At the end of the argument, it's over. Period. There must be peace and there must be closure. Thank the other person for their input and don't walk away with bruised feelings. If your feelings are hurt, keep talking until they aren't anymore.

- When you're finished, both sides need to put up a united front so co-workers don't think one party won and one party lost. If you haven't both won, you've both lost. Both sides winning builds a team; one side winning tears it apart.

It's kind of like raising kids - it's good for them every once in awhile to see conflict that gets productively and amicably resolved.

- Last but not least, choose your spots. If you're someone who flies off the handle at every little annoyance, no one will take you seriously. If you save your righteous indignation for the big fights, people will know you're arguing something that matters to you.