The American

The American guy does have a sense of humor. He is a Solutions Architect. In understandable terms, he interacts with the customers interested in the product we build, and works with them to develop methodologies to effectively use the product. In one way, he is a part of the team that sells our product.

He nags me constantly. It is the usual Sales vs R&D thing. He nags me about everything from the product's error messages, to its instability, to its (un)usability, to its "un-sellability", to its name. And he always appends it with a light-hearted "Now C'mon buddy, don't take it seriously". To on-lookers, he says "Just fooling with my guy". At Nokia, I am his guy.

I listen to him. I don't take him seriously. He is fifteen years my senior. And he is definitely entitled to his opinions.

And I quite like him, besides his nagging. He works hard, knows how to laugh at himself, and owns up to his mistakes when he makes them. He makes one that makes us lose three days, and the Nokia guys come and tell us they have a rule around the place. It goes like this: If you make a mistake, that is entirely your doing, needs more than one day to figure out and fix, and you also involve others in fixing it, then you drive down to some fancy pastry shop downtown, and buy pastry for everyone affected by your blunder. The American agrees to do it, and adds, "Okay guys, you eat cake. I'll eat humble pie."

When someone jokes about our eating cake when the project is in very bad shape, he quips, "Isn't that like the Mary Antoinette thing? Why don't they eat cake if they don't have bread?"

Now, thats funny. By any standards.