Turn Complaints into Opportunities

Why do humans complain so much? A simple response - life is not perfect and it doesn’t always go the way we want it to, so we complain.

It seems that the more we complain the better we get at complaining. So, what does complaining do for us?

Complaining is a part of how we communicate. You can complain with a colleague and try to find a solution together or you can complain in an unhealthy loop about the same thing. If you complain and bring awareness to your problems you can help yourself find a solution and take action, but complaining to complain replaces action with inaction.

Here is a joke to illustrate the point:

People come to the wiseman to complain, every time complaining about the same problems. One day he told them a joke and everyone roared in laughter.

After a couple of minutes he told them the same joke and only a few of them smiled.

When he told the same joke for the third time no one laughed anymore.

The wise man smiled and said: You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over. So why are you always crying about the same problem?

At Clevertech part of our process includes periodic check-in meetings to assess the overall situation for our developers. People share a little about themselves, their project and their workflow. These conversations help orient us toward a shared future that we're all committed to.

At one of these meetings a talented developer working with a demanding client shared the pros and cons of working with his client. He expressed his excitement with the project’s advanced technology, the effectiveness of the collaboration with his team and the comfortable time estimates for completion of tickets. He also talked about his frustrations with how difficult it was to work with a slow virtual machine due to high standards of security on this project. Others in his situation could have complained and gotten bitter about how slow the machine is and how terrible the client was treating him. But by accepting the situation as is, finding the positive while continuing to propose potential solutions to the IT department that would address their concerns for security while allowing faster processors and more memory allowed for him to maintain positive moods that opened new possibilities to create a better future together.

At Clevertech we create, seize and find opportunities instead of complaining. Are you looking for a new opportunity? If you’d like to learn more about the opportunities at Clevertech checkout our YouTube channel and visit clevertech.careers.