I shared this story on LinkedIn earlier in the week. People seemed to like it. I like it! I decided to share it with you.
A couple of weeks ago, I received an unexpected message here on LinkedIn. A connection ‘A’ reached out and asked if my MBA dissertation was still available online because he wanted to re-read it.
His question caught me off guard—I hadn't thought about that dissertation in years, let alone considered if it was still accessible.
It’s over 20 years since I last read it.
I set of on a bit of a digital scavenger hunt. I scoured the internet but came up empty-handed at first. An old link in the Internet Archive led nowhere. I dove into Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud—rummaging through every digital nook and cranny. Finally, by piecing together clues from archived web pages - I found the course number - I unearthed it buried deep in my Dropbox files.
When I sent it over, I asked ‘A’ what prompted his request. His response touched me:
"Wow! Thank you so much for tracking that down. I think I first found it shortly after you wrote it in 2005 or 2006 (when I was voraciously reading everything I could find about software methodologies), and it has stayed with me since. The ideas came back into my head recently as I'm consulting on a project that is hitting exactly the conflict you talked about, and I wanted to refresh my memory."*
The Truth? That delighted me!
OMG
Something I wrote over 20 years ago was still resonating with someone I'd never met in person. Out of curiosity, I opened the dissertation myself. As I began to read, I couldn't help but cringe. The academic language, and the rigid structure—it all felt so distant from my current writing style. I realized how much I've grown as a writer since then.
Back when I wrote it, I was proud—it was maybe the first rigourois investigation into waterfall and critical path projects using the Theory of Constraints, TQM and Lean. It led to my, now obvious, insight that the thing missing in waterfall was small batches. That eventually inspired my version of Agile and my book Rolling Rocks Downhill. But rereading it now, HOLY CRAP it was so... unpolished.
Then, a memory popped into my head. I only got a grade of 65%—respectable but not great.
One reason was that I hadn't proofread or edited the dissertation before submitting it. My father-in-law passed away a month before it was due. I submitted it without even running a spellcheck, hoping it would be enough to pass.
Despite the many little imperfections, that dissertation laid the foundation for so much of my future work. A’s message reminded me of the enduring value our creations can have, even when we think they're flawed.
So, here's what I've learned:
- Don't underestimate the lasting impact of your work
- Embrace your growth and how far you've come
- Share your work, imperfections and all—your perspective has value
Is there something you've created that you've been hesitant to share because it's not "perfect"?
Remember, perfection is an illusion. Your unique experiences and insights could make a real difference for someone else.
There's a link to the pdf up at the top of the post, if you're keen. ⬆️