The captain, the crew and the ship

In a programming team, there is always the captain, the crew and the ship.
The captain, is of course the Manager.  In this case, the Software Development Manager.  The ship is the product or, better, the company itself.. and who wouldn’t forget the crew–the developers.

When the ship is to sail, the captain takes charge of the plan of the mission.  He picks the crew members and allot them a good position tantamount to their value for the ship.  He ensures that there is a path for the crew to take on and makes firm decisions for all.  His leadership is not to be disobeyed, and is far more experienced than the rest.  He must care for the welfare of the ship, and make sure that all will reach the completion of the mission.  Above those technicalities, he must also care for the well being of the crew.

The perfect crew are those that require great responsibility and innate love for the ship.  One shouldn’t sail when the ship is not their priority.  Their love for the ship is what will make the team survive, and the ship to reach its destination.  Each should have an unrepressed determination to do whatever is needed to get to the goal, and muster all strength and talent to understand how to get there.  In the end, there is no turning back when the ship has sailed.  Everyone is needed on board to complete the mission.

The captain shall take over overseeing the different parts of the ship and must know how to keep all crew intact and happy.  If one misses on his job, he must learn to cover up for this lack and proceed without question to the mission’s completion.

But what makes a good captain and the perfect crew to survive?  If all have the qualities needed for their posts, what else must be there in order for the picture to be complete?  They need a good ship.

The ship will carry them all to their destination.  It must be able to withstand the great blows of wind and the storms of the sea.  The ship must set forth in the direction it was destined to sail.

Captain:  I will go down with this ship.  I will not leave my crew members.  Until the last straw has been drawn, I’ll be with you.  And then, if the tides of the sea shall bring us together somewhere, well, then good, praise the Lord. 
Team, I will not be sorry we have voyaged this far.  Until we meet again.