Jason Thistlethwaite
1.8 KiB
A project appears to go completely off the rails from what was expected, and morphs into something nobody intended. Usually, it's unclear exactly why or what happened.
Narrative Examples
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Tom and Jerry agree to have a cookout with a few close friends, where they’ll have burgers and hot dogs.
Tom will get the beer and Jerry will pick up the food.
For seemingly unknown reasons, 50 people show up with a rock band and multiple kegs of beer. There’s a bouncer for some reason, and nobody knows why. Nobody is exactly sure why it happened, and they start blaming each other.
Common Causes
1) Acting on incorrect assumptions
We made assumptions about what everyone else wanted or expected and took action on that without communicating about it first, maybe to impress people.
We probably thought we were helping.
2) Disconnected communication channels
Multiple side channels of communication are present, leading to fractures in consensus. Basically a rumour mill.
This can happen when people who weren't initially supposed to be involved overhear a conversation about the project and decide to get involved, but the majority of those already working on it don't know that.
3) A narcissistic personality is involved
A narcissistic personality is present, who feels empowered or validated by causing the unexpected, unplanned results.
Side effects and contributing factors
Werewolf Projects often lead to a witchhunt, where people become focused on placing blame for the werewolf project. In other cases, an Inquisition can be formed, where kneejerk rules are put in place that do more harm than good.
Primary contributing factors may be telephone or quija board, which lead to the confusing circumstances or broken communication that caused the werewolf project.