I was a database consultant at top-5 tech company. Called in for a 6-week project to help a client land a multi-million-dollar contract. They had tried to speed up their code for 2 years prior to this. But had reached a bottleneck they couldn't overcome.. and without which, they would go to a competitor (wink wink) platform.
Me & another consultant were brought it. Early on, the client decided to put me in lead. I tried some things for 2 weeks, with them watching my screen to 'learn'.. and nothing was progressing. One day, I told them I need to work alone, spent couple nights awake, until I got a light bulb moment to process queries in parallel instead of sequentially. Found sample code on internet, modified it to work on client codebase, prepared a demo, ignored writing a 'status report' (which pissed off the Project Manager), and did a demo to the clientele of 15 managers, directors & SVP - all in the span of 2 days (wed to fri).
Guess what had happened during those 2 days behind my back? The client, PM, and my manager had decided to replace me with a more senior architect starting Monday, and were ready to take me off on Fri at 3 pm. At 1 p.m I did my demo, which literally floored them. I then came to know about the machinations, and then the PM and my manager called me at 4 p.m apologizing, and saying they definitely wanted me on the project. I told them it was a perfect storm of mis-understanding, under-communication and over-reaction, which given the project's short & intense deadline, was just part of the game, and to forget about it and move on.
During my annual review, the Client/PM/Manager called me a 'cowboy' and gave a 'poor performance' rating. I told my manager that I accept the first part as a compliment and reject the second part as incorrect judgement.
Me & another consultant were brought it. Early on, the client decided to put me in lead. I tried some things for 2 weeks, with them watching my screen to 'learn'.. and nothing was progressing. One day, I told them I need to work alone, spent couple nights awake, until I got a light bulb moment to process queries in parallel instead of sequentially. Found sample code on internet, modified it to work on client codebase, prepared a demo, ignored writing a 'status report' (which pissed off the Project Manager), and did a demo to the clientele of 15 managers, directors & SVP - all in the span of 2 days (wed to fri).
Guess what had happened during those 2 days behind my back? The client, PM, and my manager had decided to replace me with a more senior architect starting Monday, and were ready to take me off on Fri at 3 pm. At 1 p.m I did my demo, which literally floored them. I then came to know about the machinations, and then the PM and my manager called me at 4 p.m apologizing, and saying they definitely wanted me on the project. I told them it was a perfect storm of mis-understanding, under-communication and over-reaction, which given the project's short & intense deadline, was just part of the game, and to forget about it and move on.
During my annual review, the Client/PM/Manager called me a 'cowboy' and gave a 'poor performance' rating. I told my manager that I accept the first part as a compliment and reject the second part as incorrect judgement.
I got fired. I left with a smile on my face.