I’ve been thinking about Mike Manos’s post on When Worlds Collide.

Chiller-Side Chats: When Worlds Collide

May 14, 2009 by mmanos

To most outsiders the datacenter industry may seem to be quite parochial.   A niche blend at the intersection of building and IT technologies.   Even to many senior business managers both of these areas in and of themselves are not necessarily considered business critical. As such, little if any time is spent concentrating on the issues this space.  That is of course until it becomes business critical.  At that time many business managers struggle to navigate this complex world.  That complexity can drive frustration, confusion, and is prone to misinformation ultimately leading to bad business decisions.  In many cases it might even be the first time they speak to those in the organization responsible for these assets.

What  seems like a difficulty is the fact that the different parties have distinctly different personalities.  But, even deeper is these groups communicate in different ways.  So, if you don’t have common ways to communicate how can you work together?

Here are some character archetypes to think about

The Architect.

THE ARCHITECT is reserved, creative, intellectual, and adaptable. They are also considered to be the most logical of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as mediators, musicians and strategic planners.

THE ARCHITECT’s strongest personality indicators are in introversion, intuition, thinking and perception. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of the character's individual personality components.

The Engineer.

THE WIZARD is autonomous, imaginative, logical and organized. They are also considered the most independent of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as engineers, planners and publishers.

THE WIZARD is a magical concoction of introversion, intuition, thinking and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of THE WIZARD'S individual personality ingredients.

The Manager/Executive.

THE OVERSEER is friendly, realistic, analytical and organized. They are the most driven and enthusiastic of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as executives, analysts and managers.

THE OVERSEER’S strongest personality indicators are in extroversion, sensing, thinking and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of their individual character ingredients.

The Real Estate and Facilities.

THE LOYALIST is talkative, practical, empathetic and decisive. They are also the most harmonious of character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as counselors, coaches and nurses.

THE LOYALIST 'S strongest personality indicators are in extroversion, sensing, feeling and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of the individual characteristics.

The Accountant.

THE DEFENDER is cautious, hard working, thoughtful and careful. Of the character types, they are the most dedicated to their causes and relationships. They are particularly well suited as health care technicians, accountants and customer service representatives.

THE DEFENDER'S strongest personality indicators are in introversion, sensing, feeling and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of their character components.

What is missing is the character “the Modeler”  a person who is abstracting and characterizing these  different groups to create a common language.

I’ll write more on this, and this is just a starting point.

I am writing this blog entry from a data center site where they just had the “topping-out” ceremony.

"Topping out" is the term used by ironworkers to indicate that the final piece of steel is being hoisted into place on a building, bridge, or other large structure.1 The project is not completed, but it has reached its maximum height. To commemorate this first milestone the final piece of iron is usually hoisted into place with a small evergreen tree (called a Christmas tree in the trade) and an American flag attached.2 The piece is usually painted white and signed by the ironworkers and visiting dignitaries (figure 1). If the project is important enough (and the largesse of the contractor great enough) the ceremony may culminate in a celebration known as a "topping out party" in which the construction crews are treated to food and drink.

I  signed my name and www.greenm3.com on the topping-out steel beam.

After all the signatures.

And ceremony pictures. (Below are the iron workers)

One reason the ironworkers observe the topping out custom is the simple fact that they are the first workers to reach the top of the structure. I guess the impulse to commemorate the achievement is similar to that of mountain climbers-or astronauts landing on the moon for that matter.3 Topping out the structure means the end is in sight for the "raising-gang"-the men who actually set the iron in place. There is more work to be done, and ironworkers will be involved in some aspects of it, but the heavy work is done and the raising gang is almost out of a job. While no two topping out ceremonies are the same, they usually have some combination of a tree, a flag, the ritual signing of the final beam, and a party.

The beam is put in place.

An interesting piece of trivia is the symbolism for the Christmas tree.

The custom of decorating the uppermost point of the structure with an evergreen tree is a tradition that predates the structural-steel industry in America by hundreds of years and has old Northern European roots. Although the topping out tree has ancient roots there is no consensus among modern ironworkers as to what exactly the tree symbolizes, or when and how it came to be used by the ironworkers. According to The Ironworker, the union's official publication, "for some the evergreen tree symbolizes that the job went up without a loss of life, while for others it's a good luck charm for the future occupants"(1984:11). Other accounts attribute the tree as signifying simply that "we [ironworkers] did it" (Kodish, 1989:2).

Little scholarship has been published on this custom. Most of what has been published has appeared in newspapers, popular magazines and engineering trade journals. One can get a feel for the age and scope of such tree rituals from James Frazer who discusses tree worship extensively in The Golden Bough. (Indeed, the title of the book itself is an allusion to tree worship.) For example, in Chapter Ten, "Relics of Tree-Worship in Modern Europe," Frazer reports that it was common practice in spring or early summer for the people to go into the woods and cut branches and fasten them to every house (1922:139). Frazer further remarks, "The intention of these customs is to bring home to the village, and to each house, the blessings which the tree-spirit has in its power to bestow" (1922: 139). The evergreen tree's ability to survive the harsh Northern European winter must have made it a powerful life-affirming symbol.

It’s been a while since I looked at how people find my blog.

One surprise I found is this one.  My blog is showing up for #4 and #5 for google search on “data center construction.”