So, this ‘wimby’ thing, right? Everyone’s throwing that word around these days. ‘Welcome In My Backyard.’ Makes it sound all nice and collaborative, like we’re all eager to have good stuff happen right where we live or work.
I got a taste of this ‘wimby’ spirit a while back, or rather, what happens when it meets real life. It was at my old company. They launched this big internal campaign, all about ‘breaking down silos’ and ‘fostering cross-departmental synergy.’ And guess what the catchy slogan was? Yep, ‘WIMBY.’ They even had posters. Cute, little cartoon houses welcoming each other.
The idea was, if another department needed help, or if there was a project that needed people from different teams, everyone was supposed to be all ‘WIMBY!’ and jump in. Our department manager, he was all fired up about it. Drank the Kool-Aid, you know? He volunteered us for everything. ‘Team, this is a WIMBY opportunity!’ he’d chirp in meetings.
So, there was this one project. A real beast. Trying to merge two ancient customer databases after a company acquisition. Nobody wanted to touch it. It was a guaranteed headache. But our manager, beaming, announced we were taking the lead, partnering with the IT guys from the acquired company. ‘A perfect WIMBY showcase!’ he called it.
We were supposed to ‘welcome’ their team, their processes, their data. And they were supposed to ‘welcome’ ours. On paper, it was beautiful. In reality? It was like trying to mix oil and water. Their IT guys, they were polite enough, said ‘yes, wimby’ to our faces. But getting actual access to their systems, or getting them to adapt to any of our tools? Suddenly their ‘backyard’ had all sorts of ‘legacy restrictions’ and ‘security protocols’ that nobody mentioned in the big ‘wimby’ kickoff meeting.
And our side wasn’t much better, to be honest. We said ‘wimby’ too, but when it came to actually dedicating our top people, or, heaven forbid, changing one of our ‘time-tested’ procedures to accommodate their data structure, suddenly our ‘backyard’ was ‘at full capacity’ or ‘undergoing critical maintenance.’ It was all smiles and ‘wimby’ in the joint meetings, then back to our desks, and it was trench warfare via email.
I was stuck in the middle of it, trying to get these two ‘welcoming’ backyards to actually connect. It was endless meetings, finger-pointing, and passive-aggressive comments. The project dragged on for months, way over budget, way past the deadline. The final product was a clunky compromise that nobody was happy with. So much for synergy.
Why do I remember this so clearly? Well, that ‘WIMBY showcase’ project pretty much burned me out. I spent so many late nights trying to mediate and translate between teams that were supposedly ‘welcoming’ each other. After it finally limped to a conclusion, I took a good hard look at things. The posters were still up, but the ‘wimby’ feeling? Long gone, if it was ever really there.
I realized ‘wimby’ is a fantastic slogan. It’s easy to say. But making it happen means people actually have to give up a little bit of their own turf, their own comfort. And that’s where it usually falls apart. People like the idea of a welcoming neighborhood, as long as the new thing doesn’t cast a shadow on their own little patch.
That company? I heard they quietly dropped the ‘WIMBY’ campaign a year or so after I left. Probably came up with a new buzzword. I wouldn’t know; I stopped paying attention to those kinds of things.
