My Take on England vs France
So, I got thinking about the whole England vs France thing the other day. Not the sport, you know, but how things get done. I’ve knocked around a bit, worked with teams from both places, and decided to actually sit down and sort through my memories, like a personal practice log.
Working with the English Team First
I remember this one project, years back. We linked up with a team based just outside London. My experience? Pretty straightforward, mostly.
- They liked clear goals. Give ’em a target, they generally tried to hit it.
- Communication was usually direct. You knew where you stood, which I appreciated sometimes.
- Meetings had agendas. Stick to the plan, get it done.
But sometimes, it felt a bit rigid. Like, if something unexpected popped up, getting them to pivot took some real effort. We spent ages arguing over small deviations from the original spec on that software module. Felt like pulling teeth just to adjust course when the client changed their mind halfway through.
Then Came the French Collaboration
Later on, a different company, different project, this time with a French outfit in Lyon. Man, that was a different vibe altogether.
- Lots more discussion upfront. I mean, lots. We debated the philosophy behind the feature before even thinking about coding it.
- Planning felt more fluid, less set in stone initially. More focus on the ‘why’ before the ‘how’.
- Definitely more challenging to pin down exact timelines in the early stages. Drove our project manager nuts.
But once they got going, they really got into the details. The quality of the theoretical work, the design docs? Top-notch. Just took a different path to get there. I found myself having long lunches where we’d sketch out ideas on napkins. Less formal structure, more organic, I guess you could say.
Making Sense of It All
So, I spent an afternoon just writing down these observations. Not very scientific, just my experiences. What did I figure out? Well, mostly that comparing them directly is kind of pointless. It’s not about which is ‘better’. They just operate differently. Different history, different culture, different ways of looking at a problem.
It reminded me of this weird period when I was between jobs. I was trying to apply for roles in different European offices of a multinational. The UK interview process was all competency questions, STAR method, tick the boxes. The French one involved a long, rambling chat about my ‘vision’ for the industry, felt more like an academic defense.
Ended up taking a completely different role locally anyway, doing something less glamorous but way more stable. Funny how things work out. But that experience, plus actually writing down my thoughts on the England vs France work styles, kinda helped me see it clearer. It’s all just people, dealing with stuff in the way they know how. Understanding that makes dealing with the differences a bit easier. Less frustration, more just… observing how the world turns, I suppose.
