The Stereotyping of Successful Teams

[OZ_341]

Originally Posted by hunterteam3476

.......everything on the robot was student CAD, student build, we work in a two car garage......

You should certainly be proud of all that you have achieved and how you achieved it. Your robot was really amazing, your team members were very cool and I was very glad to see you compete up close on Newton.

I do want to make one point however. A mentor from a very successful team recently sent me a PM making the point that teams with resources and mentors should not be ashamed of the fact that they have these advantages. That is absolutely correct. Especially when these teams are sharing their knowledge with others.

When I originally posted about some of our little known difficulties it was not to say that we were better because we had some troubles. I am not proud of the fact that we run out of money each year. I was merely pointing out that people make inaccurate assumptions about teams based on their level of success and that you really don't know a team until you ask. You should respect all teams, even if you do think they have more resources.

So, we should have respect for each other regardless of whether we are building our robot with a Waterjet or a Hacksaw. Construction methods will vary widely, but honoring your competitors should be universal.