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This is nostalgic to me, because it's reminiscent of how I thought about business and software about 10 years ago. I got some very good advice from a more seni
by calinet6 10y ago
This is nostalgic to me, because it's reminiscent of how I thought about business and software about 10 years ago.
I got some very good advice from a more senior developer sometime between then and now that I repeat to all people starting their careers in any field:
"Just do the work," he said. "Don't spin your wheels on what's broken or what could be improved, just watch and listen and do the best you can with what you've got. Just do the work."
It might seem condescending or patronizing to hear. I was angry for a week after I heard it: what right does this asshole have to tell me what I should or shouldn't do, it's the company that's a trash fire and I know better! But only by understanding why things are the way they are, and who else is connected to each part of your work, will you start to see that there are damn good reasons, even if the result feels inefficient or frustrating at your desk. That understanding and empathy will guide you to better solutions.
In here is repeated several times: "think long term." I agree. Play the long game on your career, too. If you care about changing how your company works—how any company works that you're a part of—put in the time, do the work, build trust with the people around you, and grow into a position you deserve, and one that you can do good with.
Yes, everything's broken. That's true at 90% of companies, and in the remaining 10%, only most things are broken. Brush it off. Water off a duck's back. Do the best work you can with what you've got.
http://www.trisweb.com/poetry/tobeofuse.html http://www.trisweb.com/poetry/tobeofuse.html
- mistermann 10y ago> But only by understanding why things are the way they are, and who else is connected to each part of your work, will you start to see that there are damn good reasons, even if the result feels inefficient or frustrating at your desk. I would go a bit further, there isn't necessarily damn good reasons, sometimes there is just politics, and if you would like to keep your job, do not try to fix something (unless you have been given orders to do so) if there is any sort of politics involved, unless you've been there long enough to know with absolute certainty that it is not a politics driven organization. And of course, every organization thinks they are free of politics, or doing things wrong, or dishonest employees, etc. Politics trumps everything, even economics.
- calinet6 10y agoIn other words, how people feel about their position and their contributions trumps everything. Politics is just relationships and emotions. Yet another argument for building empathy and getting to know who cares about what.
- mistermann 10y agoI might say how those with power in the company feel. But not sure I'd say it's "just" that, it can mean the difference between dismissal or criminal charges vs a promotion in extreme cases, so not something to underestimate.
- couchand 10y agoPolitics trumps everything, even economics. Well, only if you consider them to be separate. A more nuanced view would see politics as just one manifestation of economics.
- frutiger 10y agoOr, indeed, economics as just one manifestation of politics.
- mgkimsal 10y ago" But only by understanding why things are the way they are, and who else is connected to each part of your work, will you start to see that there are damn good reasons, even if the result feels inefficient or frustrating at your desk." Usually things end up being inefficient precisely because there are no or few people who understand the totality of a process or sales, from idea to design to implementation to sales to support and collections. That takes talking to other people, and learning about what they do and how they do it and why they do it. I've been in some orgs where that sort of "cross talk" is seen as subversive, likely because it tends to expose inefficiencies that are politically introduced as a way of controlling territory or power.
- pjmorris 10y agoJerry Weinberg has a useful heuristic along these lines, paraphrased as 'Things are the way they are because they got that way one logical step at a time.' Understanding the history and the relationships behind current circumstances goes a long way toward easing your own frustrations, and supporting necessary changes.
- nradov 10y agoThe technical term for this is "path dependency". http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/path-dependency.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/path-dependency.asp
- otoburb 10y agoAnother term is "Chesterton's Fence".[1] [1] http://www.theconceptsproject.com/chestertons-fence/ http://www.theconceptsproject.com/chestertons-fence/