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It's hard to trust that this is from a real "A-player" when it throws so many of my "not an A-Player but a genial bullshitter" flags. - Poorly written and comm
by kristianc 9y ago
It's hard to trust that this is from a real "A-player" when it throws so many of my "not an A-Player but a genial bullshitter" flags.
- Poorly written and communicated, with faux-profound single word paragraphs
- 'Insights' that would look more at home on a wall decal ("It’s true that I resisted the negativity, escaped, and embraced the positivity and rode it to its potential.")
- "I used to think this way, before I became enlightened" style statements showing complete lack of self-awareness
- Article about a vague concept without defining any of the behaviours that go along with that concept
- Reference to 2x2 matrices (iron law of management theory: all of human behaviour can be collapsed into four quadrants)
- Sign up for my newsletter modal
- His own signature at the end of the post
Is there anything in his background that separates this from the low-grade shlock that pollutes my Medium feed on a daily basis?
- jasonlotito 9y ago> Is there anything in his background that separates this from the low-grade shlock that pollutes my Medium feed on a daily basis? Considering he posts about his background on his very site, maybe you should do a bit of research before asking such a basic question and sling what amounts to a bunch of insults. It's hard to trust this comment is from a real "journalist" when it throws so many of my "doesn't do any research and just asks questions to try to be different" flags.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- kasey_junk 9y agoYou've listed things that make him not an A player in your mind, can you list the things that would indicate he is one? Can you objectively compare that list to some A players and back test your assumptions? My biggest problem with the "A" player mythology is that I don't think anyone has any real way to judge it, so "A" player becomes "looks like me". Which I think is the heart of our industry's myriad issues.
- kristianc 9y agoFor me, when I think of an A Player, I think of people like Martin Fowler, Patrick McKenzie, Jess Frazelle. All have demonstrable track records, and share hugely detailed posts which are backed up with real experience and not vague insights. They are sharing material that generates large amounts of value and helps define and shape their respective areas (such as Martin's piece on Serverless, Patrick's work helping support small vendors, Jess's "Containerize everything" post), and what they do share is clearly and cogently written without bullshit or hyperbole. They are names that immediately come to mind when someone asks me "Do you know someone who is good on... ?"
- tweedledee 9y agoMartin Fowler can't program functionally. Which is crazy because of his focus on DSLs. I do not consider him a good programmer.
- kristianc 9y agoIs his book on DSLs more of a high-level / business person's treatment than a practical guide?
- tptacek 9y agoI mean, all due respect, why don't you tell us? He's one of your "A-players".
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- perseusprime11 9y agoHe may not be a good programmer but he is good at bullshitting
- bsder 9y agoFowler was part of the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation system project that was the programming disaster that all the XP people spawned from--thus proving yet again "It's better to fail loudly than succeed quietly". Fowler seems to have gotten better over the years, but I don't put him in the A-List with people like Rich Hickey or Cliff Click.
- bigheadpercoli 9y agoTruly a C-Player reply. Poorly researched, unnecessarily inflammatory, weak in arguments.