3 ms·

Sure, but a 6-week sabbatical in a company struggling to keep up with planned production goals is largely unheard of.

by ucaetano 8y ago

LeifCarrotson 8y ago
Which is a tragedy - people occasionally need to take breaks to be more productive.
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- master-litty 8y ago
  6 weeks is quite the break, personally. Does that increase productivity more than 3 or 4 weeks, for example? Not saying we don't deserve that sort of time off, but it seems somewhat excessive given the circumstances.
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  - PakG1 8y ago
    Given the pace and pressure of everything they've been through and everything they're about to go through again, I'd say six weeks sounds about right.
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- wpietri 8y ago
  Sure, and I think the reason he's taking a 6-week break now is that he failed to take sufficient breaks earlier. I've burnt out myself, and it's no joke. I wish him only the best. But to me the real risk here isn't "senior leader out for long, possibly indefinite period". It's "Tesla has been running a sprint, not a marathon." If somebody this high up is burnt out, what's it like for everybody else? Given Tesla's precarious cash position this is the time when they really need for things to go smoothly. But if people are at or near burnout, they'll be making mistakes, cutting corners, etc.
  - nikanj 8y ago
    Silicon valley likes to pretend you can run a marathon in 45 minutes by breaking it into subsequent 100 meter sprints. Dashing without breaks burns people fast.
    - jon-wood 8y ago
      I’m on an ongoing campaign to eradicate the word “Sprint” in relation to software delivery from the company I work at, so far with some success. It seems pedantic at first, but using the word “Iteration” in its place does actually seem to be driving an understanding that we’re not going to get everything done in a week, and should instead work steadily towards completion.
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heurist 8y ago
Wasn't Tesla's issue over-automation? Maybe the leave is symbolic of dedication to improving other capabilities - letting the other managers take time to balance things out. I'm sure Field appreciates the break, imposed or not. Startups are hard work and stress causes problems in the rational mind. I've been experiencing that myself, lately...

Sure, but a 6-week sabbatical in a company struggling to keep up with planned production goals is largely unheard of.

LeifCarrotson 8y ago

Which is a tragedy - people occasionally need to take breaks to be more productive.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
master-litty 8y ago
6 weeks is quite the break, personally. Does that increase productivity more than 3 or 4 weeks, for example? Not saying we don't deserve that sort of time off, but it seems somewhat excessive given the circumstances.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- PakG1 8y ago
  Given the pace and pressure of everything they've been through and everything they're about to go through again, I'd say six weeks sounds about right.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
wpietri 8y ago
Sure, and I think the reason he's taking a 6-week break now is that he failed to take sufficient breaks earlier. I've burnt out myself, and it's no joke. I wish him only the best. But to me the real risk here isn't "senior leader out for long, possibly indefinite period". It's "Tesla has been running a sprint, not a marathon." If somebody this high up is burnt out, what's it like for everybody else? Given Tesla's precarious cash position this is the time when they really need for things to go smoothly. But if people are at or near burnout, they'll be making mistakes, cutting corners, etc.
- nikanj 8y ago
  Silicon valley likes to pretend you can run a marathon in 45 minutes by breaking it into subsequent 100 meter sprints. Dashing without breaks burns people fast.
  - jon-wood 8y ago
    I’m on an ongoing campaign to eradicate the word “Sprint” in relation to software delivery from the company I work at, so far with some success. It seems pedantic at first, but using the word “Iteration” in its place does actually seem to be driving an understanding that we’re not going to get everything done in a week, and should instead work steadily towards completion.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

heurist 8y ago

Wasn't Tesla's issue over-automation? Maybe the leave is symbolic of dedication to improving other capabilities - letting the other managers take time to balance things out. I'm sure Field appreciates the break, imposed or not. Startups are hard work and stress causes problems in the rational mind. I've been experiencing that myself, lately...