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I've tried very hard not to be one of those people on that list. For a while I was the first, feeling completely helpless to change anything. Then someone wit

I've tried very hard not to be one of those people on that list. For a while I was the first, feeling completely helpless to change anything. Then someone within the company helped change some of that for me. Now I've matured to the point where I can objectively look at this company and realize it's a mismatch between my professional goals and the role that they would have me play. Quite simply it's not a software company and that's where I need to work. Thanks for putting this up. Every time I read something like this is helps keep me in check.

trustfundbaby 16y ago
I feel your pain, that was me a couple of years ago ... moving on was one of the best things I've ever done.
damncabbage 16y ago
I'm in a similar sort of position, but I'm a developer working at a software company: My goal is to automate deployments, boost efficiency and introduce "force multipliers" to get the highest bang-for-buck ratio: basically getting rid of the roadblocks between the guys and them churning out awesome stuff at a terrific speed. On the other hand, the company loses money (in the short term) when I automate things; if two-hour deployments are reduced to 15 minutes each, they can no longer charge the client that extra hour or two for every batch of work. Projects are generally quoted and charged by the hour; if the client's reasonably content with the cost and the resulting work then there's not much incentive to get things done more quickly, regardless of how wasteful we're being. Sometimes I can clear roadblocks. Most of the time I can't. It's taken a year, but I've come to realise the company's and my own goals are orthogonal, that I'm becoming an Example #1, and that it's time to move on. (Thanks for posting the article; it's nice to see these negative qualities clearly laid out.)
- autarch 16y ago
  <pedant>Your goals and the company's are not orthogonal, they are in opposition. Orthogonal means unrelated, but in this case they are related, just not in the right way.</pedant>
  - damncabbage 16y ago
    Ack. Thanks; you're right. (I'll leave the post as-is so your follow-up doesn't look silly.)
- JabavuAdams 16y ago
  Many service companies would love to be product companies. If your automated deployments can be turned into a product, that may be something very valuable to the company. E.g. 37 Signals / Rails. OTOH, it may be easier for you personally to implement it and sell them on it once you've validated the model, externally.
palish 16y ago
That's me currently.
JabavuAdams 16y ago
Maybe this'll help. Look how dysfunctional people can be, and how hard it is for an individual to change his behaviour. Now, why are we surprised that it's hard to change a group's behaviour? I.e. if you're frustrated with the slow pace of change at work, try to inventory some of your own pathologies and see how long they've gone un-fixed. Note: this is not a shut-up-until-you-make-yourself-perfect message. It's more like "holy shit, I've been saying I'll lose 10 pounds for like 10 years now". Organizations are like that, but worse.
GrooveStomp 16y ago
Your last line represent my sentiments exactly. It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day and fail to view things objectively. Every factoid like this helps me to keep an objective view - and to keep on my career path.

trustfundbaby 16y ago

I feel your pain, that was me a couple of years ago ... moving on was one of the best things I've ever done.

damncabbage 16y ago

I'm in a similar sort of position, but I'm a developer working at a software company: My goal is to automate deployments, boost efficiency and introduce "force multipliers" to get the highest bang-for-buck ratio: basically getting rid of the roadblocks between the guys and them churning out awesome stuff at a terrific speed. On the other hand, the company loses money (in the short term) when I automate things; if two-hour deployments are reduced to 15 minutes each, they can no longer charge the client that extra hour or two for every batch of work. Projects are generally quoted and charged by the hour; if the client's reasonably content with the cost and the resulting work then there's not much incentive to get things done more quickly, regardless of how wasteful we're being. Sometimes I can clear roadblocks. Most of the time I can't. It's taken a year, but I've come to realise the company's and my own goals are orthogonal, that I'm becoming an Example #1, and that it's time to move on. (Thanks for posting the article; it's nice to see these negative qualities clearly laid out.)

autarch 16y ago
<pedant>Your goals and the company's are not orthogonal, they are in opposition. Orthogonal means unrelated, but in this case they are related, just not in the right way.</pedant>
- damncabbage 16y ago
  Ack. Thanks; you're right. (I'll leave the post as-is so your follow-up doesn't look silly.)
JabavuAdams 16y ago
Many service companies would love to be product companies. If your automated deployments can be turned into a product, that may be something very valuable to the company. E.g. 37 Signals / Rails. OTOH, it may be easier for you personally to implement it and sell them on it once you've validated the model, externally.

palish 16y ago

That's me currently.

JabavuAdams 16y ago

Maybe this'll help. Look how dysfunctional people can be, and how hard it is for an individual to change his behaviour. Now, why are we surprised that it's hard to change a group's behaviour? I.e. if you're frustrated with the slow pace of change at work, try to inventory some of your own pathologies and see how long they've gone un-fixed. Note: this is not a shut-up-until-you-make-yourself-perfect message. It's more like "holy shit, I've been saying I'll lose 10 pounds for like 10 years now". Organizations are like that, but worse.

GrooveStomp 16y ago

Your last line represent my sentiments exactly. It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day and fail to view things objectively. Every factoid like this helps me to keep an objective view - and to keep on my career path.