4 ms·

It sounds like a few simple rules would help - you don't need complex procedures and forms, it can be as simple as "if you want to buy new software, ask the CIO

It sounds like a few simple rules would help - you don't need complex procedures and forms, it can be as simple as "if you want to buy new software, ask the CIO or CTO, and in most cases they'll say yes/no on the spot". I can't help but think this is a symptom of being awash with VC cash - I can't imagine this happening in a bootstrapped business.

hef19898 7y ago
I tend to agree. Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. Even without procedures. Practically infinite budgets tend to have the opposite effect. If senior management isn't forcing discipline things can get out of hand pretty quick.
- afarrell 7y ago
  > Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. This is only true in the evolutionary sense -- Example: "parachuting forces people to be good at checking their gear." Telling someone that they are going to jump out of a plane won't magically give them a skill like meticulousness.
  - ryandrake 7y ago
    It’s a skill like any other, and requires study and practice. There is a reason why half of pilot training is checklists and drilling procedures until they are permanently encoded into your muscle memory.
    - afarrell 7y ago
      Right. But I often see people ask "how can I learn to X" and get advice like "Go do Y. It will force you to X". But jumping into to the situation unprepared is not how pilots learn skill X. They learn it through particular methods of study and practice.
      - hef19898 7y ago
        Yeah, true. Frugality is a nice thing to have learned. And I agree, you don't learn it by bootstrapping your company. Rather your company will likely go bankrupt if you didn't learn it before. If you have the basics already, so, bootstrapping forces you to build up that. No guarantees, so.
afarrell 7y ago
Note that the phrase "ask the CIO or CTO" hides an "obvious" skill: Concisely make plain the cost vs. value -- grounded in the CIO/CTO's understanding of value.
- GordonS 7y ago
  I think it's fair that if you want to spend company money, you need to justify it, especially so if it's on something that will be used by a whole team or across the whole company. At a smaller company that values its devs, there hopefully shouldn't be too much ceremony around this, unless it's a particularly large spend. But at larger companies, yes, you're likely going to have to know how to make your case in a more formal way, and get involved in company politics (ugh).
  - afarrell 7y ago
    Agreed. And there should be a good guide for junior devs on how to do that "justify it" step well in startups. Sounds like something that could piggyback off of https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pr...

hef19898 7y ago

I tend to agree. Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. Even without procedures. Practically infinite budgets tend to have the opposite effect. If senior management isn't forcing discipline things can get out of hand pretty quick.

afarrell 7y ago
> Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. This is only true in the evolutionary sense -- Example: "parachuting forces people to be good at checking their gear." Telling someone that they are going to jump out of a plane won't magically give them a skill like meticulousness.
- ryandrake 7y ago
  It’s a skill like any other, and requires study and practice. There is a reason why half of pilot training is checklists and drilling procedures until they are permanently encoded into your muscle memory.
  - afarrell 7y ago
    Right. But I often see people ask "how can I learn to X" and get advice like "Go do Y. It will force you to X". But jumping into to the situation unprepared is not how pilots learn skill X. They learn it through particular methods of study and practice.
    - hef19898 7y ago
      Yeah, true. Frugality is a nice thing to have learned. And I agree, you don't learn it by bootstrapping your company. Rather your company will likely go bankrupt if you didn't learn it before. If you have the basics already, so, bootstrapping forces you to build up that. No guarantees, so.

afarrell 7y ago

Note that the phrase "ask the CIO or CTO" hides an "obvious" skill: Concisely make plain the cost vs. value -- grounded in the CIO/CTO's understanding of value.

GordonS 7y ago
I think it's fair that if you want to spend company money, you need to justify it, especially so if it's on something that will be used by a whole team or across the whole company. At a smaller company that values its devs, there hopefully shouldn't be too much ceremony around this, unless it's a particularly large spend. But at larger companies, yes, you're likely going to have to know how to make your case in a more formal way, and get involved in company politics (ugh).
- afarrell 7y ago
  Agreed. And there should be a good guide for junior devs on how to do that "justify it" step well in startups. Sounds like something that could piggyback off of https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pr...