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> I don't know why X needs N people This statement can be made about almost any company in the US right now. There is some serious systemic risk in the surreal

> I don't know why X needs N people This statement can be made about almost any company in the US right now. There is some serious systemic risk in the surreal number of people working whose jobs do not matter at all. Even for productive software engineers, think back on how many projects in your career really shipped, how many of those then made any money, and then how many of those companies are still thriving. For me nearly all of the work in my career has amounted to surprisingly little and I have always been on the front lines of creating products in my roles. So why are there so many people at every company that don't really create value? What does it mean when an economy depends on those people being employeed, well paid and consuming goods?

kyuudou 7y ago
It's the Jack Welch algorithm
danans 7y ago
> There is some serious systemic risk in the surreal number of people working whose jobs do not matter at all. There is perhaps greater systematic risk in not having backups. Too much efficiency can equal a lot of fragility.
- imtringued 7y ago
  I've once read a HN comment that said that Aboriginees are economically useless and should work in a major city so that they can be useful. This completely ignores systematic risk posed by nuclear weapons or viruses like covid-19. Those Aboriginees have much better survival skills than the average NYC resident and they are far away so they are more likely to survive global disasters.
  - danans 7y ago
    My comment was about the fragility created by running organizations too lean from # of employees perspective. I have no issue with Aborigines' life choices and don't consider them economically useless at all, so I'm not sure what that has to do with the subject.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    "they are far away so they are more likely to survive global disasters" Far away from the globe?

kyuudou 7y ago

It's the Jack Welch algorithm

danans 7y ago

> There is some serious systemic risk in the surreal number of people working whose jobs do not matter at all. There is perhaps greater systematic risk in not having backups. Too much efficiency can equal a lot of fragility.

imtringued 7y ago
I've once read a HN comment that said that Aboriginees are economically useless and should work in a major city so that they can be useful. This completely ignores systematic risk posed by nuclear weapons or viruses like covid-19. Those Aboriginees have much better survival skills than the average NYC resident and they are far away so they are more likely to survive global disasters.
- danans 7y ago
  My comment was about the fragility created by running organizations too lean from # of employees perspective. I have no issue with Aborigines' life choices and don't consider them economically useless at all, so I'm not sure what that has to do with the subject.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  "they are far away so they are more likely to survive global disasters" Far away from the globe?