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I think the general idea of finding people who take pride in a job well done is a sound one and does often mean the difference between success and failure of a

by beny23 6y ago

I think the general idea of finding people who take pride in a job well done is a sound one and does often mean the difference between success and failure of a project/business. Where the article completely falls down in is how to measure “giving a shit”. There’s plenty of people that work long hours, get rewarded well but ultimately just create mess after mess that someone who cares about clean, simple code then cleans up after them. A culture that just values attendance is most likely going to have a negative impact on the motivation. I remember a situation where a delivery lead shouting “nobody leaves the office before this bug is fixed” leading me to question the values of a client. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that gimmicks like pool tables in the office and slides make an iota of difference to someone that gives a shit about software. What does make a difference is a culture that encourages initiative, values transparency and pragmatism. These are the kinds of things you want hear when being interviewed. How many hours did you work will/should turn the real talent away...

dnautics 6y ago
retention is also a problem. Coming from a place where I gave a shit to a place where I only care about the product, but not in an way tied to my identity, it's so much more emotionally liberating. I check in, do my job, and leave caring to my side-projects. I was done in by management at the last place (half due to getting the short end of the stick in an necessary reorg, and half due to management incompetence of my new manager), and that is EXHAUSTING. Now, I have competent and organized managers, and they help me push code with high efficiency, which is satisfying, but in a very different way than one that is more tied to my identity. From a management point of view, you really do not want to hire a person who gives a shit if you are a shitty manager, let's say top quintile, (statisically, if you are if you are manager, you are), because when that person leaves, and they will, it's not going to be any fun for you.

by beny23 6y ago

dnautics 6y ago

retention is also a problem. Coming from a place where I gave a shit to a place where I only care about the product, but not in an way tied to my identity, it's so much more emotionally liberating. I check in, do my job, and leave caring to my side-projects. I was done in by management at the last place (half due to getting the short end of the stick in an necessary reorg, and half due to management incompetence of my new manager), and that is EXHAUSTING. Now, I have competent and organized managers, and they help me push code with high efficiency, which is satisfying, but in a very different way than one that is more tied to my identity. From a management point of view, you really do not want to hire a person who gives a shit if you are a shitty manager, let's say top quintile, (statisically, if you are if you are manager, you are), because when that person leaves, and they will, it's not going to be any fun for you.