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I work in a fear-based culture right now. The CTO never saw a kludge he didn’t want into production stat, and in his dual role as CEO won every disagreement. Th

I work in a fear-based culture right now. The CTO never saw a kludge he didn’t want into production stat, and in his dual role as CEO won every disagreement. There are many pieces on tech debt that are true and valid, this one IMHO covers more salient issues than most. If you’re reading this comment before you read the article: it’s about how to avoid getting caught too badly in the first place, not about magic bullets to get you out when you’re basically bankrupt.

rendall 6y ago
> I work in a fear-based culture right now That sucks. I have been there. Awful. For me, the silver lining is that I no longer ignore stinky red flags
- minimuffins 6y ago
  Yeah, I think it can be painfully helpful to go through that miserable experience at least once. But my very strong advice to others: Do NOT put up with that. You don't have to. There are so many companies, even now, where you can get decent work with much more sensible norms. There's always kind of a gravitational pull toward excess debt because "get the [fix/feature] out there in front of [users/client/exec]" is such a tempting drug for management, even if they're generally good. But the amount and toxicity of the debt varies widely. Find a company that's sane about this if you value your own sanity imo.
  - quantified 6y ago
    Thank you for the support! Doing my best, and leaving when the right opportunity appears.
- hndudette2 6y ago
  Yep, same, and it hurts the most loyal and hardworking the most. Do what's best for yourself and find a better job.
ianamartin 6y ago
I will never again work in a company with a dual CEO/CTO. No matter how well-intentioned and talented that person is, it always leads to a toxic environment. It's an instant red flag that the person is incapable of delegating responsibilities. Separation of duties at the C-level is important. There needs to be some amount of healthy friction in the leadership team to make appropriate compromises. Hope you are able to get out of this situation soon.

rendall 6y ago

> I work in a fear-based culture right now That sucks. I have been there. Awful. For me, the silver lining is that I no longer ignore stinky red flags

minimuffins 6y ago
Yeah, I think it can be painfully helpful to go through that miserable experience at least once. But my very strong advice to others: Do NOT put up with that. You don't have to. There are so many companies, even now, where you can get decent work with much more sensible norms. There's always kind of a gravitational pull toward excess debt because "get the [fix/feature] out there in front of [users/client/exec]" is such a tempting drug for management, even if they're generally good. But the amount and toxicity of the debt varies widely. Find a company that's sane about this if you value your own sanity imo.
- quantified 6y ago
  Thank you for the support! Doing my best, and leaving when the right opportunity appears.
hndudette2 6y ago
Yep, same, and it hurts the most loyal and hardworking the most. Do what's best for yourself and find a better job.

ianamartin 6y ago

I will never again work in a company with a dual CEO/CTO. No matter how well-intentioned and talented that person is, it always leads to a toxic environment. It's an instant red flag that the person is incapable of delegating responsibilities. Separation of duties at the C-level is important. There needs to be some amount of healthy friction in the leadership team to make appropriate compromises. Hope you are able to get out of this situation soon.