3 ms·

I'm not seeing the issue with the except you posted. In context, it seems clear to me that those are all very back of the envelope estimations. Not everything n

I'm not seeing the issue with the except you posted. In context, it seems clear to me that those are all very back of the envelope estimations. Not everything needs to be backed by multiple citations to double blind trials; approximations can be quite useful. The point (IMO) is to take statements you strongly suspect to be true from personal experience (ex that a pointy-haired middle manager reduces your productivity) and attempt to assign ballpark numbers to them. The numbers don't need to be super accurate, merely within the correct order of magnitude. The hope is that such an exercise might allow you to estimate an expected return (to within an order of magnitude) for decision making purposes, or perhaps just to better understand the world around you. Put another way, even if you dispute the exact outcome ($3 million a year), presumably you agree with the broader premise of being significantly more productive? (Note that increased productivity won't necessarily translate to increased income. It should give you something to work with though.)

sangnoir 6y ago
Software Engineers sometimes act as if administration and coordination of effort are unwelcome distractions to productivity, but those are necessary components to any viable commercial effort. The super-productive, "$3M/year engineer" who goes and starts a successful new startup always metamorphosizes into the pointy-haired boss. Why is that? Because that is the steady state of companies, anything else is transient. However, VC's make money from a steady stream of disaffected engineers who are convinced that there is a better way - for a while, there is, until the same VCs ask the founders to step-up their administration-game, or they have to raise capital, or manage paperwork.
- d110af5ccf 6y ago
  I mostly agree, but I think it's important to note that the necessity of administrative overhead (and associated friction) scales with team size and project scope. I expect a lone developer to be the most productive by far in the narrow sense of producing working code. However, at some point a single person just can't do everything that needs doing themselves. So I'll agree that as things grow administrative overhead will necessarily creep in. But I expect that if you can find a way to turn a profit, a smaller team will probably involve significantly less overhead. So if (as in PG's hypothetical) the developer is worth $80k at a big company, how much would you estimate them to be worth at a company of only 4 people that has a good idea and funding?
  - sangnoir 6y ago
    > So if (as in PG's hypothetical) the developer is worth $80k at a big company, how much would you estimate them to be worth at a company of only 4 people that has a good idea and funding? My point is that a 4-person company with a good idea and funding doesn't usually remain a 4-person company. Sure, they could be churning out good code at an amazing rate, but is transient state - in order to make money at the levels that the VC-class demands, pointy-haired bosses will be required, and they come with structure, meetings, emails, templates, and other administrata rituals. edit: I think this is proof enough that VCs don't optimize for individual productivity - nobody who likes having more money does.

sangnoir 6y ago

Software Engineers sometimes act as if administration and coordination of effort are unwelcome distractions to productivity, but those are necessary components to any viable commercial effort. The super-productive, "$3M/year engineer" who goes and starts a successful new startup always metamorphosizes into the pointy-haired boss. Why is that? Because that is the steady state of companies, anything else is transient. However, VC's make money from a steady stream of disaffected engineers who are convinced that there is a better way - for a while, there is, until the same VCs ask the founders to step-up their administration-game, or they have to raise capital, or manage paperwork.

d110af5ccf 6y ago
I mostly agree, but I think it's important to note that the necessity of administrative overhead (and associated friction) scales with team size and project scope. I expect a lone developer to be the most productive by far in the narrow sense of producing working code. However, at some point a single person just can't do everything that needs doing themselves. So I'll agree that as things grow administrative overhead will necessarily creep in. But I expect that if you can find a way to turn a profit, a smaller team will probably involve significantly less overhead. So if (as in PG's hypothetical) the developer is worth $80k at a big company, how much would you estimate them to be worth at a company of only 4 people that has a good idea and funding?
- sangnoir 6y ago
  > So if (as in PG's hypothetical) the developer is worth $80k at a big company, how much would you estimate them to be worth at a company of only 4 people that has a good idea and funding? My point is that a 4-person company with a good idea and funding doesn't usually remain a 4-person company. Sure, they could be churning out good code at an amazing rate, but is transient state - in order to make money at the levels that the VC-class demands, pointy-haired bosses will be required, and they come with structure, meetings, emails, templates, and other administrata rituals. edit: I think this is proof enough that VCs don't optimize for individual productivity - nobody who likes having more money does.