4 ms·
"Small agile group of clever people produces results far superior to large, calcified, bureaucratic organization that ostensibly should be performing the task."
by sedev 15y ago
"Small agile group of clever people produces results far superior to large, calcified, bureaucratic organization that ostensibly should be performing the task."
That narrative is usually an easy ticket to the front page of HN.
- aquark 15y agoI think the best bit of the story is when she goes back to the police a second time, and _they_ try to keep the laptop: > After filing the second police report, an officer told her he would have to keep the computer as > evidence, and take prints that Nahwegahbow worried would wipe the computer contents. She > grabbed the computer from his arms and told him "You can't have it. It's mine. I just got it > back!" She got to keep it. At least they saw reason and let her hold on to it!
- pavel_lishin 15y agoWho says they saw reason? They may not have had any legal alternative. Or perhaps they just didn't want to deal with it right before going on vacation.
- CodeMage 15y agoCall me cynical, but I would bet they didn't want to deal with the possibility of a publicity fallout, regardless of whether they had any legal alternative or not. Of course, that could be called "seeing reason", for a very specific value of "reason" ;)
- int3rnaut 15y agoIt's probably the latter haha. It's quite interesting how if you looked at this bureaucratic system from the perspective of a program or a website, you can't help but think of ways to solve the problem in the way any new start-up would; the system is outdated for today's world--and despite that no one dares tackle any of these issues as to not rock the boat or create a system without ample time off for some sweet vacations.
- raganwald 15y agoOddly, such stories are often held up as examples of why we should have less government and pay lower taxes, instead of suggesting that perhaps budget cutbacks are the reason the police have to prioritize and can't send investigators out to recover every laptop stolen from a car. I'm not arguing the case either way, just suggesting that such stories are often interpreted through the filter of our existing bias.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoI wonder how the people suggesting less government and lower taxes would advise you to deal with a crime that was more serious - for instance, what if instead of her laptop being stolen, someone torched her house.
- sedev 15y agoThe State, like Twitter, is good at some things, and not at others. People insist on using it for things in both categories. So 'give the police more money' is not always a great idea for reducing crime - I'm from an area where the police have enough money to buy very nice toys indeed, but that strangely hasn't accompanied a drop in abuse of police power, police racism, or prosecution of the abominable War On Drugs. As for filters - I admire the woman in the story, because she is a great example of the entrepreneurial mindset. 1: Attempt to achieve your goal by conventional means (call police). 2: Actually notice that conventional means will not get you what you want. 3: Come up with an alternate plan (DIY sting operation). 4: Execute fearlessly. I argue that those four steps, broadly, are what a good startup founder does.
- raganwald 15y agoI agree with all of those points, however that while she has things in common with great startup entrepreneurs, here on Hacker News we usually contemplate ventures that offer more upside than the return of a laptop and less downside than death :-)
- sedev 15y agoThat is a good value of 'usual,' and I agree with it - but I think it's also, sometimes, valuable to consider those characteristics in the small. I actually have a specific person in my life to whom I'm going to repeat this story, with the four-points explanation, to encourage them on the path to starting their own company.