4 ms·
We let the MBAs and PMs optimize every ounce of redundancy away for “efficiency” and “share price”. Now a small ripple becomes a tidal wave, and we all pay the
by zionic 4y ago
We let the MBAs and PMs optimize every ounce of redundancy away for “efficiency” and “share price”.
Now a small ripple becomes a tidal wave, and we all pay the price for not letting the engineers run the show
- danielmarkbruce 4y agoYeah, engineers never over optimize on some dimension. Never happened.
- zionic 4y agoNever? Of course not. But they do a much better job. I don't know the current stats, but I recall hearing something like 70% of china's ruling party have engineering degrees. Whereas the overwhelming majority of ours are lawyers. I think that plays a part in why China's infrastructure is so good, and why they've been kicking our ass the last 30 years in terms of growth.
- danielmarkbruce 4y agoI don't buy it. Pointing to China isn't convincing. China has been growing off a small base. Let's see how their GDP growth goes off a base like the US. US is 5-6x larger per capita.
- andrewstuart2 4y agoI don't know which engineers you work with, but my experience is that engineers will prematurely optimize just about anything they can measure and put in a promotion packet. Or heck, just for fun. I'm no exception either. I think system theorists probably would have the best shot of helping anticipate the negative feedback loops we're experiencing.
- zionic 4y agoEngineers love buffers though, and building fault-tolerant systems.
- mym1990 4y agoIt has nothing to do with letting a certain specialization run the show, but having people in leadership that have fewer conflicts of interests, a deeper understanding of things other than just politics, and a willingness to work in/on a team.