4 ms·

Funny part is that „competent generalists“ (those Brent-style types) are very rare and most technology needs to be designed for incompetent specialists. Also fu

Funny part is that „competent generalists“ (those Brent-style types) are very rare and most technology needs to be designed for incompetent specialists. Also funny is that these generalists typically build as if everyone has their own skillset which renders many systems unusable once Brent has left the building.

manigandham 4y ago
They're not just rare, the bigger problem is that most companies don't know how to deal with them. They either can't pay for them, don't give them enough freedom, weigh them down in a big team, or any number of other issues. One person in a specific role (even if they're not very good at it) is far easier for most organizations to deal with than the 10x generalist that can get things done. It can work well in very early startups, but there's limited reward there for it to be worth it.
DeathArrow 4y ago
>those Brent-style types Which Brent are you talking about?
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  I get the sense the name is being used in a general way like a “Karen”, but I’ve never heard of a “Brent”.
  - mwarkentin 4y ago
    From The Phoenix Project: https://allengeer.com/how-to-handle-brent-in-the-phoenix-project/ https://allengeer.com/how-to-handle-brent-in-the-phoenix-pro...
  - arch-ninja 4y ago
    Brent is the engineer building all the real tech that a company in the Phoenix Project is building, and when the MC (a manager, Bill I believe) realizes this he re-directs resources so Brent can do his job without interruptions, ultimately saving the company. Excellent read, it's the first book managers are told to read when they use SCRUM/AGILE incorrectly.
TameAntelope 4y ago
Nobody cares if what you built is sustainable and scalable if you can't do it fast enough to get your first customers, and there is plenty of time to make what you've built usable by the time you've left. If you, as a founder, hire an incompetent specialist as your first employee, maybe you don't deserve to be successful. Your first hire is either a "Brent", or you have to get very lucky in just about every way.

manigandham 4y ago

They're not just rare, the bigger problem is that most companies don't know how to deal with them. They either can't pay for them, don't give them enough freedom, weigh them down in a big team, or any number of other issues. One person in a specific role (even if they're not very good at it) is far easier for most organizations to deal with than the 10x generalist that can get things done. It can work well in very early startups, but there's limited reward there for it to be worth it.

DeathArrow 4y ago

>those Brent-style types Which Brent are you talking about?

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
I get the sense the name is being used in a general way like a “Karen”, but I’ve never heard of a “Brent”.
- mwarkentin 4y ago
  From The Phoenix Project: https://allengeer.com/how-to-handle-brent-in-the-phoenix-project/ https://allengeer.com/how-to-handle-brent-in-the-phoenix-pro...
- arch-ninja 4y ago
  Brent is the engineer building all the real tech that a company in the Phoenix Project is building, and when the MC (a manager, Bill I believe) realizes this he re-directs resources so Brent can do his job without interruptions, ultimately saving the company. Excellent read, it's the first book managers are told to read when they use SCRUM/AGILE incorrectly.

TameAntelope 4y ago

Nobody cares if what you built is sustainable and scalable if you can't do it fast enough to get your first customers, and there is plenty of time to make what you've built usable by the time you've left. If you, as a founder, hire an incompetent specialist as your first employee, maybe you don't deserve to be successful. Your first hire is either a "Brent", or you have to get very lucky in just about every way.