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I've worked for a few companies over the years, and there is a type of manager I run into a lot. I can summarize them by a statement they make "Just get it done

by rjd 15y ago

I've worked for a few companies over the years, and there is a type of manager I run into a lot. I can summarize them by a statement they make "Just get it done." The thing about these managers are they are delivery focused, not product focused. The have no imagination, and no emotional attachment to the product. They are there to make sure the books balance and revenue increases, thats it. These people have always frightened me a bit because they just don't understand what the people who work under them do. You can't sit in a meeting and explain a new concept to them, you have to completely design a working product and walk them through it step by step. A verbal explanation will only confuse them, and often they get agitated... because they don't understand. I'm sure most of us have been in a meeting where every single person understands the speaker except for person who has the authority to approve or deny the work... and all they can say is "I don't get it" (and you are going holy crap 20 other people get it, I can see them rolling there eyes and smirking). I wouldn't mind betting that these videos are a sign of delivery managers being brought into R&D departments. These videos are made so that the delivery manager can understand what the people around him are doing, and so he can explain it to the bean counters. Its a sign you have put the wrong people into positions of authority. EDIT: I just realized that the character Veronica on "Better off Ted" is exactly what I'm describing. I recommend watching it if you've never seen it.

ctdonath 15y ago
Great point. Concept videos are for people who don't get - as in grok - the concept already. These people should not be in positions of power. Contrast this with the recent thread about "for a successful presentation to Jeff Bezos, delete every third paragraph - he'll fill in the gaps and still figure out on the spot what you missed and how your bleeding-edge new idea can be improved." Bezos and his kind don't need concept videos.
DLWormwood 15y ago
> The thing about these managers are they are delivery focused, not product focused. The have no imagination, and no emotional attachment to the product. They are there to make sure the books balance and revenue increases, thats it. Interestingly enough, I recently saw a video giving a more sympathetic view of such a mind set... http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-producer http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-pro... Keep in mind that the makers of this video series have spent more time on the creative end than the production end, and the viewpoint becomes even more surprising.
- rjd 15y ago
  Yep thats a great vid. I've been working as a producer myself for the last few years, running the online branch of a international news agency no less. And that vid is spot on. The managers I'm specifically talking about are the ones who can tell you exactly how many hours or dollars have gone into any project under there watch, but if asked what Employee X is working on couldn't give you much more than a "Something to do with TV remotes". They probably aren't bad managers, hell they might have even been specifically brought in because them team was flailing, but they are the wrong manager for the team in the long run. That vid is spot on, you have to be over everything, best everyones go to man, but not be the subject matter expert.
thesash 15y ago
> These videos are made so that the delivery manager can understand what the people around him are doing, and so he can explain it to the bean counters. The irony is that concepts that intentionally ignore reality create the impression among those same people who "don't get it" that these concepts not only are grounded in reality, but are as trivial to create as the concept video makes it look. It reminds me of this clip from Ali G: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc&feature=youtu.be&t=5m16s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc&feature=youtu...
- rjd 15y ago
  Oh that vid was brilliant, I have been in presentation like that, intact I gave one the other that got extremely luke warm responses, and people staring at each other going this guy has lost his marbles. My concept was this (pitched to the news agency I used to work for). I did some thinking about the next wave of devices and I thought I found a nice market that no one else had tried before. We modify the RSS subscription interface where users can select categories for news stories they are interested, and email service already exists. The RSS feeds already exist, and there are already staff curating the best of the best etc... they are pretty good feeds. We then run batch scripts every morning, compile the articles into ePub format (essentially HTML), and push personalized pre-packaged news paper style format to subscribers. Target eReaders, tablets etc... turn a passive website into one that chases customers each morning. Now this isn't difficult to implement, there is already a email service doing exactly the same thing. Basically all this service would do is wrap up HTML pages and build an index or two. I felt like everyone in the room was the chap Ali G was talking to, they just wanted me to shut up ASAP.
larrys 15y ago
I can summarize them by a statement they make "Just get it done." Sales equivalent is "Did you get the sale?" "Did we make our numbers?" I remember one VP of Sales at a Mac peripheral company that didn't know at the time (1993) what a Syquest drive was when I put it on an expense report.

by rjd 15y ago

ctdonath 15y ago

Great point. Concept videos are for people who don't get - as in grok - the concept already. These people should not be in positions of power. Contrast this with the recent thread about "for a successful presentation to Jeff Bezos, delete every third paragraph - he'll fill in the gaps and still figure out on the spot what you missed and how your bleeding-edge new idea can be improved." Bezos and his kind don't need concept videos.

DLWormwood 15y ago

> The thing about these managers are they are delivery focused, not product focused. The have no imagination, and no emotional attachment to the product. They are there to make sure the books balance and revenue increases, thats it. Interestingly enough, I recently saw a video giving a more sympathetic view of such a mind set... http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-producer http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-pro... Keep in mind that the makers of this video series have spent more time on the creative end than the production end, and the viewpoint becomes even more surprising.

rjd 15y ago
Yep thats a great vid. I've been working as a producer myself for the last few years, running the online branch of a international news agency no less. And that vid is spot on. The managers I'm specifically talking about are the ones who can tell you exactly how many hours or dollars have gone into any project under there watch, but if asked what Employee X is working on couldn't give you much more than a "Something to do with TV remotes". They probably aren't bad managers, hell they might have even been specifically brought in because them team was flailing, but they are the wrong manager for the team in the long run. That vid is spot on, you have to be over everything, best everyones go to man, but not be the subject matter expert.

thesash 15y ago

> These videos are made so that the delivery manager can understand what the people around him are doing, and so he can explain it to the bean counters. The irony is that concepts that intentionally ignore reality create the impression among those same people who "don't get it" that these concepts not only are grounded in reality, but are as trivial to create as the concept video makes it look. It reminds me of this clip from Ali G: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc&feature=youtu.be&t=5m16s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc&feature=youtu...

rjd 15y ago
Oh that vid was brilliant, I have been in presentation like that, intact I gave one the other that got extremely luke warm responses, and people staring at each other going this guy has lost his marbles. My concept was this (pitched to the news agency I used to work for). I did some thinking about the next wave of devices and I thought I found a nice market that no one else had tried before. We modify the RSS subscription interface where users can select categories for news stories they are interested, and email service already exists. The RSS feeds already exist, and there are already staff curating the best of the best etc... they are pretty good feeds. We then run batch scripts every morning, compile the articles into ePub format (essentially HTML), and push personalized pre-packaged news paper style format to subscribers. Target eReaders, tablets etc... turn a passive website into one that chases customers each morning. Now this isn't difficult to implement, there is already a email service doing exactly the same thing. Basically all this service would do is wrap up HTML pages and build an index or two. I felt like everyone in the room was the chap Ali G was talking to, they just wanted me to shut up ASAP.

larrys 15y ago

I can summarize them by a statement they make "Just get it done." Sales equivalent is "Did you get the sale?" "Did we make our numbers?" I remember one VP of Sales at a Mac peripheral company that didn't know at the time (1993) what a Syquest drive was when I put it on an expense report.