4 ms·

Isn't part of the problem actually that we're hiring at all for these kinds of positions? Why isn't it possible to invest in the people who already showed up an

Isn't part of the problem actually that we're hiring at all for these kinds of positions? Why isn't it possible to invest in the people who already showed up and demonstrated motivation to get things done? The cynical (but maybe also realistic?) part of me wants to say that we hire for these roles to satisfy the class of people who feel entitled to occupy them. That is, we have this big educational apparatus churning out MBAs and so we better have some place to put them. I'm not convinced that the old stories of climbing up through the ranks somehow originated in a world that worked really any differently than the world we live in today. We've just built up a lot of momentum moving in the direction of bad business culture. But there's no real reason we can't begin moving back in the right direction right away!

danybittel 4y ago
Because Executives are (besides other things) the voice of the client in a company. Engineers typically have a very bad understanding of the clients they are made to serve. Of course that doesn't make them bad engineers.
- davesque 4y ago
  I wasn't really talking about the engineering/management divide. I was more talking about the culture of management as a profession and how misguided it's become. It's just like Paul G said. You have this whole class of workers who often act as though it's mostly their job to develop and market a personal brand. And the people left in their wake ask themselves dumb questions like, "How come that person who knew nothing about our business but looked good on paper couldn't end up walking the walk?"
PeterisP 4y ago
Because you need specific skills and experience, not only motivation? When you need an accountant, you don't invest in a motivated office assistant to learn accounting, you hire someone who already spent the years to do it properly, since there are many steps between a random person and an accountant and most likely none of your current employees are "almost-accountants" who are ready to take the next step. And when you need a CFO, you don't invest in a motivated accountant to learn how to do that, you hire someone who has already spent the years to do it properly, since there are many steps between an accountant and a CFO and most likely none of your current employees are "almost-CFOs" who are ready to take the next step. Startup founders hiring random "good people" without competence at the appropriate scale as their CxOs is a good way to disaster.

danybittel 4y ago

Because Executives are (besides other things) the voice of the client in a company. Engineers typically have a very bad understanding of the clients they are made to serve. Of course that doesn't make them bad engineers.

davesque 4y ago
I wasn't really talking about the engineering/management divide. I was more talking about the culture of management as a profession and how misguided it's become. It's just like Paul G said. You have this whole class of workers who often act as though it's mostly their job to develop and market a personal brand. And the people left in their wake ask themselves dumb questions like, "How come that person who knew nothing about our business but looked good on paper couldn't end up walking the walk?"

PeterisP 4y ago

Because you need specific skills and experience, not only motivation? When you need an accountant, you don't invest in a motivated office assistant to learn accounting, you hire someone who already spent the years to do it properly, since there are many steps between a random person and an accountant and most likely none of your current employees are "almost-accountants" who are ready to take the next step. And when you need a CFO, you don't invest in a motivated accountant to learn how to do that, you hire someone who has already spent the years to do it properly, since there are many steps between an accountant and a CFO and most likely none of your current employees are "almost-CFOs" who are ready to take the next step. Startup founders hiring random "good people" without competence at the appropriate scale as their CxOs is a good way to disaster.