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This advice only works in startups. In large cooperations its career suicide. Unless you really screwed up, then you might attempt to control the narrative fall

This advice only works in startups. In large cooperations its career suicide. Unless you really screwed up, then you might attempt to control the narrative fallout this way. The asking for explanation never serves the gathering of information, never serves actual optimal solution searching. Its always a power move, trying to get people to justify them-selves, to knuckle under. All is a social power gesture, all is a attempt to crawl over the backs of others to some imagined position at the top of the silo. If you encounter this, a company is lost to technology. Nobody will discuss engineering discussions, as all is "ammunition" for the eternal civil war of all against all, which might be used against you in some ritualized self-criticizing public execution, disguised as a code-review. If people ask from you to be self-criticizing, its as honest as asking for your weaknesses during a job-interview.

Godel_unicode 4y ago
This is entirely contrary to my experience. I’m a very senior person at a company whose name you definitely know, and I am constantly talking about how things I did could have gone better if I had done things differently. Aspire to have, and work with people who admire, integrity. Edit: I also talk about my weaknesses during job interviews, and I have never had it keep me from getting the gig.
- bradknowles 4y ago
  I think it depends on the company you're interviewing at. If you're interviewing at Amazon, you better have some cases you've prepared where things didn't go according to plan, and where you learned something from that. You had better be willing to stand up and say "I don't know", but you should also quickly follow that with "I will find out and get you the answers within X days".
- ethbr0 4y ago
  I've worked at companies you know that 100% fall into both categories. It's all a matter of corporate culture, and there's no rule that corporate culture has to be a certain way (even just for successful companies). If it's a big company though, accept the corporate culture is always going to be how it is. If it's not to ones liking, it's easier to find a different employer.

Godel_unicode 4y ago

This is entirely contrary to my experience. I’m a very senior person at a company whose name you definitely know, and I am constantly talking about how things I did could have gone better if I had done things differently. Aspire to have, and work with people who admire, integrity. Edit: I also talk about my weaknesses during job interviews, and I have never had it keep me from getting the gig.

bradknowles 4y ago
I think it depends on the company you're interviewing at. If you're interviewing at Amazon, you better have some cases you've prepared where things didn't go according to plan, and where you learned something from that. You had better be willing to stand up and say "I don't know", but you should also quickly follow that with "I will find out and get you the answers within X days".
ethbr0 4y ago
I've worked at companies you know that 100% fall into both categories. It's all a matter of corporate culture, and there's no rule that corporate culture has to be a certain way (even just for successful companies). If it's a big company though, accept the corporate culture is always going to be how it is. If it's not to ones liking, it's easier to find a different employer.