4 ms·

You want an obsessive non-perfectionist? You find it necessary to say that it's rare to find near-perfect employees? Managers, man.

by dwb 3y ago

onion2k 3y ago
You want an obsessive non-perfectionist. I want user-focused pragmatists who aim high while understanding they don't have the resources available for perfection. I was a dev for 25 years before moving into management. That's pretty much my approach, although I think I fell a bit short in many ways. Now my job is to try to lead other devs to do better than me. I'm trying to be the manager I wish I'd had. I don't think that's unreasonable.
- dwb 3y ago
  I've been a developer for 14 years. Maybe I've been incredibly lucky, or the companies I've worked for have had watertight hiring processes, or something, but I can't think of a time where someone didn't care about the things you list unless there was some massive pressure for them to cut corners. (Okay, maybe one contractor, a long time ago, but they were very obviously sub-standard.) I can't think of anyone who had any significant tendencies to perfectionism. Quality, maybe, but not perfectionism. And so when I come across statements like yours, I have to wonder, what standard are you pushing for? How much are you truly considering the highly-connected, messy context of these individual qualities? I'm so tired of these big-talking over-generalities where the onus is always on the individual.
  - ponector 3y ago
    Managers are looking for people who will do more for the same money as others. If employees are just doing the job to get a paycheck - they are labeled as quit quitters.
    - dwb 3y ago
      Your first sentence is certainly an eternal truth; I feel like there's quite a gap between those who consistently work more than their worth and those who only do what is strictly necessary. I'm somewhere in the middle – there's little chance of me doing what I'm not paid for, but at the same time I do very much care about what I produce, and the experience of the people I work with, and whoever ends up using what I make, and the wider effect on the world. I would put the vast majority of developers I've met in the same bracket – so companies should really want to keep us happy.

You want an obsessive non-perfectionist? You find it necessary to say that it's rare to find near-perfect employees? Managers, man.

by dwb 3y ago

You want an obsessive non-perfectionist? You find it necessary to say that it's rare to find near-perfect employees? Managers, man.

onion2k 3y ago

You want an obsessive non-perfectionist. I want user-focused pragmatists who aim high while understanding they don't have the resources available for perfection. I was a dev for 25 years before moving into management. That's pretty much my approach, although I think I fell a bit short in many ways. Now my job is to try to lead other devs to do better than me. I'm trying to be the manager I wish I'd had. I don't think that's unreasonable.

dwb 3y ago
I've been a developer for 14 years. Maybe I've been incredibly lucky, or the companies I've worked for have had watertight hiring processes, or something, but I can't think of a time where someone didn't care about the things you list unless there was some massive pressure for them to cut corners. (Okay, maybe one contractor, a long time ago, but they were very obviously sub-standard.) I can't think of anyone who had any significant tendencies to perfectionism. Quality, maybe, but not perfectionism. And so when I come across statements like yours, I have to wonder, what standard are you pushing for? How much are you truly considering the highly-connected, messy context of these individual qualities? I'm so tired of these big-talking over-generalities where the onus is always on the individual.
- ponector 3y ago
  Managers are looking for people who will do more for the same money as others. If employees are just doing the job to get a paycheck - they are labeled as quit quitters.
  - dwb 3y ago
    Your first sentence is certainly an eternal truth; I feel like there's quite a gap between those who consistently work more than their worth and those who only do what is strictly necessary. I'm somewhere in the middle – there's little chance of me doing what I'm not paid for, but at the same time I do very much care about what I produce, and the experience of the people I work with, and whoever ends up using what I make, and the wider effect on the world. I would put the vast majority of developers I've met in the same bracket – so companies should really want to keep us happy.