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> ... they are going to leave, eventually; maybe for a better job, maybe retirement, maybe they get hit by a bus. I must say that I have heard that "hit by a b

> ... they are going to leave, eventually; maybe for a better job, maybe retirement, maybe they get hit by a bus. I must say that I have heard that "hit by a bus" argument once too many. What I see: 1 People very rarely get hit by a bus. 2 When someone leaves, two things happen. A) Someone else, very often previously anonymous, becomes the new rock star. B) It turns out that super important thing that guy was expert on was not so important after all...

mlrtime 3y ago
I use 'hit by a bus' sometimes, it's just a metaphor for leaves abruptly without much notice. You never know the type of employee and their motives for leaving until they do. Some are excellent and spend two weeks documenting and knowledge sharing. Some take a two week vacation. This point is orthogonal to superstar.
- fifilura 3y ago
  Yes obviously it is a metaphor. And I am speaking from my experience and yours is different. Just that I have felt lately that the "hit by a bus" card has been played too often close to me and it makes progress slow down. And I feel that when it does happen, organizations are much more resilient than the worst case that is often painted. (Changing subject) I am actually pretty intrigued by case 2A in my post, I have seen this often and sometimes it has been me. What causes someone to step up and more importantly what prevents them from doing so before? Because it means that many orgnanizations have this as an untapped resource. What should they do to release that resource earlier?
015a 3y ago
I feel its a valid concern, but the way companies generally respond to the concern is what is invalid. Teams should lift everyone up, not push superstars down. E.g. How much active knowledge sharing on the superstar's domain of expertise, and even process, is happening? A luncheon once a month? Its not enough. How much time is the superstar allowed to spend documenting? Is the rest of the team actually reading it? Is active mentorship happening on the team? Versus: Create a top-down process, make everyone follow the process, invent hypotheticals as to why the process matters, product factory, etc.
- fifilura 3y ago
  Yes, as I posted further down I am really intrigued by what makes it possible to lift other people up. Because the potential is there. Not in everyone but surely someone who would step up as the new lead if someone disappears. Documentation is good but sometimes i feel like there is a need for something more. Maybe the previous guy needs to move out of the way. Maybe his way of doing code reviews is discouraging - how important is it really to do everything like it was wired in his brain? Or just let go of the idea of how the code is structured? I take mentoring seriously since this is my way of adding force multiplication without having to become a manager.

mlrtime 3y ago

I use 'hit by a bus' sometimes, it's just a metaphor for leaves abruptly without much notice. You never know the type of employee and their motives for leaving until they do. Some are excellent and spend two weeks documenting and knowledge sharing. Some take a two week vacation. This point is orthogonal to superstar.

fifilura 3y ago
Yes obviously it is a metaphor. And I am speaking from my experience and yours is different. Just that I have felt lately that the "hit by a bus" card has been played too often close to me and it makes progress slow down. And I feel that when it does happen, organizations are much more resilient than the worst case that is often painted. (Changing subject) I am actually pretty intrigued by case 2A in my post, I have seen this often and sometimes it has been me. What causes someone to step up and more importantly what prevents them from doing so before? Because it means that many orgnanizations have this as an untapped resource. What should they do to release that resource earlier?

015a 3y ago

I feel its a valid concern, but the way companies generally respond to the concern is what is invalid. Teams should lift everyone up, not push superstars down. E.g. How much active knowledge sharing on the superstar's domain of expertise, and even process, is happening? A luncheon once a month? Its not enough. How much time is the superstar allowed to spend documenting? Is the rest of the team actually reading it? Is active mentorship happening on the team? Versus: Create a top-down process, make everyone follow the process, invent hypotheticals as to why the process matters, product factory, etc.

fifilura 3y ago
Yes, as I posted further down I am really intrigued by what makes it possible to lift other people up. Because the potential is there. Not in everyone but surely someone who would step up as the new lead if someone disappears. Documentation is good but sometimes i feel like there is a need for something more. Maybe the previous guy needs to move out of the way. Maybe his way of doing code reviews is discouraging - how important is it really to do everything like it was wired in his brain? Or just let go of the idea of how the code is structured? I take mentoring seriously since this is my way of adding force multiplication without having to become a manager.