2 ms·
I was the young "tech guy" inside the business development department at Earthlink in the mid 90s. The bizdev folks would propose ideas and I would think them t
by skygazer 2y ago
I was the young "tech guy" inside the business development department at Earthlink in the mid 90s. The bizdev folks would propose ideas and I would think them through and realize there were technical issues, and when I shared my concerns, they would all be disheartened. But, sometime later, I would figure out a way around the "problem". They were perpetually grateful, but after a number of these iterations, I got the sense that I was mainly solving problems that I had invented. I actually even shared my concern about that with my boss, and he dismissed it – I think they enjoyed the rollercoaster ride.
- johnnyanmac 2y agoI'd see it more as making test cases IRL. you're finding problems to consider and making sure your solution can address for that (even if the solution already did). I'd still be relieved having someone would could consider potential issues that swiftly by my side.
- taneq 2y agoI once worked one project with (against?) a guy who saw his job as ‘finding problems before they happen’. It was fine at first but as the project progressed, he became more and more focused on proving that the project would fail. Every molehill was a mountain, and flat ground was just a tapestry of molehills. Eventually I realised that if the project didn’t fail, he felt superfluous.
- CoastalCoder 2y agoI've been that guy at various points. I thought I was being a valuable counterweight to developers who weren't thinking things through. But as you said, it can be taken to an unproductive excess. I managed to calibrate myself out of that, but it took longer than I'd have liked.
- sdwr 2y ago"Mountain out of a molehill" is better than lots of other possible approach angles. The core behaviour is grappling with the problem and looking for solutions.