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You are misinterpreting. He’s talking about how at big companies, you always have people who don’t seem to bring any actual value. They're in every meeting,

You are misinterpreting. He’s talking about how at big companies, you always have people who don’t seem to bring any actual value. They're in every meeting, but don't say anything, don't set any direction, don't produce any documents or any code, don't exhibit any sense of urgency or even involvement, and don't contribute in any noticeable way. "NPCs." They are completely passive as far as you can tell -- or worse, they actively slow others down when they happen to be on some critical approval path. I'm sure they are lovely people outside work, and loving parents and good citizens. But when the rest of us are busting our butts to get work done, they're unfortunately useless.

Aeolun 2y ago
Negatively Producing Characters? Or maybe Null Producing Characters.
- nunez 2y ago
  Non playable characters He's calling them filler, basically
dclowd9901 2y ago
They're still people. Just because the company doesn't motivate them or they have a bad manager or are on a bad team or a million other reasons they don't feel empowered to "participate" (specious since clearly they're employed) doesn't mean you can act like they're soulless bots ffs. This whole mindset has got to go. You and OP going around like this, it's gross for the world and it's a bad look on you.
- lazide 2y ago
  sounds like you’re just shaming OP for trying to actually get something done by recognizing practical realities. If everyone matters the same, no one matters.
  - entropicdrifter 2y ago
    What matters is relative to one's perspective. Nothing objectively matters. Nobody's saying everyone is of equal value, they're saying that reducing your perception of somebody into a 2-dimensional caricature because you don't perceive value in them is the type of disgusting mental habit of somebody who either has no real friends or soon will have none.
    - khazhoux 2y ago
      Have you ever said about someone, "that guy's an asshole"? If so, you reduced them into a caricature, and you should have instead said "that guy behaved in the manner of an asshole, though I trust that he is otherwise a fully-actualized individual with a life of his own, and with factors outside my visibility that impact his decisions and behaviors."
      - dclowd9901 2y ago
        Was this intended to be a "gotcha"? I might be giving people more credit than they deserve but I'm pretty sure most people don't relegate folks to "simply an asshole and nothing more". It's just a quick way to say "that guy was being an asshole just then." Also, it's not apples and oranges comparing a spoken remark in the heat of the moment to a thoughtful, written out blog post.
benwad 2y ago
The guy who started a video conferencing app called Loom (2 years after Zoom came out) then miraculously sold it for almost a billion dollars has no business calling anyone an "NPC".
- kristianp 2y ago
  I goes to show that being 2nd to market or even 4th or 5th isn't a big barrier. Competitors have the advantage of an existing market, whereas the innovator has to explain to the customer what their product is.
callmeal 2y ago
>and don't contribute in any noticeable way. >They are completely passive as far as you can tell Fundamental attribution error strikes again? Reminds me of the apocryphal/anecdotal tale of the management conultant who wanted to fire a "secretary" who he could only find taking coffee breaks and long lunches with lots of different people, only to be told (or finding out after the firing) that the person in question was critical to inter-team dynamics and functioning.
cdaringe 2y ago
It’s a very easy trap to think that all of these idiots aren’t doing anything. However, the more you talk to them, the more you realize that not only are they doing something, they’re definitely not idiots, and many of them are doing the best they can with what they’ve been given. You get some leeches in there. You get some jerks. They’re the exception, not the rule, even in ur big globocorps.

Aeolun 2y ago

Negatively Producing Characters? Or maybe Null Producing Characters.

nunez 2y ago
Non playable characters He's calling them filler, basically

dclowd9901 2y ago

They're still people. Just because the company doesn't motivate them or they have a bad manager or are on a bad team or a million other reasons they don't feel empowered to "participate" (specious since clearly they're employed) doesn't mean you can act like they're soulless bots ffs. This whole mindset has got to go. You and OP going around like this, it's gross for the world and it's a bad look on you.

lazide 2y ago
sounds like you’re just shaming OP for trying to actually get something done by recognizing practical realities. If everyone matters the same, no one matters.
- entropicdrifter 2y ago
  What matters is relative to one's perspective. Nothing objectively matters. Nobody's saying everyone is of equal value, they're saying that reducing your perception of somebody into a 2-dimensional caricature because you don't perceive value in them is the type of disgusting mental habit of somebody who either has no real friends or soon will have none.
  - khazhoux 2y ago
    Have you ever said about someone, "that guy's an asshole"? If so, you reduced them into a caricature, and you should have instead said "that guy behaved in the manner of an asshole, though I trust that he is otherwise a fully-actualized individual with a life of his own, and with factors outside my visibility that impact his decisions and behaviors."
    - dclowd9901 2y ago
      Was this intended to be a "gotcha"? I might be giving people more credit than they deserve but I'm pretty sure most people don't relegate folks to "simply an asshole and nothing more". It's just a quick way to say "that guy was being an asshole just then." Also, it's not apples and oranges comparing a spoken remark in the heat of the moment to a thoughtful, written out blog post.

benwad 2y ago

The guy who started a video conferencing app called Loom (2 years after Zoom came out) then miraculously sold it for almost a billion dollars has no business calling anyone an "NPC".

kristianp 2y ago
I goes to show that being 2nd to market or even 4th or 5th isn't a big barrier. Competitors have the advantage of an existing market, whereas the innovator has to explain to the customer what their product is.

callmeal 2y ago

>and don't contribute in any noticeable way. >They are completely passive as far as you can tell Fundamental attribution error strikes again? Reminds me of the apocryphal/anecdotal tale of the management conultant who wanted to fire a "secretary" who he could only find taking coffee breaks and long lunches with lots of different people, only to be told (or finding out after the firing) that the person in question was critical to inter-team dynamics and functioning.

cdaringe 2y ago

It’s a very easy trap to think that all of these idiots aren’t doing anything. However, the more you talk to them, the more you realize that not only are they doing something, they’re definitely not idiots, and many of them are doing the best they can with what they’ve been given. You get some leeches in there. You get some jerks. They’re the exception, not the rule, even in ur big globocorps.