The challenge is that it's very hard to understand 1 versus 2. It is very easy to measure energy level and hours. Just look around, and listen. In software,

The challenge is that it's very hard to understand 1 versus 2. It is very easy to measure energy level and hours. Just look around, and listen. In software, it is very hard to measure productivity. Lines of code doesn't work. Function points? Nah.... Who is building whose contributions? Many of the nice things (reliability, ease of maintenance, flexibility, ease of testing) that require design expertise take years to see. Add to this that it is very hard to deeply understand complexity of problems, and if the source is the problem itself or the environment. In the end, maybe the immediate manager knows all that's required, but if you get several layers up in the management chain, eventually you hit a non-technical boss. Unless you're at a software firm with a programmer-CEO. This is why it is important for technical folks to also be good communicators, and to "Work up" well.