5 ms·

I do similar things - DD, system repair (though I am usually much further up the stack to include product, organizational, and business structure issues), etc.

by joshu 12y ago

I do similar things - DD, system repair (though I am usually much further up the stack to include product, organizational, and business structure issues), etc. Unfortunately it is often on a favor basis rather than paid. I've been tempted several times to form the League of Extraordinary Gentlepersons or something similar. You broke it, we fix it.

thaumaturgy 12y ago
I would really love to see that, along with the occasional writeup from your adventures. (And don't forget to invite rachelbythebay, her troubleshooting posts are some of my favorite HN content.)
- rimantas 12y ago
  If you haven't read it yet this is the book you might enjoy: The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win.
  - thaumaturgy 12y ago
    Hmm, the book description makes it sound more like Yet Another Process Management book (e.g. "Lean ", "Waterfall ", "Six Sigma *", etc.) rather than a collection of nuts-and-bolts war stories. Is that not accurate? I leave the process management stuff up to other folks, they're better salespeople than I am. They get paid to beat other people into submission; I get paid to beat servers into submission. :-) (Though not in Jacques' or Rachel's league.)
fold 12y ago
What is DD short for? My google powers are not strong enough...
- GVRV 12y ago
  Due Diligence?
  - lutorm 12y ago
    It's also the hull class designation for a destroyer.
- reitanqild 12y ago
  Old unix tool . See also ddrecue, a (couple of) nifty variation(s) on the theme.
- joshu 12y ago
  Due dilligence.
wpietri 12y ago
That would be awesome. I've occasionally done rescues and it can be really fun. So often people aren't willing to listen about organizational problems. But once you have solved some ugly, expensive technical problem, they are suddenly much more willing to consider changes that will prevent them from having the same problem in the future. Perhaps some sort of league would solve some of the problems in doing that sort of work. E.g., the burstiness, the sudden need for specialized skills, the pipeline issues.
jacquesm 12y ago
That's more or less what I've been doing but informally. Making a corporate structure for something like this hard, I came up with a model a couple of years ago called 'The Modular Company' but the bookkeeping is a nightmare if you want it to be fair. Still, I keep coming back to it and one of these days, who knows...
- lifeisstillgood 12y ago
  I'm in an odd position of trying to form something like this (focused specifically on python development in finance). 2015 is hopefully going to be a good year - I actually have sort-of backing and if I can find time it might take off (god, just reading those caveats makes me wonder) Anyway - I would be interested in any thoughts or traps to avoid - if indeed we are talking about the same structures. Do drop me a line (contact details in profile)
  - jacquesm 12y ago
    ok, I'll do that tomorrow. 1:44 am now, bedtime for me.
  - pjungwir 12y ago
    Like in coding, complexity in a business partnership might be a warning. The book Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Meister has a lot of lessons for anyone running a traditional parter/associates firm, and the last part talks about splitting the profits. My read is that a "dumb" approach (equal split or simple seniority-based) is okay, and a "judgment" approach (publish criteria, but have a committee make the final decisions) is okay, but a metrics-based approach is risky. I agree, and for small operations I think the simpler the better. Anyway, if it's something you're thinking about, the book is a solid, meaty read.
- joshu 12y ago
  Yeah, maybe just consulting? I dunno. Getting paid would be nice, I usually just have an investor-type relationship.
  - 12y ago

by joshu 12y ago

thaumaturgy 12y ago

I would really love to see that, along with the occasional writeup from your adventures. (And don't forget to invite rachelbythebay, her troubleshooting posts are some of my favorite HN content.)

rimantas 12y ago
If you haven't read it yet this is the book you might enjoy: The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win.
- thaumaturgy 12y ago
  Hmm, the book description makes it sound more like Yet Another Process Management book (e.g. "Lean ", "Waterfall ", "Six Sigma *", etc.) rather than a collection of nuts-and-bolts war stories. Is that not accurate? I leave the process management stuff up to other folks, they're better salespeople than I am. They get paid to beat other people into submission; I get paid to beat servers into submission. :-) (Though not in Jacques' or Rachel's league.)

fold 12y ago

What is DD short for? My google powers are not strong enough...

GVRV 12y ago
Due Diligence?
- lutorm 12y ago
  It's also the hull class designation for a destroyer.
reitanqild 12y ago
Old unix tool . See also ddrecue, a (couple of) nifty variation(s) on the theme.
joshu 12y ago
Due dilligence.

wpietri 12y ago

That would be awesome. I've occasionally done rescues and it can be really fun. So often people aren't willing to listen about organizational problems. But once you have solved some ugly, expensive technical problem, they are suddenly much more willing to consider changes that will prevent them from having the same problem in the future. Perhaps some sort of league would solve some of the problems in doing that sort of work. E.g., the burstiness, the sudden need for specialized skills, the pipeline issues.

jacquesm 12y ago

That's more or less what I've been doing but informally. Making a corporate structure for something like this hard, I came up with a model a couple of years ago called 'The Modular Company' but the bookkeeping is a nightmare if you want it to be fair. Still, I keep coming back to it and one of these days, who knows...

lifeisstillgood 12y ago
I'm in an odd position of trying to form something like this (focused specifically on python development in finance). 2015 is hopefully going to be a good year - I actually have sort-of backing and if I can find time it might take off (god, just reading those caveats makes me wonder) Anyway - I would be interested in any thoughts or traps to avoid - if indeed we are talking about the same structures. Do drop me a line (contact details in profile)
- jacquesm 12y ago
  ok, I'll do that tomorrow. 1:44 am now, bedtime for me.
- pjungwir 12y ago
  Like in coding, complexity in a business partnership might be a warning. The book Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Meister has a lot of lessons for anyone running a traditional parter/associates firm, and the last part talks about splitting the profits. My read is that a "dumb" approach (equal split or simple seniority-based) is okay, and a "judgment" approach (publish criteria, but have a committee make the final decisions) is okay, but a metrics-based approach is risky. I agree, and for small operations I think the simpler the better. Anyway, if it's something you're thinking about, the book is a solid, meaty read.
joshu 12y ago
Yeah, maybe just consulting? I dunno. Getting paid would be nice, I usually just have an investor-type relationship.
- 12y ago