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Ask HN: Why do so many CXOs hate talking to tech teams?

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Re: Ask HN: Why do so many CXOs hate talking to tech teams?

#41
post #21
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even mid managers have expressed similar concerns to me about finding it difficult to work with tech. E.g., a product manager has complained to me that they wanted a feature built which would have had a direct revenue impact but were stuck because the tech team wanted to "triage" which she didn't understand. Sounds to me that we need a "tech-to-normal" language translator.

Triage isn't a word that came out of tech, though. It's a term from the medical field, specifically for trauma care, and effectively means prioritisation under pressure. A product manager really should know and understand this, because it's not like it's impenetrable tech jargon. They should also be the ones making those prioritisation calls, albeit with a solid understanding of the real trade offs. In a situation li…

> A product manager really should know and understand this, because it's not like it's impenetrable tech jargon.

It's not tech jargon but it's a medical term, that has to do with people possibly dying or wounded soldiers that can't be handled, and now we're using it in tech? Ignoring the ridiculous overexaggerating that is, this is exactly the kind of jargon that techies will get mad at managers for using.

Just say what you want. "We have other priorities, how does this fit with those, and what item will have lower priority now?"

Re: Ask HN: Why do so many CXOs hate talking to tech teams?

#42

All of the comments here about engineering being too focused on frameworks/languages/etc can be absolutely true, but I could say similar things about any functional area in every business because each area is driven by their specific incentive structure. For example, is difficult to talk to because: -Sales - All they are focused on is driving sales and numbers against the multipliers and metrics the head of sales has…

> Non-Tech Perspective - Tech people are difficult to work with because they are more likely to say "no" to new ideas.

This is really important. Many tech people (to non-tech) come across as finding ways things WON'T work as opposed to providing solutions. I see this happen all the time.

Good tech people mature and realize this and that eventually leads to leadership roles.

Re: Ask HN: Why do so many CXOs hate talking to tech teams?

#45
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Triage isn't a word that came out of tech, though. It's a term from the medical field, specifically for trauma care, and effectively means prioritisation under pressure. A product manager really should know and understand this, because it's not like it's impenetrable tech jargon. They should also be the ones making those prioritisation calls, albeit with a solid understanding of the real trade offs. In a situation li…

> A product manager really should know and understand this, because it's not like it's impenetrable tech jargon. It's not tech jargon but it's a medical term, that has to do with people possibly dying or wounded soldiers that can't be handled, and now we're using it in tech? Ignoring the ridiculous overexaggerating that is, this is exactly the kind of jargon that techies will get mad at managers for using. Just say w…

Except that the semantic shift of triage to also meaning any under pressure prioritisation of too-scarce resources, including in a project sense, is decades-old and predates its usage in tech. This is a case of tech adopting business jargon, not the other way around.

Even if the product manager wasn't familiar with the term itself, they'd surely be familiar with the idea of prioritising incoming tasks by importance and value and moving out work with lower scores. A simple question should've allowed them to link the word and the concept in their heads. This is unlike true tech jargon, where both the word itself and the underlying concept might be completely unfamiliar to anyone outside of tech and difficult to understand.

You shouldn't have to explain prioritisation to a product manager.

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