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Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

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Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#231

Post by [deleted] »

hot_cereal wrote: post #203
jqcoffey wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Work with honest, intelligent people This is good advice that’s well intentioned, but (sorry), it can be interpreted as elitist, and in a way that’s detrimental to the reader. I am no way suggesting that this is the intention or belief of the parent, but while I’ve got more miles on my odometer than I’d prefer, they’ve informed me that “reasonable” is better than “intelligent.” My god how I’ve found that working wi…

Totally get where you're coming from, but it's also kinda splitting hairs. Being reasonable is part of being intelligent. Surrounding yourself with intelligent people doesn't necessarily mean "surround yourself with the highest IQ individuals you can find." (not saying you're saying that explicitly, just that i think you're just using a definition of intelligence that's narrower than the parent) Working well with oth…

[deleted]

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#232

Post by wolverine876 »

dasil003 wrote: post #205
zx8080 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> your days will be much better and the odds will be with you. In the context of one's effort valuation it seem to be a very bad advice. Unfortunately.

This kind jaded, reductive answer reeks of sour grapes. I've seen so many adopt a transactional mentality as a sort of defense mechanism against the indifference of the universe, and in the process they unintentionally blind themselves to numerous daily examples of people just trying to do the right thing. Sure the world has problems, but if we can't see both the good and the bad then we become embittered and small,…

> I've seen so many adopt a transactional mentality as a sort of defense mechanism against the indifference of the universe

Well thought and expressed. Thanks.

> numerous daily examples of people just trying to do the right thing

And most people reading HN can do that.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#233

Post by Spooky23 »

hakunin wrote: post #27

I've been contemplating the issue in the headline, as pertains to my value. When I help somebody in 40 mins with something they've been stuck on for 3 months, my value is clear to everyone. When I work there the whole time, and nobody ever gets stuck for 3 months, my value is unclear. Don't know how to deal with this paradox.

I think there’s a “this is life” aspect and a “this organization is immature aspect”.

A mature organization respects the process that prevents getting stuck for 3 months. But… they may be more stable and less nimble. Boring orgs don’t like heroes.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#234

Post by lumost »

hakunin wrote: post #27

I've been contemplating the issue in the headline, as pertains to my value. When I help somebody in 40 mins with something they've been stuck on for 3 months, my value is clear to everyone. When I work there the whole time, and nobody ever gets stuck for 3 months, my value is unclear. Don't know how to deal with this paradox.

The problem may be in the relative value contribution. A senior eng that rights a project on 3 days which had been going on for 6 months is incredibly high value/he work.

A Sr eng who spends 6 months coaching a junior engineer has much lower value/hour.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#236

Post by Pet_Ant »

fatihpense wrote: post #189
Pet_Ant wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Another variation on the problem is the over-allocation of resources to preventing problems which actually happened once, versus those that are more severe but haven't happened yet. I've heard this called "institutional scarring" in a blog post somewhere. The idea is a small wound can be replaced with tough inflexible tissue. The jist of the blog post was that just because something happened, doesn't mean you have…

I remember this blog post, it was also a chapter in their book Rework https://signalvnoise.com/archives2/dont_scar_on_the_first_cu...

For posterity: the term is actually "organizational scar tissue" not "institutional scarring".

Surprised you found it despite my butchery!

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#237

Post by treflop »

jqcoffey wrote: post #190
wolverine876 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Life and its rewards aren't perfect. Work with honest, intelligent people; genuinely do your best; your days will be much better and the odds will be with you.

> Work with honest, intelligent people This is good advice that’s well intentioned, but (sorry), it can be interpreted as elitist, and in a way that’s detrimental to the reader. I am no way suggesting that this is the intention or belief of the parent, but while I’ve got more miles on my odometer than I’d prefer, they’ve informed me that “reasonable” is better than “intelligent.” My god how I’ve found that working wi…

I know OP already responded but people who are smart, kind, and are down to earth are special. You have to keep them close, and it’s pure bliss if you find a company filled with them.

It’s life goals to be smart, kind, and down to earth. It really comes from a LOT of experience though.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#238

Post by Panzer04 »

WalterBright wrote: post #219
godelski wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And people who comment their code. Even if it is just a little. I swear, 90% of my time in coding is just fiddling around with functions to see what they do so that I can actually pull them together in the right way. If there was just a little documentation this would greatly reduce my time. It should also be in every team's and company's best interest because people hours are expensive. It should also be in the best…

Documentation exists in one of these states: 1. incomplete 2. wrong 3. missing My goal is to write code that is so clear it doesn't need documentation.

Some functions are doing jobs well-defined enough that this is sufficient, but there's plenty that aren't and do deserve additional explanation.

I don't want to read the code of your function to figure out what its doing. I want to read the function signature, and if that's not clear enough a comment explaining its purpose and parameters. Code explains how it does something, but often does not clearly explain what that something is.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#239

Post by bruce511 »

hakunin wrote: post #27

I've been contemplating the issue in the headline, as pertains to my value. When I help somebody in 40 mins with something they've been stuck on for 3 months, my value is clear to everyone. When I work there the whole time, and nobody ever gets stuck for 3 months, my value is unclear. Don't know how to deal with this paradox.

Presumably that's not -all- you do? Or did you sit around for 3 months going quietly mad waiting?

Assuming you are doing other things make sure that is visible.

Also why did your colleague wait 3 months to ask you for help? A couple days would be OK, a month would be crazy. You should poll them and not wait for an interrupt.

Re: Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened (2001) [pdf]

#240

Post by hresvelgr »

jqcoffey wrote: post #190
wolverine876 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Life and its rewards aren't perfect. Work with honest, intelligent people; genuinely do your best; your days will be much better and the odds will be with you.

> Work with honest, intelligent people This is good advice that’s well intentioned, but (sorry), it can be interpreted as elitist, and in a way that’s detrimental to the reader. I am no way suggesting that this is the intention or belief of the parent, but while I’ve got more miles on my odometer than I’d prefer, they’ve informed me that “reasonable” is better than “intelligent.” My god how I’ve found that working wi…

> This is good advice that’s well intentioned, but (sorry), it can be interpreted as elitist, and in a way that’s detrimental to the reader.

There's nothing wrong with elitism as long as it leads to initiation rather than gatekeeping.

> My god how I’ve found that working with reasonable people is so much healthier.

Could not agree more. Most people can be trained well to do any job required of them. What cannot be trained, and certainly at the behest of the employer is interpersonal skills.

The one situation where I would prefer someone who is intelligent at the expense of being personable is if I intended to hire 2-3 absolute weapons to be the core of a startup.

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