Non-Hierarchical Management
aaronsw.com
Non-Hierarchical Management
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Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#2I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant." The problem is, that the people who get promoted, don't.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#3There is a lot of advice here, but the part about hiring seems to me by far the most important. Firstly, it's actionable - it sets a very specific guideline to follow. Secondly, it's crucial for the other things to work. If you don't hire the right people - those that are interested in building whatever you're building, no management voodoo will save you.
I have never found the traditional methods of hiring — resumés, interviews, quizzes — to be helpful at all. Instead, I look at two things: what someone has done and whether I enjoy spending time with them. The first shows not just their talent but also their ability to execute. If they haven't made something interesting, whether as a side project or at a previous job, then they’re probably not worth hiring. It's not that hard to sit down and accomplish something; be wary of people who haven't.
Similarly, you need to keep in mind that you're not just hiring a robot — you're hiring a flesh-and-blood human who you're going to need to spend a lot of time with during the day. That means they need to be someone you not just get along with, but enjoy being around. A formal interview, with all its stress and structure and contrivance, is a pretty bad environment for seeing if you like someone. Instead, just go get coffee and chat.
And also:
there are few things more fun than working hard with a really nice, talented group of people.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#4I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant." The problem is, that the people who get promoted, don't.
I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant."
I agree that "manager as a servant" is a good ideal, but not realistic, but for a different reason. It seems pretty obvious: "manager as a servant" clashes quite a bit with "manager decides who gets [fired|a bonus]", with "manager is usually older/more experienced", and also with "manager gets paid more".
The problem is, that the people who get promoted, don't.
Not in my experience. The place I work, the CTO (a non-coder for quite some time) gets it when it comes to being unassertive, taking all the blame, and none of the credit.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#5[deleted]
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#6Nice article. I would have liked to see more discussion of motivation. Nothing is more important as far as I'm concerned.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#7I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant." The problem is, that the people who get promoted, don't.
I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant." I agree that "manager as a servant" is a good ideal, but not realistic, but for a different reason. It seems pretty obvious: "manager as a servant" clashes quite a bit with "manager decides who gets [fired|a bonus]", with "manager is usually older/more experienced", and also with "manager gets paid more". The problem is, that the people who get promoted, d…
Why can't we go whole-hog on the "manager as servant" direction, then? Content creators hire/fire their managers. Money flows from those actually making it, downward. In tough times, people downsize by firing their boss. You give your manager performance reviews.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#8I was nodding in agreement at most every point, and then I wondered why there are no citations and whether Aaron has experience successfully using this strategy.
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#9There is a lot of advice here, but the part about hiring seems to me by far the most important. Firstly, it's actionable - it sets a very specific guideline to follow. Secondly, it's crucial for the other things to work. If you don't hire the right people - those that are interested in building whatever you're building, no management voodoo will save you. I have never found the traditional methods of hiring — resumés…
I couldn't agree more. If you don't have people that are interested in what they're doing and happy working with the other people that are also doing what they're doing, then you're going to have a weakest link scenario on your hands. The dead weight will be unhappy because they don't like what they're doing, and everyone else will be unhappy because they have to pull the dead weight (and the dead weight is complaining about being pulled!).
Re: Non-Hierarchical Management
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I fundamentally believe in this idea of "manager as servant." I agree that "manager as a servant" is a good ideal, but not realistic, but for a different reason. It seems pretty obvious: "manager as a servant" clashes quite a bit with "manager decides who gets [fired|a bonus]", with "manager is usually older/more experienced", and also with "manager gets paid more". The problem is, that the people who get promoted, d…
Why can't we go whole-hog on the "manager as servant" direction, then? Content creators hire/fire their managers. Money flows from those actually making it, downward. In tough times, people downsize by firing their boss. You give your manager performance reviews.
this is how i wish the bank bailout had gone. instead of essentially giving the ceos and other top bosses money, fire those suckers and get some fresh minds in to take responsibility. the government should be investing like an actual investor who wants to get their money back.