The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
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The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
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Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#2Real
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#3This is from part 2, but wow...
> Do not use mushy words like ... ownership,
If you think ownership is just mushy words, you've never given someone ownership. Giving someone ownership isn't just mush. It's real, and can have real impact. Of course, this also literally means giving them some actual, real, legal ownership in that project and it's results.
This is especially hypocritical when paired with an "actual example"
> The intended outcome is to increase the rate at which we create value for customers, facilitate easier troubleshooting, decrease downtime, enable more developers to work across different code bases seamlessly and improve developer morale.
Talk about mush. That's just one part of a completely mushy "behavioral statement" that just reeks of insincerity and mush. This is also covered under specifics, and the entire thing lacks ANY specifics.
Give them ownership. Real ownership, not this fake "ownership" that clearly comes from someone who doesn't know what the word means. Give them power to drive direction and results, and reward them for that.
There are more things that could be said about this, but honestly, reading that, it just screamed hypocrisy.
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#4This is from part 2, but wow... > Do not use mushy words like ... ownership, If you think ownership is just mushy words, you've never given someone ownership. Giving someone ownership isn't just mush. It's real, and can have real impact. Of course, this also literally means giving them some actual, real, legal ownership in that project and it's results. This is especially hypocritical when paired with an "actual exam…
I disagree with you. I spent most of my career in a great company that is privately owned (famous billionaire.) The company pays extremely well but does not provide any sort of "legal ownership" as you describe.
Still, I felt massive ownership of stuff I've .. well .. "owned" and I benefited financially and emotionally from it. I am no longer at the company but I have pride in what I've built there and the fact that it still exists and generates tremendous value.
On the financial side of things, people (leadership) think of certain people as owning/driving certain things, because we do. So even though I am not the legal owner of platform X, you go get to have some good reviews for having created and nurtured that thing which is now creating goodness.
After I left the company, my wife and I were in the south of Argentina on an ice trek. Started talking to a fellow trekker, who turns out what in finance. I told him that I used to be in finance and had built systems X and Y - and he was like "you're the guy?! I use those things every day, they are game changing in our industry." That felt very good.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a chunk of equity in that company but it doesn't matter - I am still very happy in how "ownership mentality" worked out in terms of $ and pride.
To be clear it takes two to tango. I'd never operate like this in a place that didn't reward me for operating this way.
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#5I’d add that this breakdown needs to include the naive. I found most overworkers never thought about questioning the purpose to tasks or working long hours.
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#6This is from part 2, but wow... > Do not use mushy words like ... ownership, If you think ownership is just mushy words, you've never given someone ownership. Giving someone ownership isn't just mush. It's real, and can have real impact. Of course, this also literally means giving them some actual, real, legal ownership in that project and it's results. This is especially hypocritical when paired with an "actual exam…
That line you cherry-picked is in the context of what someone else wants:
> Here is an example I worked out with a real person, imagining what they hoped the Marias on their team would do more often. In their mind, this is what "going above and beyond" looks like.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the author also thinks the statement in your second pull quote is mushy. It sounds about as mushy as the "fake ownership" stuff.
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#7I began as a junior dev and climbed up the ranks til the point where I became the SME in some areas of the product.
Got laid off because sales goals were not met while they retained people which I think were incompetent in their work. Even some guys which I think were better and more critical to the projects were dumped.
I'm not climbing that ladder by being proactive and "pragmatic" again...
Call me a paycheck stealer, quiet quitter etc.
Just give me some JIRA ticket and let me read books while I get my job done in 1-2 hours a day.
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#8[deleted]
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#9This is from part 2, but wow... > Do not use mushy words like ... ownership, If you think ownership is just mushy words, you've never given someone ownership. Giving someone ownership isn't just mush. It's real, and can have real impact. Of course, this also literally means giving them some actual, real, legal ownership in that project and it's results. This is especially hypocritical when paired with an "actual exam…
Ownership becomes mushy word, when you get to own duty and lack the power to make decisions.
Manager: you need to take ownership, meaning that you figure out requirements (and get the blame when requirements changes), you make the product and project decision (and get the blame, when for outcomes), you find all the people needed to figure out deploy details and no, you can't make decision about what we're using in production.
Employee: I'm better figure out how to cover my butt...
Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists
#10I've seen this firsthand...I think it is less of an issue at smaller companies where taking initiative and leaning into their intelligence is less politically restricted. At large organizations, often it requires too much energy for them navigate the bureaucracy and tap into their potential.