This is gold. Concise and to the point. A lot of self-reflection must be put into this.
Managing People
11–20 of 98 posts
Re: Managing People
#12I identify with much in this blog post. One novelty argument: Managing is hard because it embodies the dialectic between capital and workers. Therefore a deep understanding of the Marxist critique (and exposé) of capital will help provide an analytical framing around what an effective manager needs to do. You can approach it from other lenses but they all break down due to the two polar forces most strongly at play.…
How do you feel about labor unions in tech or corporate environments? The labor move seems to have its roots in Marxism.
Re: Managing People
#13The author mentions firing people in almost every point. Is firing people in the US so easy that it is a go-to solution to solve these problems?
Re: Managing People
#14> Don't load your work onto others in the company.
I've seen this at companies small and large, especially where you might have a "politically" appointed manager, rather than someone a bit more useful.
It's also a favourite ploy of sociopathic but useless individual contributors, find someone to do your work for you, then repackage it as your own!
Re: Managing People
#15He makes it sound as if you can just fire people at will.
Presumably he is US-based, in which case you can. I did find the verbiage of "discontinuing" people rather unsettling, but otherwise it's a thoughtful piece that resonated with my experience.
I see he is based in Berlin, Germany (according to his LinkedIn) where it's extremely hard to fire people (especially for reasons he mentioned in the post) once they are past the 6 months probation period. This smells like he is giving advice that he didn't do himself. Firing people is a pain for all parties involved.
Re: Managing People
#16I identify with much in this blog post. One novelty argument: Managing is hard because it embodies the dialectic between capital and workers. Therefore a deep understanding of the Marxist critique (and exposé) of capital will help provide an analytical framing around what an effective manager needs to do. You can approach it from other lenses but they all break down due to the two polar forces most strongly at play.…
Very well said. This has indeed helped me too.
Re: Managing People
#17> Don't load your work onto others in the company. I've seen this at companies small and large, especially where you might have a "politically" appointed manager, rather than someone a bit more useful. It's also a favourite ploy of sociopathic but useless individual contributors, find someone to do your work for you, then repackage it as your own!
> It's also a favourite ploy of sociopathic but useless individual contributors, find someone to do your work for you, then repackage it as your own!
It seems like that could only work once or so per individual, unless there's some other kind of power dynamic in play. I know I wouldn't be put in that situation where someone takes credit for work I did more than once.
Re: Managing People
#18> you hired (or did not fire) the wrong people
Right, what if I didn't hire them? Am I supposed to break the laws of my country and just shitcan people willy nilly?
Re: Managing People
#19> Don't load your work onto others in the company. I've seen this at companies small and large, especially where you might have a "politically" appointed manager, rather than someone a bit more useful. It's also a favourite ploy of sociopathic but useless individual contributors, find someone to do your work for you, then repackage it as your own!
> It's also a favourite ploy of sociopathic but useless individual contributors, find someone to do your work for you, then repackage it as your own! It seems like that could only work once or so per individual, unless there's some other kind of power dynamic in play. I know I wouldn't be put in that situation where someone takes credit for work I did more than once.
Nobody would let it happen if they knew what was going on. And generally the types of people who get up to it don't go broadcasting it around.
Two particular examples stick in my mind. One was a serial desk dropper who would get snippets of information from everyone individually, then package it up as their own to report to a boss.
The second was an IT consultant, working for a major consulting firm, who would lean on junior team members for docs and slides, then just outright steal them to use in reports. The thinking being that junior team members don't get to read reports for management.
Re: Managing People
#20He makes it sound as if you can just fire people at will.
Well, can't you? Sure it depends on country, but the problem normally seems to be that companies want to fire people and not compensate them. I think most countries allows you to fire people pretty much when even, it's just that it can be rather expensive.
You can't fire pregnant women, that's almost impossible, you can't fire because of skin color, religion, handicaps (unless it prevents you from doing your job), but other than that you can normally just fire people if they aren't a good fit, in terms of both skills and personality.