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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

#41

Post by TheGRS »

This post is an introduction to the idea and then as a Part 2 for actions to take. For anyone who hasn't continued into Part 2, it goes into first steps on listening to different performers in your company and basically doing research on what makes everyone tick. There will be a follow-up Part 3. Just want to say that's an interesting way to blog, but a little unsatisfying since I'm not sure if I'll keep coming back for new updates every week.

Interesting topic though! I consider myself both self-motivated and a little lazy at heart so I think I fall into the skilled pragmatist. For me personally it was that realization that I wasn't going to be the 4.0 student, but that I could still get a great 3.5 by doing a lot less work. Sometimes I crank out tons of extra work that helps various people by the simple virtue that its interesting to me. So I think this is hitting a chord with me somewhere.

I find myself in management these days, and the people I manage are all great and talented and as far as I can tell no one is upset with my laissez-faire management style. But I'm always wanting to find how to make the job more interesting for them. The roadmap can often be kind of boring work. When we have interesting projects the work just flies by and you can see the satisfaction on everyone's faces. Would love to just have more of that.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#42

Post by JohnMakin »

I'd categorize myself as a "Barry" - which he seems to define in part II of this blog post as someone who is willing to take great personal and career risks to rock the boat, and will even risk getting fired to get their job done - it has usually cost me a lot in whatever organization I end up in. I think these people eventually become skilled pragmatists when burnt out, but I'm not sure he has any insight in these posts about how people become a "Maria."

IMO it's when Barry's finally realize that working their ass off and taking risk for the betterment of a company or leadership team that will not hesitate to take advantage of a Barry and/or ruthlessly cut him down when convenient. I guess by author's definition if a Barry became a Maria, he was never a Barry to begin with, but I do think this happens a lot. I see it in my own career path, with myself and some of my peers.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#43

Post by [deleted] »

the_cat_kittles wrote: post #38
switchbak wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Many of us are working hard, trying to get real work done. And spending 20-40 mins a day checking Hacker News :) Seriously though, don’t you feel bad by not pulling your weight? Someone has to get your work done.

this mindset only makes sense when the mission of the company is noble and appreciated by the greater community. otherwise you are a fool for having this attitude

[deleted]

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#44

Post by jf22 »

jasonlotito wrote: post #3

This 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…

How are you using the word hypocrisy here?

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#45

Post by [deleted] »

bjornsing wrote: post #39
hinkley wrote: post #16

I don’t think I can agree that 75% of the workforce falls into one quadrant. Particularly this one. If I’m very lucky the semi space contains 60% of my coworkers, if I’m unlucky (or arrive after the writing is on the wall) it’s more like 1/3. I suspect part of the confusion is that there are some people with enough political acumen to appear like frustrated agents of change without actually having the drive or skill…

> maybe 1/4 of the human population could be counted as very smart That’s a very generous assessment. To me someone who’s “brilliant” is more like 1/1000.

[deleted]

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#46

Post by blitzar »

sevagh wrote: post #25
sneak wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To assume all organizations reward or value expertise the same way is to cap your maximum lifetime earnings, methinks.

I'm in this trap right now a little bit. After a particularly egregious instance of feeling passed over for a promo, how can I trust that the next jerkoff won't do the same thing?

> how can I trust that the next jerkoff won't do the same thing

You 100% can trust that they will do the exact same thing, accept that you are always rolling the dice and progress at the irrational whim of some higher power in the organisation.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#47

Post by rybosworld »

Seb-C wrote: post #26
dakiol wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just give me some JIRA ticket and let me read books while I get my job done in 1-2 hours a day. Aren't we all (normal and decent people) doing this already?

As someone who cares about his work, has strong professional ethics and wisely chooses his employers to not end-up in such environments, no I don't. The worst places for me are precisely those where you can get by with 1~2h of work a day because no one cares and the company's culture does not value the time and skills of his workers.

> wisely chooses his employers to not end-up in such environments

This is a pretty common attitude. That is, "I'm able to pick better workplaces than you are".

It implies you have control over the other people that work at the company. And unless you're the CEO, you don't. You cannot with any certainty tell what a work environment is like in the interview stage.

You can job hop a half dozen times until you find a good fit. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But framing it as: "I pick better work environments than you" is an attitude I'd really like to see disappear. It ignores just how much of a role luck plays.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#48

Post by dwaltrip »

sevagh wrote: post #40
autoexecbat wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a pretty strong signal that your opinion of the value you're providing is not shared by those who are making the decisions. Regardless of if it's their own ignorance or not they aren't going to suddenly change their feelings about it.

Oh yeah, agreed; I quit the moment it happened. What I mean is now I'm sort of wary of the same situation re-occurring at the next place I work.

People aren’t all the same. It’s easy to forget this.

And it totally makes sense to be wary! That will help you pick a better place next time.

Although, to be fair, the average place probably closer to what you describe, meaning there is a limited supply of high quality places at the top end of the distribution.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#49

Post by swagasaurus-rex »

Enployees need three things to avoid becoming an uninspired cog:

1) Control

2) Responsibility

3) Recognition

Control and responsibility of a project but no recognition will demotivate quickly

Responsibility and recognition with no control means they’re a scapegoat for when things bad

Recognition and control with no responsibility is like a third party who will take credit but has no reason to ensure success

All three need to happen for an employee to care. If an employee is missing one or two of the three, they’ll feel it in their work

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#50

Post by ammasant »

switchbak wrote: post #24
dakiol wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just give me some JIRA ticket and let me read books while I get my job done in 1-2 hours a day. Aren't we all (normal and decent people) doing this already?

No. Many of us are working hard, trying to get real work done. And spending 20-40 mins a day checking Hacker News :) Seriously though, don’t you feel bad by not pulling your weight? Someone has to get your work done.

You falsely assume the only 'work' to be done is that immediately aligned with sprint velocity rather than all that done to make someone a valuable contributor in the first place (what your employer is actually paying for). The person who spends ~2 hours a day 'working' and the rest of their day on research, self-education, or more theoretical domains will become exponentially more valuable over time compared the most endurant hamster wheel runner as a function of qualitatively superior capabilities. Smart engineers realize this growth curve and alter their trajectory, benefitting both themselves and their employer long-term.
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