41–50 of 58 posts
They're going to pay me anyway. If it turns out later that their solution is unworkable, they'll probably pay me again.
Good article. The part about figuring out your boss' motivations is the best part. This is really the key to any interaction with another human being whether we're talking about speaking to an overseas technical support person, your boss, your mom, or your partner. 0. Realize your non-technical boss isn't some cartoonish, mustache-twirling villian with a fetish for poor technical solutions. He or she is picking them…
I believe Hanlon's Razor applies here:
| Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
There's some good advice in there, given with a horribly wrong intention. The good advice is to repeat the manager's argument, the way you understood it. However, if you do it to "loosen them up" and make them "more willing to work with you", then you're doing it for the wrong reason. The right reason is to verify whether you understood them correctly. Maybe they meant to say something else. Maybe the did something e…
When in a position of authority, I had the opposite problem: I often couldn't get people to disagree with me. This made it impossible to get to that discussion. (Maybe my ideas really were perfect, but I doubt it.)
Good article. The part about figuring out your boss' motivations is the best part. This is really the key to any interaction with another human being whether we're talking about speaking to an overseas technical support person, your boss, your mom, or your partner. 0. Realize your non-technical boss isn't some cartoonish, mustache-twirling villian with a fetish for poor technical solutions. He or she is picking them…
Good advice. The only thing I would say is that your boss, generally, has access to information about the wider department/company issues than you do. Even if their advice is the incorrect technical solution it could still be in the best interests of the company.
The most usual case is when the "technically superior" solution takes longer and there is looming work beyond the current project that the in-the-trenches person doesn't know about. Clients/customers pay for results, not for technical excellence.
When management picks "fast and dirty" over "solidly built" (not always wrong!) all we can really do is make sure they at least have an accurate understanding of the trade-offs and sacrifices they are asking for.
I am getting better at this all of the time, and at my current pace I expect to have this skill completely mastered by the time I am several centuries old!
A comment on the first comment of the article: "This last part reminds me of something recently. Because management needs to feel like they have control over what's going on, as a technical person, you should do the right thing, but only 90% when you show it to them and make the 10% that is miss quite obvious. The reason is so that when you present it to them, they can point out the missing piece of the project and f…
I couldn't agree more. Every time I read articles like this that suggest all these mind games and effort required to get simple tasks completed, I constantly wonder how nice it would be to work somewhere where none of that was necessary. This can't be the most efficient way of doing things. I think it's also a strong argument for having a management and executive team that is actually technical. Note: I find myself i…
>>"Note: I find myself in this exact situation at my current job - multiple non-technical managers that don't realize how much they don't know and constantly make asinine requirements or timelines and reject advice from more technical experts."
I'm surprised you did not find tips to apply in the article.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good advice. The only thing I would say is that your boss, generally, has access to information about the wider department/company issues than you do. Even if their advice is the incorrect technical solution it could still be in the best interests of the company.
Yes, totally. The most usual case is when the "technically superior" solution takes longer and there is looming work beyond the current project that the in-the-trenches person doesn't know about. Clients/customers pay for results, not for technical excellence. When management picks "fast and dirty" over "solidly built" (not always wrong!) all we can really do is make sure they at least have an accurate understanding…
Good article. The part about figuring out your boss' motivations is the best part. This is really the key to any interaction with another human being whether we're talking about speaking to an overseas technical support person, your boss, your mom, or your partner. 0. Realize your non-technical boss isn't some cartoonish, mustache-twirling villian with a fetish for poor technical solutions. He or she is picking them…
| Realize your non-technical boss isn't some cartoonish, mustache-twirling villian with a fetish for poor technical solutions. He or she is picking them for a reason, possibly a misguided reason. I believe Hanlon's Razor applies here: | Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
edit: How do I do italicized/blockquoted text? I've seen it done, but haven't found docs on how.
A comment on the first comment of the article: "This last part reminds me of something recently. Because management needs to feel like they have control over what's going on, as a technical person, you should do the right thing, but only 90% when you show it to them and make the 10% that is miss quite obvious. The reason is so that when you present it to them, they can point out the missing piece of the project and f…
Yeah, if you had an office populated with Vulcans and robots, I can see that strategy being effective for you. Unfortunately, as a functioning adult, you have to take other people's feelings into account, even when they are (GASP!) wrong. The reality is even if you are completely 1000% correct, if you don't give the other person a way to save face, they will fuck you over given the chance. The solution is simple - be…
I am a functioning adult, that's why I struggle with these issues instead of just cutting "the crap" out completely and causing relationship friction. It's just that as a mature adult who recognizes human irrationality, psychology, and short comings one would think we'd identify wasteful games and work to remove them. (Even I recognize I'm missing things and blind to my own biases. I don't mind if when people "call me out" on it so I can at least reflect on my behaviors and "short comings".)
Leaving outs and face saving opportunities is always a wise decision. I'm the first to defend someone when they choose to change their mind.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
| Realize your non-technical boss isn't some cartoonish, mustache-twirling villian with a fetish for poor technical solutions. He or she is picking them for a reason, possibly a misguided reason. I believe Hanlon's Razor applies here: | Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Also, it's probably better to think of one's boss's choices as due to ignorance rather than stupidity. The former is something you can help correct, and the latter is a poisonous (and usually incorrect) opinion which will often taint your feelings (and actions) towards them. edit: How do I do italicized/blockquoted text? I've seen it done, but haven't found docs on how.