How come Elon Musk never says the names of any of the engineers working on products when he makes announcements on stage? The answer is because he doesn't want to share credit.
How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
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Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#62How come Elon Musk never says the names of any of the engineers working on products when he makes announcements on stage? The answer is because he doesn't want to share credit.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#63I mean, I feel like everyone hating on this article either: 1. has never had the misfortune of working with one of these people. "poser" devs who care more about "communicating up" and making a show of their (often quite trivial) contributions 2. has worked with people like this, but doesn't perceive the behavior described in the article, for whatever reason. A couple times in my life, not just in software, I have wo…
I remember the first time in my career I encountered someone like this. I thought I was mistaken or crazy, or just naive since I was new to corporate work. This person MUST do something or he'd have been fired! But after watching for weeks, then months, as he literally accomplished nothing, instead spending all his time self-promoting, taking credit for other people's accomplishments, and "managing upward", I was con…
Well, it sounds like whatever that person is doing is 'working' just fine for them then!
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#64I am happy to work at a tech company where your BS can be easily surfaced using pure logic. If you can't code and don't do good coding or designing then it does not give you enough leeway to BS.
This is precisely why there's a strong focus on deliverables in project management. You can have a meeting with 20+ people every day if you want, but if there's no deliverable that moves the project, it's a waste of cash and it hits the budget immediately.
Focus on deliverables and that outs the bullshitters very quickly.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work with a person like this now. He actually doesn't delegate a great deal despite being a project lead. He snows people with jargon, is often late to meetings, rarely comes into the office, and has produced no usable contributions in years. If I had acted as he does at any of my previous jobs, I would have been fired. I truly don't understand why he still has his position. The sad thing is that he'll probably get…
I have worked with similar people. It can be fun to take them down, if you're so inclined. It takes patience and discipline but it's oh so satisfying.
You should explain how it is done. I expect most people who are suffering in this sort of situation don't think it is possible to take such a person down, much less know how.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#66I comfortably and certainly fall into the first category. I'm not ever more than 90% confident...if you ask me directly what my confidence level is. I tend to be one who is labeled as not "smart".
You're not alone.
To make it worse I tend to start stuttering when asked things on the spot, even though I know the answers or could easily look up whatever info was asked for. I'm painfully aware this makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing. People generally don't have the patience to let me gather my thoughts and give a coherent explanation/answer.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#67I wonder why the higher-up managers aren't able to spot bullshitters, and if they could be trained to do so. It would certainly benefit their organizations.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#68I think people should stop trying to put others into categories to feel superior about themselves. People have a range of talents and shortcomings. No one is perfect.
So you are saying there are two sorts of people, those who put people in categories and those who don't, and you are the latter type. Ok.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#69This is all just delightfully postmodern.
Re: How Bullshitters Not Just Survive But Thrive (2016)
#70Not only that, we also sometimes worked on public holidays when everyone else was enjoying with their families This part is illegal as hell and pretty much sums up why a union is absolutely needed in some workplaces; to curb this kind of crap.
If it's in the US, it is by no means illegal to have employees work on public holidays.