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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

#81

Post by ericmcer »

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.

Yeah agree, I have worked with tons of smart people, talented people, people whose parents had them coding in elementary school, but only one person I would consider brilliant.

It was jarring how he instantly understood any line of reasoning I was going down. There was no need for context or lengthy background explanations, he would just see what you were doing. That was in most areas also, politics, programming, philosophy, etc.

It was refreshing because conveying information to him was effortless, he needed like 20% of the info that is usually required when explaining something to another person. I don't know how one could achieve that other than just being gifted at absorbing and processing information.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#82

Post by bloodyplonker22 »

clintonc wrote: post #14

This reads as a cynical description by someone who identifies as a "skilled pragmatist" (as I do, incidentally), but it doesn't seem to have a useful point of view. For example, "playing the system" and "making waves" have other names -- "driving initiatives" and "cross-team collaboration". They seem like "mushy" phrases because they are not well-defined sets of tasks like "deliver feature A" can become. Are skilled…

As much as I dislike politics, honestly, it sounds like he was out-maneuvered by someone who works less hard. Think Frank Grimes.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#83

Post by kerblang »

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…

I agree: It's not 75%. But you're suddenly substituting the word "brilliant" for "pragmatic" and that's kinda questionable. It might be that you define brilliant differently than some others, so that IQ is much less significant than pragmatism itself in your equation of brilliance; but if you think IQ -> pragmatic, I disagree. I think they're orthogonal.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#84

Post by UncleOxidant »

swagasaurus-rex wrote: post #49

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…

But the greatest of these things is Control.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#85

Post by petepete »

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.

20-40 mins an hour here chief.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#86

Post by erikerikson »

vkou wrote: post #34
hinkley wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll be you ten bucks they got rid of people who bring up bad news and kept the yes-men. A company that doesn’t know what’s broken is doomed to mediocrity. But some people want to play music while the ship sinks. So they arrange for the most pleasant rest of the voyage they can, instead of saving as many people as they can.

Unless they are given meaningful equity, it's not their ship, and regardless of whether it is or isn't, unlike the shareholders and creditors, they won't be sinking with it. If you want worker interests to be even a little aligned with owner interests, the correct corporate structure is not an S corp, or a C corp, it is some flavor of worker co-op. And even then, it can't grow too big.

A co-op only attenuates to employees. There are better options. Example: FairShares Commons

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#87

Post by mlhpdx »

NateEag wrote: post #63

This is an appealing narrative without evidence. How does the author know Marias make up the majority of most companies? Where's the data supporting that claim? It may be true - it sounds plausible to those of us who've been a Maria in the salt mines of a dysfunctional company. It appeals to us to think we're the hidden gems the company needs to invest in. Something being appealing doesn't make it true, though, even…

> This is an appealing narrative without evidence.

I had the same thought, but I’m grateful to the author for putting their opinions out for us to see.

It is an interesting quandary - getting “more” from someone, pragmatic or otherwise, raises questions. Is the premise that they aren’t providing value on a level with salary? Or, is it that the business has a right/obligation to extract more? The latter is offensive, fundamentally because “value” may be arbitrarily (perhaps capriciously) determined.

On the other hand, I find the folks suggesting that doing an hours work a day is fine. It’s not. That’s equally offensive.

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#88

Post by toomuchtodo »

hankchinaski wrote: post #22
luisgvv wrote: post #7

I 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 steal…

I have been doing this for years and I think it's the best output per hour worked strategy if you have a clear exit plan outside scaling the so-called ladder

> if you have a clear exit plan outside scaling the so-called ladder

Exit plan is FIRE. Everything else is circus and performance art. Others can play status games, I prefer wealth games: wealth is options and options are freedom.

Pragmatic, smart, skilled people are extracted from unless lucky and in a position to see outsized returns from their effort. Better to know what enough is, collect enough freedom coins, and enjoy the one go you get at life.

(n=1, ymmv, "show me the incentives, and I'll show you the outcome")

Re: The biggest source of waste is untapped skilled pragmatists

#89

Post by hinkley »

ericmcer wrote: post #81
bjornsing wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Yeah agree, I have worked with tons of smart people, talented people, people whose parents had them coding in elementary school, but only one person I would consider brilliant. It was jarring how he instantly understood any line of reasoning I was going down. There was no need for context or lengthy background explanations, he would just see what you were doing. That was in most areas also, politics, programming, phi…

He was probably an HSP, which by some estimates is 15% of the population. HSP plus high IQ makes up a lot of people you would label “scary smart”.
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