Glue Work Considered Harmful
seangoedecke.com
Glue Work Considered Harmful
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Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#2This is one reason that I like early startups: I can greatly influence how things are done, so that we have a high level of efficiency, so that we can remain on-mission.
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#3Another perspective is that "glue work" is one of the best ways you can generate outsized returns for your effort. Your own efforts scale linearly because you're just one person. Improving everyone's efforts scales multiplicatively, and compounds iteratively.
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#4> Your job is to execute the mission of your company’s leadership.
In a large company, aren't workers incentived to please their immediate manager and whatever higher metrics/appearances they're exposed to.
Neither of these guiding incentives necessarily has much to do with the mission of company leadership.
Isn't the job whatever the incentives say it is?
Maybe the difference between incentives -- and what the author is saying is the job is -- are related to the corporate inefficiency that the author talked about? (For example, an org chart path of imperfectly aligned, imperfectly competent managers means whatever your manager values is "inefficiently" traceable to the mission of company leadership?)
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#5Sometimes those "glue work" folks start their own startups and make millions
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#6> Are companies stupid
It doesn't sound glamorous for product, and they don't get the value of it most of the time.
And if they are deliberately against it - they are stupid indeed.
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#7I think this article treat result as the resaon, company didn't incentivize the "Glue work" is not purely they don't want to and also "They don't know how to do that".
Ask ourselves, calculate one's efficiency is already hard, how to calculate one's effectiveness on other's efficiency. Just like author said.
> If individual employees are willing to lift their local team to 80% or 90% efficiency by burning their time on glue work, companies will take that free value
They take it for granted without really calculating the benefit. That is part of the reason why a small, gifted, and high-efficiency startup can operate and take over these giant company.
It all depends on what you want to achieve
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#8With the possible exception of art, all work is glue work. If you believe your work isn't glue work, you're indulging hubris.
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#9I resent the explicit statement that as a non-leading contributor, its not in my best interest to invest in the team's success since I won't be personally rewarded.
maybe not, but if there's anything I can do to spend my time on a functional projects that are getting real things done instead of punching the clock with people who dont care and already know that its failed, I will choose to do that. I dont care if that helps someone in some way that perhaps they dont deserve.
Re: Glue Work Considered Harmful
#10This is called "influence" where I work.
> Practical, naive engineers gravitate to this work because it’s obviously useful
Ha! No. Quite the opposite.