How to have less or no politics in a software development company
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
A semi-flattened hierarchy is the only way to work it, with you at the top, and everyone else below. At the first sign of disagreement, shoot the lowly dog that disagrees with you. That should keep things under control for a while.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Kevin McFarlane wrote:
when the new software company grows into a giant?
Don't grow into a giant? Seriously, growing into a gargantuan company is a conscious choice that get's made by one or more people in the company, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Focus on your product, focus on your customers, and work within sustainable limits.
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
Jim Crafton wrote:
Don't grow into a giant? Seriously, growing into a gargantuan company is a conscious choice that get's made by one or more people in the company, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Focus on your product, focus on your customers, and work within sustainable limits.
I just said, almost exactly, this very thing, just the other day ... it is so very true.
:..::. Douglas H. Troy ::..
Bad Astronomy |VCF|wxWidgets|WTL -
Kevin McFarlane wrote:
I remember reading a tale about how the new Start menu in Vista was arrived at. May have been on the Joel site?
he linked to it... http://moishelettvin.blogspot.com/2006/11/windows-shutdown-crapfest.html[^]
The European Way of War: Blow your own continent up. The American Way of War: Go over and help them.
Thanks.
Kevin
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Jim Crafton wrote:
Don't grow into a giant? Seriously, growing into a gargantuan company is a conscious choice that get's made by one or more people in the company, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Focus on your product, focus on your customers, and work within sustainable limits.
I just said, almost exactly, this very thing, just the other day ... it is so very true.
:..::. Douglas H. Troy ::..
Bad Astronomy |VCF|wxWidgets|WTLSo why the hell does no one seem to really bother giving it try? Why the obsession, note emphasis on "obsession" with being the absolute biggest company? Given all the evidence that things quickly go downhill, for the product, for the customer, for employees, etc, why do people insist on pursuing this as a long term goal?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics?
Make your company a two man outfit. People invariably rub eachother up the wrong way sooner or later, it's in our nature. In a two man outfit that could turn into a disagreement, an argument or an all-out fist fight but it'll never be political. Get a third person in, however, and it will always be a political game as each side participating in the argument tries to convice this third entity of the rightness of their ideological position and why their oponent is a complete and utter arse-head.
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
i prefer an iron-fisted dictatorship. any dissent or gossip is crushed mercilessly and the people work in perpetual fear of angering the boss.
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
There are always politics in ANY company, because politics is knowing who you can and cannot call "dipshit" to their face during the course of a normal work day.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
i prefer an iron-fisted dictatorship. any dissent or gossip is crushed mercilessly and the people work in perpetual fear of angering the boss.
Yes, I was going to say that. "My way or the highway."
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
But let's say you are starting a new software company.
Treat everybody as an equal. Treat everybody the same way - just because the receptionist doesn't cut code doesn't make them any less important than the star coder. Criticise in private and praise in public - and don't punish people for disagreeing with you; everybody is entitled to an opinion. Finally - no mandatory overtime. If you've got a problem with schedule slippage then it generally means that you've screwed up. Don't try to punish somebody else for your mistakes; suck it up and take it like an adult.
"WPF has many lovers. It's a veritable porn star!" - Josh Smith
As Braveheart once said, "You can take our freedom but you'll never take our Hobnobs!" - Martin Hughes.
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics?
Can't be done. You have people with preferences; you have friendships and patronage; you have arguments and persuasion; you have bartering and favors and politics. All you can really do is choose where you work, who you want to work for, and, if you own the company, who will work for you (do they share your vision?). It's just like life, in general. You can't choose your relatives, but you can choose your friends.
m.bergman
-- For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.
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So why the hell does no one seem to really bother giving it try? Why the obsession, note emphasis on "obsession" with being the absolute biggest company? Given all the evidence that things quickly go downhill, for the product, for the customer, for employees, etc, why do people insist on pursuing this as a long term goal?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
Jim Crafton wrote:
Why the obsession
the ideology of progress we always think bigger and more is better- and because we believe that with every fiber of our being, when we even think about "what is better", we automatically associate "bigger and more". the association is so quick and so powerfully convincing we don't even feel the need to pause and reconsider that conclusion. we just go with it. and that's not just business- that's pretty much everything. which house is better => the bigger one car => the SUV hardware spec => the one with more HHD, more RAM, more, more, more TV => the huge one company => the corporation and then consider the external priming. because *most folk think bigger is more, they spend easier with the brand name bigger company than they do with the little guy. in fact, even calling them the little guy or the unknown is a major clue. our language betrays reveals our conditioning. so the automatic thinking for a start up is to NOT be the little guy since that will equal less revenue. obviously, not everyone thinks and behaves that way. i know many who have a *small business and lead super-content, happy, fruitful and productive lives doing what they love doing and just getting on with it (and i would have to include myself in that group too :) i think as programmers, we (some of us, that is) have come to the conclusion that less is sometimes (if not always) more and hence better. or more accurately worded: sometimes "bigger" can be almost as good as "less"- almost ;)
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
If you place your offices in North Korea, I am told that the Politics talk becomes non-existant. If it does happen, the employee becomes non-existent.
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics?
Although I have not read this book, I did put it in my "Saved Items" at least, due to the great reviews at Amazon.com -- "Beautiful Teams: Inspiring and Cautionary Tales from Veteran Team Leaders" by Andrew Stellman + Jennifer Greene. I so love case-history-books, been-there-done-that beats untested theory. New at $35, the "41 used-and-new from $25" tends to confirm this, often the used-price is much lower.
pg--az
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
Train people to follow Covey's advices in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People[^]) And use Agile / XP values like simplicity, communication, feedback, courage, respect for everyone (not limited to software people) Cheers
gzo
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Let me get it straight first: Wherever there are people there will be some kind of politics? I also sincerely feel that some environments breed politics much more than some other environments. But let's say you are starting a new software company. What kind of environment and hierarchy, do you think will have reduced politics? Flattened hierarchy comes to my mind first. What else?
First, even small environments (single digit employee rolls) have politics. That aside, the best way to avoid politics is from the top down. The people on the bottom of the totem pole tend to emulate those above them (it's actually printed in books that you should do this to advance and succeed in the workplace). So if your CEO, administration, managers and supervisors are all acting relatively politic-free, your environment will benefit from the same. The best manager I had kept politics above him invisible to his reports. When he came in, it was simply, "Captain on Deck. Status reports and concerns people." He was very kind, he listened and was very understanding. In a company of several thousand employees (Lockheed Martin), I never felt the politics that went on in the company until I transferred to another manager who was not quite as good.
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On further reflection, I see the larger context of what you're asking. I agree that destructive politics can be mitigated by the right setting, and the right motivators. So what you're asking is not ridiculous, just wasn't clear to me at first. :-O
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
On further reflection, I see the larger context of what you're asking. I agree that destructive politics can be mitigated by the right setting, and the right motivators. So what you're asking is not ridiculous, just wasn't clear to me at first. Red faced
It's important for the leaders in a software team to set a good example, by not engaging in destructive politics themselves, and immediately putting a stop to any they see going on. Unfortunately it is usually the leaders that are the worst offenders...
