Culture
Why the US Can’t Handle Crises
- Big Sugar buried the research from the 1950s that sugar (not fat) is linked to obesity, a very expensive healthcare problem. Low-fat foods added sugar to compensate for poor flavor, thus doubling the problem.
- Climate change is here, regardless of whether you think it’s man-made.
- We’re willfully ignorant in the US. Elected officials openly deny it. Sea level rise, acidification of oceans, violent weather events, wildfires, mosquitos spreading diseases because of longer warm seasons, islands disappearing –> refugees.
- Exxon researched the impact of CO2 increases so they could stay ahead of the competition (e.g., could the artic warm to make extraction easier?). Instead, they buried the research, funded opposition groups, and launched disinformation campaigns.
- There are 500K+ dead of COVID-19 in the US despite the fact that we’re the richest country.
- The initial response was denial, then it was politicized.
- It was important to keep people working so profits could keep coming in.
- Many businesses operate on razor-thin margins, so jobs were cut, people lost health insurance and their paycheck. Because we don’t have good social safety nets, people ran out of money. Some people also ran out of food.
- Landlords have thin margins as well, so people that couldn’t afford rent risked being homeless.
- Hospitals filled up, and people getting treated couldn’t afford it –> debt.
- Reminder: We are the only OECD country to not have some form of universal healthcare.
- Republicans: masks unnecessary, COVID = flu. Democrats: paid lip service to the science, but lied about how well they were handling it. General public: went to parties, restaurants, and the Super Bowl anyway because “freedom.”
- Other countries (e.g., Vietnam, New Zealand) with lower GDP per capita handled this far better. There are other capitalist countries that handled it better than the US — Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore — because they have safety nets intact.
- Social safety nets, healthcare, maternity leave, benefits, pensions, fair wages, etc. cost profit so we won’t do it.
- Crisis management isn’t profitable; just ignore and hope it goes away.
- Housing the homeless isn’t profitable. Low-level skirmishes in other countries work because war is profitable.
- Each generation is less well-off than the previous — student loan debt, rising costs of living, disruptive job market, lower wages when adjusted for inflation.
Leadership
Research: What Do People Need to Perform at a High Level? (via Harvard Business Review)
- They are clear about what they are expected to do.
- They are willing to ask questions and feel safe doing so.
- They are not overwhelmed with rules about how the work has to be done or with unproductive meetings.
- Their organization supports creative problem solving (e.g., implementing employee suggestions for improvements) and provides rewards and recognition for jobs well done.
- Supervisors notice and acknowledge employee feelings, understand how their decisions will impact employees, and help them manage their emotions.
- They see purpose and meaning in their work and are committed to their organization.
It’s Time to Free the Middle Manager (via Harvard Business Review)
“Instead of simply routing information between different groups, middle managers of the future will be tasked with leveraging digital tools optimized for tracking remote and hybrid workforces, and then focusing their own energy on building teams and developing talent. In addition, organizations will have to rethink traditional career paths, and begin to offer development tracks that enable individual contributors to advance without necessarily taking on people-management responsibilities.”
Leading engineers when you aren’t one yourself (via Software Lead Weekly)
There are ways to help lead and manage developers through knowledge of software development patterns (e.g., fixed scope project with far-out deadlines) that don’t require you to have deep technical knowledge. Also, it allows others to teach you concepts. Not every organization is mature enough to separate management and technical skills, so you may not be a good fit for some orgs.
Productivity
When You’re Stuck Working with a Slacker (via Harvard Business Review)
- Diagnose the problem; is there something else underlying it?
- Be introspective (is it fundamental attribution error?)
- Talk to your colleague to understand them better
- Talk to your boss (but be judicious) — discuss challenges, request joint feedback, look for other projects
- Define expectations
- Invite others in to change the team dynamic
- Cultivate other relationships
- Stop covering for them
4 Ways to Manage Your Energy More Effectively (via Harvard Business Review)
- Set upper and lower boundaries (what’s too much, what’s too little)
- Understand your tendency (start strong but run out of energy, slow pace with a mad rush to finish, oscillating between the extremes)
- Build in rest and recovery (humans are designed for cycles of activity and rest)
- Give yourself breathing room (e.g., block out one day a week for designated work)
Security
Better Cybersecurity Starts with Honesty and Accountability (via TED)
I agree with the title and the premise. Cybersecurity is something no one cares about so long as it’s working. Shaming people isn’t helpful. However, the example of elevating good behavior (e.g., fixing bugs and then rewarding people monetarily) is a double-edged sword; well-meaning developers that make mistakes have a price tag on them (i.e., the company had to pay a bug bounty because one of their developers screwed up), and others can game the system (e.g., write bugs so you can fix them and get paid, which leads to “who’s watching the watchers”). I also disagree with the idea of having a sign with “It’s been X days since our last security incident.” These things are inevitable; why feel guilt for something that has a 100% chance of occurring? I like that people need to learn that no one is immune to following the rules (e.g., executives can’t use their personal Dropbox for company files), but how do you communicate that without them walking around with the dunce cap on? Instead of celebrating heroes that put out fires, why not work to use materials that aren’t flammable?