alt Hacker NewsWhat do you mean? The quoted text is the exact strategy I always use.
I don't want or need to be told top down what to do, it's better to think for myself and propose that upward. Execs appreciate it because it makes their jobs easier; users get the features they actually want; I get to work on what I think is important.
What am I missing that makes this a bad strategy?
Replies
If your proposal doesn't align with leadership vision or the product they want to grow...
More often than not, things don't turn out too well if engineers decide what to build without tight steering from customers and/or upper management. This is exactly what it sounds like here. Tech for the purpose of tech. I understand this is HN and we have a pro-engineering bias here, at the same time, engineers don't tend to be the greatest strategists.
I think this is the most efficient approach. Decisions should be made at the lowest possible level of the org chart.
However, it has an important assumption: You are sufficiently aware of higher level things. If you have a decent communication culture in your company or if you are around long enough to know someone everywhere, it should be fine though.