alt Hacker NewsExcellent advice for the 'House of Cards' politics of big tech, but it’s essentially corporate pacifism.
In any other setting you can't afford to watch money and motivation burn just to stay 'politically solvent'.
(Lalit is very good at fitting complex corporate dynamics in a single blog post though.)
Replies
hackable_sand • today at 5:48 AM
Keep in mind, pacifism is opposite to inaction. Pacifism is the most active and effective you can be, especially politically.
I’ve never worked in big tech, but I have seen the same dynamics play out in much smaller orgs.
If you’re constantly nitpicking and expressing concerns, you become “that person” who’s constantly negative about other people’s ideas. After a while people tune out; they already know that you’ll find “problems.” We all know these people. No one really likes working with them. Thus they’re _not effective_ at what they’re trying to do.
Ultimately you mostly get credit for shipping things that work, and only rarely for preventing the mistakes of other people.
At its core, what the blog post is saying is: keep your powder dry for when it matters. Not every problem is going to make the company insolvent. Not every concern will prove correct. Pick your battles strategically.
It’s good advice no matter the size or nature of the org.