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by croes5 hours ago |
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upvoteby justonceokay5 hours ago|
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How will the widget get built if we don’t have someone stack ranking us?
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upvoteby mancerayder5 hours ago|
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Since when do your line managers choose to stack rank?

Do you know what stank ranking even is and where it comes from? If you have to rate your group from 1 to 5, each individual, and you rate them all 4s and 5s, they crack down and force you to select a 2 and a 3 and only have one 5. Now, would you prefer a CFO, CTO or even a project manager be the one to do it? It's a weird comment.

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upvoteby direwolf205 hours ago|
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Weirder that you think every group has a 2 and exactly one 5. You don't see the problem with that?
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upvoteby mancerayder3 hours ago|
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Re-read and think about what was written - the 2s aren'tcoming from the line managers, you're barking up the wrong tree in the stack ranking process. I just explained that stack ranking gets scaled and adjusted by the brass, and I just in this example rated everyone a 4 and 5.

Again, as an older manager today, I can see myself in my 20s in the resistance and stubbornness to 'how corporations work' espoused in comments like yours. I sympathize, but I warn you against being naive and ideological, because unfortunately human groups be human groups, and organizations for better or for worse behave in predictable patterns. You might as well know as much as possible so you can deal with it better.

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upvoteby direwolf202 hours ago|
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Do you think every group of people contains someone who is operating at 40%?
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upvoteby mancerayder2 hours ago|
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Nope! In fact I think stack ranking is horrible. But you missed the point I was making (and then re-made). I think you read 40% of what I wrote.
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upvoteby justonceokay5 hours ago|
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Weirder that you think software couldn’t get built without a CFO. The GP comment was noting that management is an outcome of capital wanting more control, not because many layers of middle managers is a naturally optimal way to complete software projects
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upvoteby mancerayder2 hours ago|
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CFOs manage budgets and funding and things tech people don't. I hate to parrot your tone but, weirder that you think software can be built in a company without there being a budget of some kind.
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upvoteby mancerayder5 hours ago|
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Can you go into more detail?
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upvoteby arcologies19852 hours ago|
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I have worked at organizations where most engineering and many product decisions were made bottom-up, through written RFDs and ADRs, and horizontal conversations between lead, staff and principal engineers. The tradeoff is that it can take weeks, months or years to both agree or schedule work on larger projects, where other (especially small) organizations might take hours to weeks.
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