This link has been bookmarked by 97 people . It was first bookmarked on 29 Apr 2008, by Travis Swicegood.
-
01 Jun 15
-
03 Nov 13
-
that justification would never even need to be given if a company embraced a culture of quitting. If they were upfront with their employees and said something to the effect of, “we know that you’re not going to retire here; in fact, after two to three years, we know you’ll be ready to move on to a different job. But before that happens, we want to make sure that you feel that you’ve done an excellent job here and are leaving with some solid experience under your belt. Of course, there are a handful of architect and management positions available, but you’ll really need to demonstrate commitment before even being considered for those. Obviously, that path isn’t for everyone.”
-
-
24 Oct 12
-
14 Oct 12
-
10 Sep 12
Mihály Nyeste"If you’ve worked at enough companies in the IT industry, you’ve probably noticed that the most talented software developers tend to not stick around at one place for too long. The least talented folks, on the other hand, entrench themselves deep within the organization, often building beachheads of bad code that no sane developer would dare go near, all the while ensuring their own job security and screwing up just enough times not to get fired."
-
27 Sep 11
-
10 May 11
-
09 May 11
-
05 Jan 11
-
09 Nov 10
Aditya BanerjeePretty radical thoughts based on the Cravath System: "Bring lots of new employees in, team them up with mentors, provide real work to do, and give them a choice: either get lots of great experience and get out, or work hard for a higher-up position."
career management business employment programming productivity it work
-
25 Jul 10
-
21 Jul 10
-
26 May 10
-
28 Apr 10
-
05 Apr 10
-
24 Mar 10
-
22 Mar 10
Pere CortadaOne important point to keep in mind, too, is that skill is not measure of overall worth. At some point in our lives, many of us no longer look towards our career for self actualization. For example, many feel that having a family provides much more self a
-
19 Mar 10
-
18 Mar 10
-
14 Feb 10
Simon WrightIn short: embrace turnover, encourage separation, and don’t even think about saying “careers, not jobs.” Oh yes, it’s Employment 2.0.
-
21 Jan 10
-
15 Oct 09
-
19 May 09
-
18 Apr 09
-
11 Sep 08
-
23 Jun 08
-
19 Jun 08
-
22 May 08
-
07 May 08
David NaughtonUsing the Cravath system to embrace performance value curves: skilled developers cross a value apex and then move on, while "the unskilled ... eventually settle into a position of mediocrity and stay there indefinitely."
alex-papdimoulis dailywtf pubdate_20080429 cravath-system hiring turnover management productivity for_gormsby for_greevar for_libsys for_jtrammell for_heidiesch for_saritabenson
-
John MFrighteningly accurate characterization of development groups
-
03 May 08
-
02 May 08
Angel BeezUp or Out: Solving the IT Turnover Crisis
-
Adam GurnoIf you’ve worked at enough companies in the IT industry, you’ve probably noticed that the most talented software developers tend to not stick around at one place for too long. The least talented folks, on the other hand, entrench themselves deep withi
management career business employment programming productivity it work culture documentation advice excellent
-
noitacudeIf you’ve worked at enough companies, you’ve probably noticed that the most talented software developers tend to not stick around at one place for too long. The least talented folks, on the other hand, entrench themselves deep within the organization.
-
01 May 08
-
30 Apr 08
tanuki_workAdvocates the concept of the “Cravath System” of business. Employee development progresses toward one of two options: either get lots of great experience and get out, or work hard for a higher-up position. Embrace the inevitability of turnover, basica
-
Brent SordylHere’s how the “Cravath System” from the 1900s works. Bring lots of new employees in, team them up with mentors, provide real work to do, and give them a choice: either get lots of great experience and get out, or work hard for a higher-up position
-
29 Apr 08
-
bob dolanYou’ve probably noticed that the most talented software developers tend to not stick around at one place for too long. The least talented folks, on the other hand, entrench themselves deep within the organization, often building beachheads of bad code t
-
KurtFor consulting companies or services firms, maintaining a solid relationship with alumni is an excellent avenue to find new business. Who better to recommend as a vendor than a company that one had first-hand experience working at?
-
-
the most talented software developers tend to not stick around at one place for too long
-
The least talented folks
-
entrench themselves deep within the organization, often building beachheads of bad code that no sane developer would dare go near
-
Employees – especially the most talented ones – are not “dating around” and moving from place to place in search of the Perfect Company at which they can grow old and retire at. They’ve already aced the first four rungs of Maslow’s hierarchy and are in search of self-actualization: the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their abilities and to strive to be the best they can.
-
Indefinite retention is impossible; employees always quit.
-
They tend to be grateful they have a job and make fewer demands on management; even if they find the workplace unpleasant, they are the least likely to be able to find a job elsewhere. They tend to entrench themselves, becoming maintenance experts on critical systems, assuming responsibilities that no one else wants so that the organization can’t afford to let them go.
-
What was once “fresh new ideas that we can’t implement today” become “the same old boring suggestions that we’re never going to do”
-
This leads towards a loss of self actualization which ends up chipping away at motivation.
-
Nothing – not even a team of on-site masseuses – can assuage this loss.
-
A company with a culture of quitting does not have ex-employees; they have alumni. This is far more than a semantic distinction.
-
An alumni relationship is positive; something that people can take pride in; and one that keeps the door open for further opportunities on both ends.
-
But perhaps the most important benefit to a culture of quitting is that it effectively flushes out the residue of unskilled employees. When someone hasn’t moved up or out after a few cycles, it becomes painfully evident who the weakest link is. Everyone – even that certain someone – knows that they’ve long outstayed their welcome. If the sheer awkwardness of being “that guy” doesn’t cause him to leave on his own, and he still doesn’t get it after being asked to resign, then certainly no one will miss him when he’s inevitably let go.
-
The higher-up the position, the longer the curve. Changes tend to occur much more slowly at the top. For example, a basic “refactoring” of a department’s teams could take well over a year to implement.
-
The greater the skill, the shorter the curve. Ambition and skill go hand-in-hand, and ambitious individuals tend to want swift changes, and quickly lose motivation when these don’t happen.
-
The larger the company, the shorter the curve. Large teams are generally not receptive to ideas from the new guy, leaving a large part of contribution (i.e. past experience) wasted. Furthermore, promotions are often based on tenure, not skill.
-
The smaller the company, the longer the curve. Smaller companies, on the other hand, are more receptive to change, allowing one to contribute past experiences for a long while.
-
That said, we still need to bring these changes to our industry. Obviously, we can’t all implement the Cravath System overnight. For many companies – especially those who really don’t need skilled developers –a full-fledged Cravath system will never be a good fit.
-
Page Comments
Would you like to comment?
Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.