from Hacker News

Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

by robinhood on 12/1/22, 1:32 AM with 11 comments

  • by PragmaticPulp on 12/1/22, 2:44 AM

    It's interesting how different this reads almost a decade later. The advice contained within is generally good advice, but I can't help but notice how my peers who have most aggressively embraced these concepts haven't been my favorites to work with. The companies with cultures that reward these behaviors have also been some of my least favorite to deal with.

    Specifically, comments like "optimize for impact and visibility" and "prefer working on things you can show" are the kind of over-generalized advice that can lead people to only do work that benefits themselves or otherwise helps them get up the corporate ladder. I've worked with too many people who can't be bothered to do any work unless it's something they can put into a promotion packet, add to their resume, or brag about in their next meeting. We've all experienced the death of Google projects after launch because nobody there seems to want to work on something that isn't a new "thing you can show" because they're too busying optimizing for visibility.

    Company reward structures are partially to blame for making these behaviors the most advantageous. The most productive and healthy places I've worked have been careful to reward good long-term outcomes rather than rewarding people for visibility and showmanship. The most dysfunctional places I've worked have only rewarded the people who make the most noise, who ignore the important work and do flashy things instead, and who, I hate to say it, embody the advice offered in this article. I don't know what to think about having a totally different interpretation of this article after reading it 9 years later.

  • by dang on 12/1/22, 2:03 AM

    Related:

    Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26531297 - March 2021 (269 comments)

    Don't End The Week With Nothing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7179098 - Feb 2014 (101 comments)

  • by bnj on 12/1/22, 1:59 AM

    This is a favorite of mine, I find myself returning to it from time to time and using the concept to frame how I prioritize throughout the week.

  • by bfung on 12/1/22, 2:27 AM

    Perhaps unpopular opinion, but the recent Elon/twitter “submit your work” idea and this ain’t far from each other.