Best of Company Culture — November 2024
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Community Picks·1y
How to Make Software Engineers Do the 'Right Thing'
To ensure software engineers do the right thing, focus on building a culture of ownership and accountability. Prioritize recording and monitoring production bugs, conduct root cause analyses, and establish a continuous green build in CI. Get your team to care about system health and logs while instilling a practice of continuous improvement.
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The Pragmatic Engineer·1y
The Pragmatic Engineer in 2024
The Pragmatic Engineer covers a variety of in-depth topics including engineering challenges, culture at companies like Stripe and Bluesky, and industry trends. It offers detailed deep dives into real world engineering problems, insights from experts, and practical advice on career development in the tech industry. A subscription offer is available for new members.
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The Developing Dev·1y
"How I Ship Projects at Big Tech Companies"
In large tech companies, such as those in the FAANG group, career advancement is primarily driven by the impact of your work rather than just perception. Metrics and data are crucial, and focusing on impactful work simplifies marketing efforts while boosting credibility. Engineers should collaborate with management to steer project direction towards meaningful results. Prioritizing pleasing leadership over impact can hinder career growth and is less fulfilling.
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“I don’t believe in work-life balance,” says Narayana Murthy: Is life-work equilibrium an elusive ideal or essential for productivity?
Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, stirred controversy at the CNBC Global Leadership Summit by dismissing work-life balance as an 'indulgent myth' and advocating for 14-hour workdays to drive economic progress. His stance reflects India's deep-rooted culture of overwork, where a significant portion of the workforce clocks excessive hours, often leading to high burnout rates. Critics argue that such relentless work schedules are neither ethical nor sustainable, pointing to research that suggests employee well-being is crucial for long-term productivity. The debate continues on whether true productivity stems from well-balanced work environments or grueling work hours.
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Why is change so complex?
Change is complex due to evolutionary instincts that favor familiar environments, providing a sense of security. In the workplace, this often results in resistance, especially when new tools or processes are introduced without aligning deeper aspects like team culture and individual beliefs. The River Model illustrates that different layers of an organization change at different rates, requiring holistic strategies. Effective change management involves clear communication, inclusion of employees, training, and allowing adaptation time.
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Codemotion·2y
A Higher Salary Alone Is Not Enough to Motivate Change
Reflecting on a series of events at the end of 2023, the post considers how difficult it is to motivate people to change, even with attractive job offers. It explores the reasons why programmers hesitate to accept new opportunities, delving into factors beyond salary that influence their decisions. The post emphasizes the importance of corporate appeal and growth opportunities to attract and retain talent, suggesting that non-monetary factors often play a significant role in career decisions.
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RUBYLAND·2y
"We don't deploy on Fridays"
The phrase 'we don't deploy on Fridays' often stems from fears around safety and response times for deployment issues. Common reasons include insufficient monitoring, slow rollbacks, and error-prone processes. However, there are constructive reasons to avoid deploying on Fridays, such as dedicating the day to open source contributions, documentation updates, customer support, or learning, reflecting a positive work culture.
