tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post7089676917813439265..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: Wizards Of The Cube Farm: A Tale Of Two Opposed DynamicsFrancis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-28851209056160396702014-02-20T13:32:07.314-05:002014-02-20T13:32:07.314-05:00I can measure the productivity of different progra...I can measure the productivity of different programmers not by percentages, but by orders of magnitude.<br /><br />I've had the pleasure to "manage" one of these Wizards. Looking at his work was like looking at beautiful architecture and art at the same time. Simple, elegant, yet complex. Beyond beautiful. <br /><br />I consider myself forunate for being smart enough to appreciate just how much genius was packed into that code. I could spend 100, maybe 1000 times as long and not produce anything like that.<br /><br />He'd so things like, rewrite entire programs from scratch over the weekend just because it made the architecture that much better and easier to add even more amazing features to the program. And then he'd do just that. Jaw droppingly amazing.<br /><br />So sometimes things took a litte longer, but in the end, we'd get more than we envisioned.<br /><br />The Story of Mel resonates very strongly with me. <br /><br />pdwalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05943525787137905313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-551849698320489672014-02-18T00:49:16.698-05:002014-02-18T00:49:16.698-05:00And thus we get wincrap 8... not to mention vista....And thus we get wincrap 8... not to mention vista.emdflnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-4399771361817570272014-02-17T20:07:23.568-05:002014-02-17T20:07:23.568-05:00I've literally written the book on R&D man...I've literally written the book on R&D management (one of the many books, anyway). When I was lecturing at various labs, I called this the "Old Joe" problem. There is a product in the field that uses old technology, but it still works, and Old Joe is the only guy on the staff who still understands that technology. He's essential, and you need to plan for his replacement when he retires.<br /><br />At one lab I mentioned this issue and everyone started laughing and pointing at one man in the audience. I asked if Old Joe worked for him. No, was the reply, he was Old Joe. <br /><br />This is always going to be the case. Almost every lab has an Old Joe around somewhere. The place wouldn't function without him. Joseph P. Martinohttp://www.book-resistancetotyranny.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-19200821024263489542014-02-17T11:25:28.955-05:002014-02-17T11:25:28.955-05:00The downside, of course, is that if the OMITB ever...The downside, of course, is that if the OMITB ever gets hit by a bus, everyone else on the payroll needs to skip the funeral to spend time updating their resumes and calling recruiters.<br /><br />I'm quite familiar with the phenomenon, though, as my wife's ex-boyfriend is one of them. His code is so essential to the central operations of the university for which he works, that certain senior officials thereof have essentially apppointed a team of administrative Men In Black to guard him against any interference from clueless bureaucrats who might, in their bureaucrat ways, either interfere with his productivity directly, or so thoroughly annoy him as to induce him to accept one of the offers periodically thrown over the transom by other employers. (The latter outcome is less likely than they think, as he is loyal to a fault. But if he ever retires, they're well and truly screwed. Indeed, if his employer were a commercial entity rather than a public university, one could make a rather tidy profit betting against them on the stock market, the day he left.)lelnethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600824544185328505noreply@blogger.com