Orange Pi5 kernel

^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   1) .. _managementstyle:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   2) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   3) Linux kernel management style
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   4) =============================
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   5) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   6) This is a short document describing the preferred (or made up, depending
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   7) on who you ask) management style for the linux kernel.  It's meant to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   8) mirror the :ref:`process/coding-style.rst <codingstyle>` document to some
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300   9) degree, and mainly written to avoid answering [#f1]_  the same (or similar)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  10) questions over and over again.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  11) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  12) Management style is very personal and much harder to quantify than
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  13) simple coding style rules, so this document may or may not have anything
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  14) to do with reality.  It started as a lark, but that doesn't mean that it
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  15) might not actually be true. You'll have to decide for yourself.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  16) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  17) Btw, when talking about "kernel manager", it's all about the technical
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  18) lead persons, not the people who do traditional management inside
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  19) companies.  If you sign purchase orders or you have any clue about the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  20) budget of your group, you're almost certainly not a kernel manager.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  21) These suggestions may or may not apply to you.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  22) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  23) First off, I'd suggest buying "Seven Habits of Highly Effective
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  24) People", and NOT read it.  Burn it, it's a great symbolic gesture.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  25) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  26) .. [#f1] This document does so not so much by answering the question, but by
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  27)   making it painfully obvious to the questioner that we don't have a clue
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  28)   to what the answer is.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  29) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  30) Anyway, here goes:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  31) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  32) .. _decisions:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  33) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  34) 1) Decisions
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  35) ------------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  36) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  37) Everybody thinks managers make decisions, and that decision-making is
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  38) important.  The bigger and more painful the decision, the bigger the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  39) manager must be to make it.  That's very deep and obvious, but it's not
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  40) actually true.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  41) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  42) The name of the game is to **avoid** having to make a decision.  In
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  43) particular, if somebody tells you "choose (a) or (b), we really need you
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  44) to decide on this", you're in trouble as a manager.  The people you
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  45) manage had better know the details better than you, so if they come to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  46) you for a technical decision, you're screwed.  You're clearly not
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  47) competent to make that decision for them.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  48) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  49) (Corollary:if the people you manage don't know the details better than
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  50) you, you're also screwed, although for a totally different reason.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  51) Namely that you are in the wrong job, and that **they** should be managing
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  52) your brilliance instead).
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  53) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  54) So the name of the game is to **avoid** decisions, at least the big and
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  55) painful ones.  Making small and non-consequential decisions is fine, and
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  56) makes you look like you know what you're doing, so what a kernel manager
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  57) needs to do is to turn the big and painful ones into small things where
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  58) nobody really cares.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  59) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  60) It helps to realize that the key difference between a big decision and a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  61) small one is whether you can fix your decision afterwards.  Any decision
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  62) can be made small by just always making sure that if you were wrong (and
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  63) you **will** be wrong), you can always undo the damage later by
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  64) backtracking.  Suddenly, you get to be doubly managerial for making
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  65) **two** inconsequential decisions - the wrong one **and** the right one.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  66) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  67) And people will even see that as true leadership (*cough* bullshit
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  68) *cough*).
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  69) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  70) Thus the key to avoiding big decisions becomes to just avoiding to do
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  71) things that can't be undone.  Don't get ushered into a corner from which
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  72) you cannot escape.  A cornered rat may be dangerous - a cornered manager
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  73) is just pitiful.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  74) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  75) It turns out that since nobody would be stupid enough to ever really let
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  76) a kernel manager have huge fiscal responsibility **anyway**, it's usually
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  77) fairly easy to backtrack.  Since you're not going to be able to waste
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  78) huge amounts of money that you might not be able to repay, the only
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  79) thing you can backtrack on is a technical decision, and there
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  80) back-tracking is very easy: just tell everybody that you were an
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  81) incompetent nincompoop, say you're sorry, and undo all the worthless
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  82) work you had people work on for the last year.  Suddenly the decision
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  83) you made a year ago wasn't a big decision after all, since it could be
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  84) easily undone.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  85) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  86) It turns out that some people have trouble with this approach, for two
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  87) reasons:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  88) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  89)  - admitting you were an idiot is harder than it looks.  We all like to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  90)    maintain appearances, and coming out in public to say that you were
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  91)    wrong is sometimes very hard indeed.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  92)  - having somebody tell you that what you worked on for the last year
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  93)    wasn't worthwhile after all can be hard on the poor lowly engineers
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  94)    too, and while the actual **work** was easy enough to undo by just
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  95)    deleting it, you may have irrevocably lost the trust of that
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  96)    engineer.  And remember: "irrevocable" was what we tried to avoid in
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  97)    the first place, and your decision ended up being a big one after
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  98)    all.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300  99) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 100) Happily, both of these reasons can be mitigated effectively by just
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 101) admitting up-front that you don't have a friggin' clue, and telling
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 102) people ahead of the fact that your decision is purely preliminary, and
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 103) might be the wrong thing.  You should always reserve the right to change
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 104) your mind, and make people very **aware** of that.  And it's much easier
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 105) to admit that you are stupid when you haven't **yet** done the really
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 106) stupid thing.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 107) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 108) Then, when it really does turn out to be stupid, people just roll their
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 109) eyes and say "Oops, not again".
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 110) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 111) This preemptive admission of incompetence might also make the people who
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 112) actually do the work also think twice about whether it's worth doing or
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 113) not.  After all, if **they** aren't certain whether it's a good idea, you
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 114) sure as hell shouldn't encourage them by promising them that what they
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 115) work on will be included.  Make them at least think twice before they
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 116) embark on a big endeavor.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 117) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 118) Remember: they'd better know more about the details than you do, and
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 119) they usually already think they have the answer to everything.  The best
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 120) thing you can do as a manager is not to instill confidence, but rather a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 121) healthy dose of critical thinking on what they do.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 122) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 123) Btw, another way to avoid a decision is to plaintively just whine "can't
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 124) we just do both?" and look pitiful.  Trust me, it works.  If it's not
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 125) clear which approach is better, they'll eventually figure it out.  The
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 126) answer may end up being that both teams get so frustrated by the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 127) situation that they just give up.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 128) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 129) That may sound like a failure, but it's usually a sign that there was
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 130) something wrong with both projects, and the reason the people involved
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 131) couldn't decide was that they were both wrong.  You end up coming up
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 132) smelling like roses, and you avoided yet another decision that you could
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 133) have screwed up on.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 134) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 135) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 136) 2) People
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 137) ---------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 138) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 139) Most people are idiots, and being a manager means you'll have to deal
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 140) with it, and perhaps more importantly, that **they** have to deal with
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 141) **you**.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 142) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 143) It turns out that while it's easy to undo technical mistakes, it's not
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 144) as easy to undo personality disorders.  You just have to live with
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 145) theirs - and yours.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 146) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 147) However, in order to prepare yourself as a kernel manager, it's best to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 148) remember not to burn any bridges, bomb any innocent villagers, or
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 149) alienate too many kernel developers. It turns out that alienating people
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 150) is fairly easy, and un-alienating them is hard. Thus "alienating"
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 151) immediately falls under the heading of "not reversible", and becomes a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 152) no-no according to :ref:`decisions`.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 153) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 154) There's just a few simple rules here:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 155) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 156)  (1) don't call people d*ckheads (at least not in public)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 157)  (2) learn how to apologize when you forgot rule (1)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 158) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 159) The problem with #1 is that it's very easy to do, since you can say
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 160) "you're a d*ckhead" in millions of different ways [#f2]_, sometimes without
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 161) even realizing it, and almost always with a white-hot conviction that
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 162) you are right.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 163) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 164) And the more convinced you are that you are right (and let's face it,
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 165) you can call just about **anybody** a d*ckhead, and you often **will** be
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 166) right), the harder it ends up being to apologize afterwards.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 167) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 168) To solve this problem, you really only have two options:
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 169) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 170)  - get really good at apologies
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 171)  - spread the "love" out so evenly that nobody really ends up feeling
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 172)    like they get unfairly targeted.  Make it inventive enough, and they
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 173)    might even be amused.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 174) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 175) The option of being unfailingly polite really doesn't exist. Nobody will
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 176) trust somebody who is so clearly hiding their true character.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 177) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 178) .. [#f2] Paul Simon sang "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover", because quite
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 179)   frankly, "A Million Ways to Tell a Developer They're a D*ckhead" doesn't
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 180)   scan nearly as well.  But I'm sure he thought about it.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 181) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 182) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 183) 3) People II - the Good Kind
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 184) ----------------------------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 185) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 186) While it turns out that most people are idiots, the corollary to that is
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 187) sadly that you are one too, and that while we can all bask in the secure
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 188) knowledge that we're better than the average person (let's face it,
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 189) nobody ever believes that they're average or below-average), we should
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 190) also admit that we're not the sharpest knife around, and there will be
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 191) other people that are less of an idiot than you are.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 192) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 193) Some people react badly to smart people.  Others take advantage of them.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 194) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 195) Make sure that you, as a kernel maintainer, are in the second group.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 196) Suck up to them, because they are the people who will make your job
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 197) easier. In particular, they'll be able to make your decisions for you,
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 198) which is what the game is all about.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 199) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 200) So when you find somebody smarter than you are, just coast along.  Your
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 201) management responsibilities largely become ones of saying "Sounds like a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 202) good idea - go wild", or "That sounds good, but what about xxx?".  The
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 203) second version in particular is a great way to either learn something
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 204) new about "xxx" or seem **extra** managerial by pointing out something the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 205) smarter person hadn't thought about.  In either case, you win.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 206) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 207) One thing to look out for is to realize that greatness in one area does
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 208) not necessarily translate to other areas.  So you might prod people in
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 209) specific directions, but let's face it, they might be good at what they
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 210) do, and suck at everything else.  The good news is that people tend to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 211) naturally gravitate back to what they are good at, so it's not like you
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 212) are doing something irreversible when you **do** prod them in some
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 213) direction, just don't push too hard.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 214) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 215) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 216) 4) Placing blame
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 217) ----------------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 218) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 219) Things will go wrong, and people want somebody to blame. Tag, you're it.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 220) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 221) It's not actually that hard to accept the blame, especially if people
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 222) kind of realize that it wasn't **all** your fault.  Which brings us to the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 223) best way of taking the blame: do it for someone else. You'll feel good
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 224) for taking the fall, they'll feel good about not getting blamed, and the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 225) person who lost their whole 36GB porn-collection because of your
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 226) incompetence will grudgingly admit that you at least didn't try to weasel
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 227) out of it.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 228) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 229) Then make the developer who really screwed up (if you can find them) know
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 230) **in private** that they screwed up.  Not just so they can avoid it in the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 231) future, but so that they know they owe you one.  And, perhaps even more
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 232) importantly, they're also likely the person who can fix it.  Because, let's
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 233) face it, it sure ain't you.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 234) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 235) Taking the blame is also why you get to be manager in the first place.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 236) It's part of what makes people trust you, and allow you the potential
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 237) glory, because you're the one who gets to say "I screwed up".  And if
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 238) you've followed the previous rules, you'll be pretty good at saying that
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 239) by now.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 240) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 241) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 242) 5) Things to avoid
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 243) ------------------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 244) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 245) There's one thing people hate even more than being called "d*ckhead",
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 246) and that is being called a "d*ckhead" in a sanctimonious voice.  The
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 247) first you can apologize for, the second one you won't really get the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 248) chance.  They likely will no longer be listening even if you otherwise
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 249) do a good job.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 250) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 251) We all think we're better than anybody else, which means that when
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 252) somebody else puts on airs, it **really** rubs us the wrong way.  You may
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 253) be morally and intellectually superior to everybody around you, but
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 254) don't try to make it too obvious unless you really **intend** to irritate
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 255) somebody [#f3]_.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 256) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 257) Similarly, don't be too polite or subtle about things. Politeness easily
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 258) ends up going overboard and hiding the problem, and as they say, "On the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 259) internet, nobody can hear you being subtle". Use a big blunt object to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 260) hammer the point in, because you can't really depend on people getting
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 261) your point otherwise.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 262) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 263) Some humor can help pad both the bluntness and the moralizing.  Going
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 264) overboard to the point of being ridiculous can drive a point home
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 265) without making it painful to the recipient, who just thinks you're being
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 266) silly.  It can thus help get through the personal mental block we all
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 267) have about criticism.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 268) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 269) .. [#f3] Hint: internet newsgroups that are not directly related to your work
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 270)   are great ways to take out your frustrations at other people. Write
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 271)   insulting posts with a sneer just to get into a good flame every once in
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 272)   a while, and you'll feel cleansed. Just don't crap too close to home.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 273) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 274) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 275) 6) Why me?
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 276) ----------
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 277) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 278) Since your main responsibility seems to be to take the blame for other
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 279) peoples mistakes, and make it painfully obvious to everybody else that
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 280) you're incompetent, the obvious question becomes one of why do it in the
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 281) first place?
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 282) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 283) First off, while you may or may not get screaming teenage girls (or
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 284) boys, let's not be judgmental or sexist here) knocking on your dressing
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 285) room door, you **will** get an immense feeling of personal accomplishment
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 286) for being "in charge".  Never mind the fact that you're really leading
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 287) by trying to keep up with everybody else and running after them as fast
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 288) as you can.  Everybody will still think you're the person in charge.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 289) 
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 290) It's a great job if you can hack it.