"I discovered that you'd never get an answer to a problem from Linux Gurus by asking. You have to troll in order for someone to help you with a Linux problem."
This is one of my Jedi-level secrets of technical management.
I am quick to say I have a huge ego, because anyone who knew me would fight to say it first. The fact that I know what I know and have a good feel for where I'm weak lends me confidence in those situations where I'm mostly out of my depth.
I've managed ultra-introverted developers for about makesmesoundold years. Numerous are the times I've asked a question and gotten no answer. "How would we go about accomplishing x?" "How long would it take us to do y?" "What letter comes after z?"
Crickets
Throw a proposal just plausible enough that people think you're serious, but so "insane" that it almost defies logic ("what if we put, say, hmm...log base two of 2097152 is 21...jQuery callbacks in an HTML file full of id'd divs..."), then it's as if a tiny rock starts rolling down a hill. First one person offers a criticism, and then we get more people engaged, throwing out the alternatives that they would have suggested in the first place.
Eventually, they recognize the game, and then it's a fun brainstorming activity. Or you fire three as a message to the others.
Comments
"I discovered that you'd never get an answer to a problem from Linux Gurus by asking. You have to troll in order for someone to help you with a Linux problem."
This is one of my Jedi-level secrets of technical management.
I am quick to say I have a huge ego, because anyone who knew me would fight to say it first. The fact that I know what I know and have a good feel for where I'm weak lends me confidence in those situations where I'm mostly out of my depth.
I've managed ultra-introverted developers for about makesmesoundold years. Numerous are the times I've asked a question and gotten no answer. "How would we go about accomplishing x?" "How long would it take us to do y?" "What letter comes after z?"
Crickets
Throw a proposal just plausible enough that people think you're serious, but so "insane" that it almost defies logic ("what if we put, say, hmm...log base two of 2097152 is 21...jQuery callbacks in an HTML file full of id'd divs..."), then it's as if a tiny rock starts rolling down a hill. First one person offers a criticism, and then we get more people engaged, throwing out the alternatives that they would have suggested in the first place.
Eventually, they recognize the game, and then it's a fun brainstorming activity. Or you fire three as a message to the others.
"Or you fire three as a message to the others."
This got my upvote. ;-)