Workplace stories
Disclaimer: Unlike the page on being a data scientist this is actually a serious page! This is a fair recollection of a few incidents in the past. The actions and opinions in this page are my own; copy with care, or else you’re likely to lose your job!
Dear Peter, from Dilbert
A non-technical manager once said “Tech people cannot talk” (tech people are incapable of presenting in a way that sustains and builds a “business”) in front of all employees during a meeting. I think I’ve discussed a lot about indecent and unfair non-technical managers in the “data scientist” page. Instead, let our focus be razor sharp on the motivation behind this statement, and the nuances with managing a technical team in a company that’s purely focused on business (favoring non-technical), and will do anything to earn its bread.
From Dilbert principle and the closely associated Peter principle we infer that:
- A non-technical Dilbert is known to be unproductive. He/she is expressly put in managerial roles and promoted quickly to get his/her inefficiencies out of the way
- A technical Peter is expected to ‘choke’ in managerial roles due to the lack of experience in management compared to a Dilbert
Coming back to the statement, we’re talking about an average Dilbert commenting on an average Peter. Should this be taken to heart? NO, JUST CHILL!
Wait, ending my story without learnings or actionables is not my style!
- What can a Dilbert do to reduce the technical skill gap from a Peter? Unfortunately, not much. While I know several Dilberts who have made honest attempts to become technically sound, their attempts were all in vain. This was because the return on their investments was non-positive. Also, why do I say that their attempts were in vain? - because technical soundness requires a mindset that was nurtured since childhood, coupled with a mindset to accept failures. Personally I consider that my journey towards technical soundness started in high school. Unfortunately it’s too late for Dilberts to go back to high school!
- What can a Peter do to gain more managerial experience? The task is equally daunting, but business is not a black box - it can be broken down into sets of concepts that are guided by “first principles” (those are beyond scope of this article). However, it’s not difficult to realize that companies have started hiring “diversified Peters” - Peters who can work smoothly across multiple streams or domains. It takes a lot more than a “diversified Peter” to make a successful Peter who understands business.
Fair evaluation
To the readers: Why do you stand up for a cause? Because it benefits you? There’s a good chance there’s someone else who benefits much more because of your stance. Then should you not stand up for anything? How do you choose? Here’s my guideline with an example.