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Michael Lopp Quotes

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Famous Michael Lopp Quotes

“The Wolf. The single most productive engineer you’ll meet. You’ve heard of the 10x engineer, but I am here to tell you about the Wolf. They are engineers, and they consistently exhibit the following characteristics: They appear to exist outside of the well-defined process that we’ve defined to get things done, but they appear to suffer no consequences for not following these rules. Everyone knows they’re the Wolf, but no one ever calls them the Wolf. They have a manager, but no one really knows who it is. They have a lot of meetings, but none of them are scheduled. Inviting them to your meeting is a crap shoot. They understand how “the system” works, they understand how to use “the system” to their advantage, and they understand why “the system” exists, but they think “the system” is a bit of a joke. You can ask a Wolf to become a manager, but they’ll resist it. If you happen to convince them to do it, they will do a fine job, but they won’t stay in that role long. In fact, they’ll likely quit managing when you least expect it. Lastly, and most importantly, the Wolf generates disproportionate value for the company with their unparalleled ability to identify and rapidly work on projects essential to the future of the company.”

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Book:Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
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“You might very well have the requisite players, pros, and cons , but then again, you might have too many. If it’s 30 minutes in and you still can’t figure out what the issue is, it’s time to go: too many issues. Someone who cares more than you needs to distill this chaos down to a coherent statement so the pros and cons can argue about one thing.”

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Book:Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
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“The pros are the players who are currently on the winning side of the issue. They’re getting what they want and are not incented to negotiate. They don’t even have to be here, and yet, they’re here and appear willing to listen to the cons, right? Maybe. Maybe they’re just here to watch the cons squirm.”

PlayerWinMeetingNegotiateProsCons
Book:Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
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“All active participants in a meeting can instinctively sense progress, and when progress isn’t being made, they get cranky and start looking for the exit. A referee’s job is to shape the meeting to meet the requirements of the agenda and the expectations of the participants. Style and execution vary wildly from referee to referee, but the defining characteristics are the perceptions of the meeting participants. A good referee not only makes sure the majority of the attendees believe progress is being made, but they’re aware of anyone who doesn’t believe that progress is being made at any given moment. And they’re looking for one thing . . . people checked out.”

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Book:Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
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