71. A Couple of Miracle Workers

January 18, 2023

This week, our heroes take a cue from Star Trek and discuss "miracle workers" or the folks who always seem to get attention when they save the day. Yet the ones who work in the shadows, keeping things running, never seem to get the attention they deserve.

When things go wrong at work, there’s usually someone to swoop in and save the day.

But what about the folks who work hard to ensure nothing ever goes wrong? Sometimes they may get some recognition eventually, but usually, these are the ones who fly under the radar.

We usually don’t know their names or their deeds. Because they fade into the background.

What’s interesting is many organizations incentivize the hero mindset over incentivizing these nameless heroes who fly under the radar.

Buckle up for the deepest, most philosophical software podcast episode you may ever listen to.

Topics:
• 00:36 – It’s Carnival Time!
• 04:37 – A Star Trek Allegory
• 09:50 – We often celebrate people who come to the rescue
• 11:13 – Normal things shouldn’t be seen as exceptional
• 14:41 – There is a social incentive to let things go nuts, so we can be seen fixing it
• 18:58 – The less attention something receives the better it is managed
• 21:43 – Boring usually means something works. But we celebrate the opposite
• 23:47 – What’s the moral of the story?
• 24:25 – What are our incentives?
• 32:31 – Most people are terrible at estimating
• 36:38 – Don’t focus on estimates. Focus on quality.

—–

Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

Check out our website
Follow us on twitter
Find us on Facebook
Subscribe on Google Podcasts
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Spotify
Subscribe on Stitcher

Episode thumbnail by Sander Sammy on Unsplash