Re:The tech industry has a problem with “bro culture”
by dbg31415 on Saturday April 01, 2017 @09:49PM
(#14015304)
> What is bro culture? Basically, a world that favors young men at the expense of everyone else. A “bro co.” has a “bro” C.E.O., or C.E.-Bro, usually a young man who has little work experience but is good-looking, cocky and slightly amoral — a hustler.
> Bro culture also values speedy growth over sustainable profits, and encourages cutting corners, ignoring regulations and doing whatever it takes to win.
Doesn't this describe virtually every company that takes investor dollars and then has to focus more on marketing and sales than they do on producing good products or services?
I've been called a "jerk" on numerous occasions, I've also been thanked for standing up to "jerks" on numerous occasions. I honestly don't know what the term means, other than a term that's convenient for the "in crowd" to use to describe someone who isn't a member. Wether someone is a "jerk" depends entirely on where you are standing.
If a sales guy tells a delivery manager, "Buddy, I need you to lower the estimates so we can make this sale..." who is being the jerk? If a manager wants to boot someone off her team because he keeps re-hashing old discussions about technical debt and risks the team already agreed to take on... who is being the jerk? If a tech lead gets bent out of shape on process and rants about how we need to stop doing hotfixes because marketing can't get their work requests in on time... You get where I'm going...
Relationships are complicated, trying to dismiss anyone as a "bro" or a "jerk" won't help you solve the real issue... why did an employee you liked enough to hire turn into a jerk a few months in; is there something wrong with process or culture? (And... do you have bad traits as a manager?) Why does the sales team feel so much pressure... is there something wrong with the product? What is making someone, who presumably is an expert at what they do, gripe and complain so much?
It's rare that a company is successful if the power isn't shared across teams. We horse trade time, scope, and quality all the time to get to launch dates and budgets we need -- if just one person tried to mandate everything the talented people on each team would leave for greener pastures. With transparent leadership, communicative management, and a thorough performance review process in place a consensus can be reached. Without that... everyone is a jerk to someone else.
> Bro culture also values speedy growth over sustainable profits, and encourages cutting corners, ignoring regulations and doing whatever it takes to win.
Doesn't this describe virtually every company that takes investor dollars and then has to focus more on marketing and sales than they do on producing good products or services?
I've been called a "jerk" on numerous occasions, I've also been thanked for standing up to "jerks" on numerous occasions. I honestly don't know what the term means, other than a term that's convenient for the "in crowd" to use to describe someone who isn't a member. Wether someone is a "jerk" depends entirely on where you are standing.
If a sales guy tells a delivery manager, "Buddy, I need you to lower the estimates so we can make this sale..." who is being the jerk? If a manager wants to boot someone off her team because he keeps re-hashing old discussions about technical debt and risks the team already agreed to take on... who is being the jerk? If a tech lead gets bent out of shape on process and rants about how we need to stop doing hotfixes because marketing can't get their work requests in on time... You get where I'm going...
Relationships are complicated, trying to dismiss anyone as a "bro" or a "jerk" won't help you solve the real issue... why did an employee you liked enough to hire turn into a jerk a few months in; is there something wrong with process or culture? (And... do you have bad traits as a manager?) Why does the sales team feel so much pressure... is there something wrong with the product? What is making someone, who presumably is an expert at what they do, gripe and complain so much?
It's rare that a company is successful if the power isn't shared across teams. We horse trade time, scope, and quality all the time to get to launch dates and budgets we need -- if just one person tried to mandate everything the talented people on each team would leave for greener pastures. With transparent leadership, communicative management, and a thorough performance review process in place a consensus can be reached. Without that... everyone is a jerk to someone else.