Re:Uber discovered they’d been defrauded out of 2/3 of their...
by wpietri on Sunday January 03, 2021 @02:50PM
(#25624579)
Makes sense to me.
CEO: "We need to do something about growth!"
Marketer: "Mobile ads are something!"
CEO: "I read those are hot. Here's a bucket of money! Do lots of something so we have lots of growth!"
[spending ensues]
As the Uber story shows, a lot of money gets spent without anybody making sure that it actually works. The actual goal is not to have an effect. It's to be seen as taking bold action. If the business gets better, bonuses and promotions ensue, no matter what the actual cause. Cargo cult management.
It sounds insane, but I'm sure it's rife. Years ago I was coaching at a Lean Startup weekend class. One team really killed it, rapidly testing product hypotheses through real-world testing. Their initial idea was quickly proven worthless, but they listened to users and came up with an idea that would sell.
I kept in touch with one of those team members. He went back to his prominent, well-funded startup, excited to improve his company. But nobody wanted improvement. Execs wanted to sit in a big room, think big thoughts, and produce specs. The engineers were to implement those specs. But nobody would measure the effects of anything. Proof that a grand poobah's idea didn't actually pan out was deeply unwelcome. It slowly drove my pal mad and he quit. The company bumped along for a few years to a modest acquisition, but it never really lived up to the hopes.
CEO: "We need to do something about growth!"
Marketer: "Mobile ads are something!"
CEO: "I read those are hot. Here's a bucket of money! Do lots of something so we have lots of growth!"
[spending ensues]
As the Uber story shows, a lot of money gets spent without anybody making sure that it actually works. The actual goal is not to have an effect. It's to be seen as taking bold action. If the business gets better, bonuses and promotions ensue, no matter what the actual cause. Cargo cult management.
It sounds insane, but I'm sure it's rife. Years ago I was coaching at a Lean Startup weekend class. One team really killed it, rapidly testing product hypotheses through real-world testing. Their initial idea was quickly proven worthless, but they listened to users and came up with an idea that would sell.
I kept in touch with one of those team members. He went back to his prominent, well-funded startup, excited to improve his company. But nobody wanted improvement. Execs wanted to sit in a big room, think big thoughts, and produce specs. The engineers were to implement those specs. But nobody would measure the effects of anything. Proof that a grand poobah's idea didn't actually pan out was deeply unwelcome. It slowly drove my pal mad and he quit. The company bumped along for a few years to a modest acquisition, but it never really lived up to the hopes.