Human are more fun than robots. Humans tend to have better senses of humor, they like the same foods you do, and when things change they don’t freak out and kill people (usually).
Yet, when a hard problem comes along, managers call for the robots. They want those amazing workers that you can feed a set of linear instructions to and they will come back with perfect product.
Of course, these robots don’t exist (which makes them even less fun to work with).
As my business partner Corey Ladas says in his book Scrumban:
In the software profession, it is common to hear advice like: “only hire the best and let them figure it out.” This sentiment is nearly as misguided as command-and-control and antithetical to lean thinking. “Hire the best” is an elitist and ultimately lazy management philosophy. … consider that a championship team will almost always defeat and all-star team, because the quality of the relationships between qualified players is usually more important than individual performances.
Robots are rarely interested in conversation or second opinions. In business, “the best” are robots. “Normal” people are more likely to rely on each other for support, creating scalable teams of capabilities. Robots are more likely to chunk through work on their desk assuming they know best (because you’ve told them they are).
Hiring the best is a pipe dream and ultimately self-defeating. Even the best cannot build the product you envision if you don’t communicate with them. And if you can communicate with the best – you should be able to communicate with “normal” people too.
Blogged at Modus Cooperandi in Seattle, WA
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