Autism

I have noticed a back and forth in engineering companies between prioritizing project teams, who focus on a single customer each, and product teams who focus on generic development, overarching the individual projects.

Upper management will see that a lot of products are sold (each sale is a project), and the company now actually has to deliver projects. So product teams are ripped up, and everyone is dedicated to specific projects, because making these deadlines is the most essential thing in the known universe.

A couple of years later, they hire expensive consultants to tell them how to optimize their business. These consultants will note (after simply asking the engineers) that there is a lot of development being done many times over, once for each project. So the entire organisation is optimized by ripping up the project teams, and placing the engineers in product teams.

The result is a new standardized product, of which the company can sell a lot, which eventually brings us back to step 1.

A good company will realise that going 200% into 1 direction will make it way harder to steer back once the inevitable pull into the other direction arrives. So a more temperate approach, tends to win in the long term. But explaing that to a manager is usually a waste of your time.

I worked around 18 wheelers for awhile. Eventually you develop a sense for who is going to be a problem driver before they've even fully pulled onto the lot.

Obvious signs are the company they drive for. Some companies stress hiring competent drivers with good track records, others get theirs by training people with zero record. Condition of the tractor is another easy tell. Some states generally seemed to send worse drivers as well, for example we got a lot of bad drivers from IL.

And then you've got how they pull inside in the first place. Missing the turn in, not a big deal. But missing the turn in when they were going 40mph? Did they fly or creep through the gates? Either side of the spectrum is a worry. Once through the gate were they able to follow the preponderance of signage and context clues to direct them where to go? How did they brake as they came to a stop? Speaking of brakes, do you smell theirs? Not a great sign if you do. Did you have to tell them to engage their air brakes?

Then you've got the driver. Young driver? Not a good sign. Are they in a hurry or agitated in some way? Do they have a pet jumping all over their lap as they check in or a spouse/co driver they're fighting with? Music absolutely blasting to keep them awake? Is the driver acting like this is all new to them? How good is their english and are they going to be able to follow simple directions?

And then you've got how they actually approach their dock. Wasn't a large lot, so some drivers before they've even started to back up have already put themselves in an unwinnable position just by the way they approached the dock. Did they decide to circle round the lot in a weird way? If they're having to back up at an angle did they choose the correct way, or are they trying it blind side for zero reason?

If a driver started checking a few too many of those boxes, I knew they were going to do their best to hit something. You'd tell these drivers to open their windows, literally follow you around the lot and hand hold them as they backed up, and they'd still manage to hit something.

Every single decision that every single middle manager has ever made and forced everyone to follow through with.

Every couple weeks for the last 11 years my blueMaga family members are convinced this latest thing is going to put Trump in prison and then all the bad things they've been hearing about will go away again. Currently we're at "Bill Clinton is going to blow this whole thing wide open".

Same with "Russia's finished this time, Ukraine is about to turn it around!" since the invasion.