@Lauramaywendel You make a very good point, traditional corporate structures often don’t include enough trust to allow for this kind of work And it’s hard for managers to know who’s taking the long way to a 10x solution, who simply sucks at time management, and who just isn’t performing

@dotinvoke very true. It's like the process is optimized for the lowest common denominator and outliers don't fit into this. but there are many fields where you really want (or rather need) outliers, such as technological breakthroughs / innovation

@Lauramaywendel Great points and we're humans, not robots. I used to work alongside a senior dev who would seem distracted for potentially hours at a time, watching videos, memes etc. Then all of a sudden they would communicate an entire architecture and a clear plan to achieve it.

@lukesprosser I know the same all too well. Kind of like you're running a background process on something until the result is "ready". Perhaps a synergy between the conscious and subconscious

@Lauramaywendel But these guys have a hard time marketing themselves.

@post_relativity ideally you'd have an organization structured in a way that the results speak for themselves. if that is not possible, probably having a great manager / leader that can earnestly see real contributions / impact (no matter how they appear) would help

@Lauramaywendel This is why productivity, whether it be creative or engineering, should be measured separate from hours in seats. That said, watching videos and memes can also contribute to a lackadaisical culture that is less mission oriented so I wouldn’t want that to be a typical thing.

@rosejn it's tough finding the sweet spot between freedom and rigour. but I think this is why it's so important to deeply know each person you hire / work with and understand in what kind of environment they flourish. Some should probably be left alone completely, others might benefit…

@Lauramaywendel Reminds me of something I read in a biography of Benjamin Franklin, where one of the reasons Franklin's newspaper succeeded was because he was so good at looking busy all the time. It probably annoyed him, but he was a patient man. Is it an American thing, to try to look busy?

@CrowGeofrey I think it's "high performance" culture but confusing the outward appearance of it with the actual substance

@Lauramaywendel so true

@Lauramaywendel sometimes I like to think I’m one of these people but honestly I’m just a procrastinator

@Lauramaywendel Exactly why I’m building @aiopsclub_ - Ai is the model for us operations who are comfortable with high leverage, cross functional work

@Lauramaywendel Facts

@Lauramaywendel So true.

@Lauramaywendel Joins new company. Spends 2 months reading all their docs. Spends 2 weeks inventing new state of art. Spends 2 years telling everyone at the company about it. Leaves company.

@Lauramaywendel like a cypher, once solved 10x flows

@Lauramaywendel This is me

@Lauramaywendel This is why Indie Capitalism kicks ass! My wife always asks me, "are you working?" Put me next to anyone on a task race though, and I can kick ass.

@Lauramaywendel Very true. It takes me days to allow a thought to marinate and create structure while there is no output to show for it tangibly. Then one day I can just write the details down, which is generally more thought out than what others can accomplish