25 Comments
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Ben Mathes's avatar

You have described my day job without even seeing my day job.

Rodrigo Sperb's avatar

Please do write the rest... Pretty insightful stuff!

Andrew Stringer's avatar

Can any % / number of "Number 4" (pragmatic change agent) get together to change the game?

Brian Duchek's avatar

I identified with this one, primarily. Still felt less than great, as it’s kind of passive.

Tiffany Chang's avatar

💜 So it's on the record, as a technical program manager, I don't like chaos because it does not benefit my teams on the ground getting stuff done whatsoever.

Helena's avatar

Thank you for this very timely piece. I joined a losing game a couple of months ago where most people are playing #5. Thanks for helping me make sense of the context and feel less crazy and cynical. Thanks also for renewing my optimism that there are better games I will soon be playing elsewhere! Look forward to reading the next parts.

Gokul's avatar

love this! look forward to the rest

Alex Seen's avatar

V poslední době jsem se svými přáteli často diskutoval o různých sportovních událostech a jejich dopadu na průmysl. Abych se dozvěděl více, rozhodl jsem se vyhledat příslušné informace na internetu. Narazil jsem na webové stránky https://www.wn24.cz/jak-by-se-mma-zmenilo-kdyby-khabib-prohral-s-conorem/ , kde jsem našel spoustu zajímavých věcí. Článek o tom, jak by se MMA změnilo, kdyby Khabib prohrál s Conorem, mi otevřel oči. Rozebírá nejen sportovní aspekty, ale i sociální a ekonomické důsledky. Stránka také nabízí různé bonusy pro zájemce o sázení. Tento zdroj mi pomohl lépe pochopit, jak může jedna událost ovlivnit celé odvětví.

Rodrigo Paiva's avatar

I’m eagerly awaiting the following articles on this topic.

Carl Rogers's avatar

I am curious about connecting the 5 game options in low trust environments to action logics. Under/over sounds like opportunist/diplomat strategy; meet a promise as expert and achiever; fight the system as individualists; and pragmatic change agent as strategist. Not sure about the last but sounds low on the order.

Robert Stuttaford's avatar

I love it. Looking forward to more!

Rules systems for humans only work if the humans can break the rules, but we still get the outcomes we designed the system to produce. E.g. speed limits being set to 60% of what we actually want, or drill sergeants being utterly pedantic about facial hair, so that the stuff that really matters (a camaraderie from having a common enemy - the drill sergeant) happens.

I love thinking about this, as it relates to this knowledge-work meta-game we are playing. We LOVE cutting corners, it really is human nature. What corners are we cutting? Did we succeed anyway? Why? Or did we set it up so that the cut corners actually hindered progress?

Computer game makers face this problem all the time. There are always some players are always looking for an edge. How do we make a game that's fun (i.e they succeed at the stated goal) for the folks who play as intended, without giving those game-breaking-edge-seekers an undue advantage?

David Popkin's avatar

Love this. I hope you continue in this series.

David's avatar

Spot on. EXCEPT for the dig against program managers. Sure, bad ones will play the system for their own controlling ends. But so will bad product managers. Great program managers will act as the wind in the sails of product development teams, constantly optimizing for effective value delivery. Noone should still be promoting scrum in 2023 in all but the most dysfunctional environments

Julia's avatar

I found this extremely insightful. We have created a North star framework and people are loving it. I realise now as they start to understand the rules. Please continue the series, John. 🙏

Amy Mitchell's avatar

please keep going with this subject!

Jason Bach's avatar

I want more of this John

Jackie Katsianas's avatar

Looking forward to #2 and #3!