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coords1306's avatar

Great post. I had similar notions when I realized as much as I may poor over web traffic reports google analytics offers and value how it informed me what content or feature was better it probably, rarely dictated a decision on what to try next. And I half figured that as much as execs love all those fancy charts how often do they see a specific graphic and go...hold up...let's completely change course. I'm sure it happens sometimes but I bet for every time it happens there are 5 others where the decision was made and these graphs just make everybody feel better about it.

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The 21st Century Salonnière's avatar

"White collar work tends to bloat and metastasize." That's the truth. I've watched layers and levels of administration get bigger and bigger. The solution to every problem is either "hire more people" or "schedule more meetings" or "do more reports."

Also true: "white-collar workers often gain prestige and salary from obtaining more direct reports."

My team is about a quarter of the size of comparable teams in other departments, but we serve the same number of people, doing the same amount of work. How do we do that? Simple: We cut out all the bullshit. It's considered a "smaller department." Well, yes and no, right? How much work do we accomplish? People are always surprised when they learn how many people we serve with that smaller team.

But my "prestige" as a "manager" is about a quarter of the prestige of the managers who have bloated teams (with levels of supervisors in between) doing the same work. I of course feel like I deserve the inverse -- four times the prestige for leading a team that accomplishes the same work with a quarter of the people. :P And I want more money. People with more direct reports get more money. Don't get me started on the money. My team provides a shit-ton of value.

I must be in a braggy mood today. Whatever -- don't care! Your post really struck a chord! It's one of my favorite topics -- how much pointless work there is at most workplaces, which doesn't help anyone do anything important.

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