Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Everybody, thanks for coming to this talk. Let me share my screen.
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Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Everybody, thanks for coming to this talk. Let me share my screen.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Talk over the slides.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Um...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Where'd it go?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Mm.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
There it is.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Cool.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So hello, I am Steven Schrembeck.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
A software developer here. And this talk is not your job. Well, no,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
no.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Hey, listen, there we go. The art of defiance,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
defiant PowerPoint presentation. This talk,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
like the last talk I did for the Q3 Engineering Summit,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
which I was very happy to do, was well received,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
so I figured I would do something spiritually similar here.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is like the last one.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
deep meaning at work. This one is half philosophy,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
half practical advice on how to change your own behavior, how to change culture,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
get what you want at work, do better things.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And it's seen through the lens of engineering,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but it is not specifically and only about engineering.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So that is what I'm assuming this is for, but it's
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
more broadly applicable. All right, so let's talk about what this is about.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Take about 30 minutes, and then we'll leave about 10 plus
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
minutes for questions at the end. And yeah, we'll leave Q&A.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And it's really more of a conversation. If you think I'm dumb,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you don't like the ideas, or you have your own ideas,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'd love to hear it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's just as valid as a question. But until then, I'm going to talk.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So what is this about? This is about how to thoughtfully use
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Defiance in order to improve our product development, our operations,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
anything about how the business works. Improve the quality of life, that is,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I mentioned this in the last showing of this talk.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Making things like better and making people want to be here is totally valid.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
As long as it's not like detracting from other important things,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you have a license to do that. So this is also about that,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
making it more fun, wanting to come to work,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
enjoying what you're doing. In my mind, nobody's measuring that,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but it does matter. All right.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So beyond the actual process, hey Rick, I think your mic is unmuted just in case
Wallace, Steve (CAI - Texas)
Yes.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you sneeze or start coughing.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
My bad. Keep going. You're doing great.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You're gonna...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I would let you know.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Yeah, yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Um...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Talking about how roles and the definition of roles,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
obviously from an engineering perspective, change in a changing landscape.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Everything is changing all the time. So this is the last one was more about
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
how do I enjoy my job and my life? How do I find meaning in what I'm doing,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
whatever I'm doing, despite what's going on?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is much more about how am I involved in it? Things are going to change.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
What is my place in this? And how should I think about this?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
How do I do it? And then we'll sort of take it even
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
beyond that and more out into the rest of your life, which we'll talk about.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And then of course, the last and
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Fairly important part is, yeah, how not to do this wrong and get fired
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and actually just make things worse. You know, well-intentioned,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but you're actually, you're causing chaos, so you're making things worse.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So we're going to talk about some of the strategies and the risks and how to think
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
about this. So I'm going to give you this formal
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
warning. Everybody's an adult here.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is advice. Take it or leave it, but how you apply it is on you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Don't go doing some things that see when I could do this and, you know,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it's not my fault. So
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
be wise and you know, let's go from there. I'm not going to give you a whole lot
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
more hedging than that.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Cool.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So, let's start with a simple scenario. This talk is in two parts.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Part one is, this is a terrible idea. And it follows the scenario of you are a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
software developer working on an application team of some kind.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You have received a piece of work.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And in your own head, you think, that's like a really terrible idea.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
For some reason, this is not good. And...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
When it's on technical grounds, we generally have the domain,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
we have the trump card, right? Everybody's got a trump card. Now,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you know, if you're a doctor, you get to pull the trump card on
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
somebody because it's a medical issue. They're not going to be giving you legal
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
advice. In the same way, of course, we have a technical expertise and we're
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
expected to push back for technical things. This talk is not about that.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Not that people don't need help with that; these ideas apply there,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but what we're talking about is the gray area just beyond a job role, where, okay,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you want me to remove this thing, or you want me to add this feature,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you want me to make this change beyond just our technical reasons, we are...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
full, complete, rich human beings with lots of knowledge,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
far beyond you know how to make some software do a thing, according to spec.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm of the opinion that treating yourself as a cog, a worker on the assembly line,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
is a terrible idea as a knowledge worker. There is so much we are leaving on the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
table. But anyway.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
All right, so you get the work in the hypothetical.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
What do you do? Do you keep it to yourself?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Do you try to push back, at risk to yourself or your career?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Do you make change? How do you go about it?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Should you? And the entire purpose of this talk is to
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
say yes, with multiple asterisks after it, I think you should,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and we desperately need you to. At every level, the company, the species,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
we all need people who are willing to push back.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And this is especially important in engineering.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
because we're often the last line of defense. We're the last thing,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
we're the last people to see something. And we often have the most context,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
not only on how it works, but we spend a lot of time with these
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
things, literally working with them. So we have a perspective that nobody else
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
does. If we don't speak up, there's a very good chance nobody will.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We are the last.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
line in the immune system. We, I believe, have a moral and greater,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
at least to the company or our work ethic, to speak up if we believe something isn't
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
good for the product, for the customer, for the business goals, whatever. Morally,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
ethically, that's also valid.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
All right, so let's get into it. We'll start right away with a pretty
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
sensational headline. You don't have to do what you're told.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Here's a couple questions to think about. Who do you work for?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Where does your loyalty belong? Why? And do you feel clear on why?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is not obvious. When there is conflict,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you've received this hypothetical piece of work.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is not hypothetical for most people. It could even just be,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
this is a waste of time. We've been doing this stuff for three
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
months. You're giving me more of this? Like, nobody knows if it's working.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Why are we doing this? Whether or not you've said anything is
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
immaterial at this point. Where does your loyalty go?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That matters A lot. Is it to your product or business
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
partners who are asking for the change?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Is it to the customers? You know, damn the torpedoes. Like, no,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm here for them. This is what they want. It's clear. Look at this.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm here for them. And you're willing to push back against
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
your peers. Is it for, you know, your management, the technical leadership?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Are they where your loyalty goes? Do you have loyalty to high level company
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
goals over low level company goals?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Do you have loyalty to your friends and your relationships at the company?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's not worth burning the bridge. It's not obvious.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I can tell you what my answer is. You're welcome to draw from that if you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
want to. But it's important that you know why
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're here and who you're working for. And my answer,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
which I more or less said in this last talk as well,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
is I work for myself and what I believe is right. I work for meaning and purpose.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I need a paycheck.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
A paycheck is necessary, but it's not sufficient. For me,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
this is my choice. I choose to do work that I think is
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
meaningful and valuable. Not always. I know. I got to do stuff that,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
at least from a utility perspective, I don't get it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I don't have to get everything. That's not the point.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But when I see something that I really think could be improved,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I think is wrong for some reason.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Then it gets interesting because my loyalty is to what I think is right and
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
effective. I have no real love for used cars in my
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
case in this part of the organization, but I do care about doing good work,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I care about people, I care about doing something that's
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
effective and provides value. All those things matter to me,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and that is what I'm of service to.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But you pick your own thing, you know? Choose your own adventure, it's your life.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But you're a human being and not a cog.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Just don't forget that. And we need you to not be a cog because
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
we need to innovate. We need to change. We need what you bring to the table
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
beyond your technical expertise. We'll get into that in a second.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So the art of small defiance. So the dark secret of all engineering
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
professions is that this is actually kind of a moot point because turns out if a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
lot of people think an idea is bad or dumb or wasteful,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Um...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Everybody drags their feet. Like, yeah, you estimate wrong.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You prioritize one thing over and over. This is a favorite tool.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's not clear which of these four things we should be doing. Well, I guarantee you,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
10 times out of 10, people are going to pick the one that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
they think is actually more valuable or will give them some learning,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
like some sort of value they're going to derive from it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
every single time. It always comes out somewhere.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If nobody says anything or nobody does anything and it's not effective,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it continues to be not effective.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Everybody knows that even if you're an engineer and technically that's not your
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
job, you have the ability to drag your feet on
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
anything or make anything poorly or take too long or deprioritize it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And that's always true. That's not a nice thing to say.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's not an easy thing to say, but that's how human beings operate.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It doesn't matter what the job role is, by the way. It's not just engineering.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's always true.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If it's foolish, or it doesn't make sense, or it's not effective,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it's always going to come out somewhere.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So you're going to pay one way or another. The only real decision here is whether
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're going to do something about it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and address it directly. All right, so now we're going to talk about this
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
part. I'll keep talking about this throughout
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and in Q&A as well, or the discussion.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Okay, there's a lot of asterisks here. And the couple I want to...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
really focus on are one, you need to be somebody who is providing
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
more value than you're taking away, like significantly more.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's not a good idea to do this, to start pushing back,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
especially outside your job role.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If you're not somebody who is already...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
being useful, right? You need to be able to do what you're
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
told well first before you not try to do what you're not told well.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's just how human beings work. It's also a reasonable expectation.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So you need a track record of being competent and being right.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I should go without saying that you should at least believe you are right or
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
at least believe you are right.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
likely enough to be right, a size of impact that is worth the risk.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And that brings us to the second part, which is data.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You want to be able to prove it subjectively, objectively.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You need to have something. Generally, it is best to pose a question,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
to assume competency in the people that you are questioning.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
A question is the best way to get started.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Hey, have you thought about this? Or how do we know it's going to have that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
result? I was at the grocery store to pick up a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
frozen pizza for lunch today, and one of the people at Kroger who stand
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
around operating the self-checkout things.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
She came up to me and started talking to me about SNAP,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
like the food stamp program, and asked if I had any relatives or
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
friends, you used that program. And I said, no. It's like, okay, well,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm going around telling everybody that Kroger runs the 20% discount on all
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
produce, fruits and vegetables, if you're in that program.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I think it's great. We don't have any signs up.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I told my manager, they're not having any signs up.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So I'm just walking around telling people now because I think it's important.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
What I am talking about.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
She gets it. She gets it. Nobody asked her to do that.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I thought that that was fantastic, and it was a perfect example of what I'm
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
trying to indicate here. The last is relationships. And that is...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
The point I want to make here is how you say something is more important than what
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're saying. That's not obvious, and it will be obvious to everyone else
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
around you. You can see in their response, especially when you're challenging
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
somebody, you don't want to trigger the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
psychological immune system. If they get emotional,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
especially in front of other people, it's not going to go well.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Talking to people generally, back channels first, trying to get allies,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
trying to ask questions, trying to understand,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and having the appearance of trying to understand. And not just the appearance,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but like genuinely also trying to understand is a great way to start.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And I think somebody mentioned this in the Q&A last time,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
is that if you just walk people through the logic,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you don't even have to tell them they're wrong. Most people are going to go, well,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
yeah. And then you're going to find the real
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
reason that this is happening. And then at that point,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you can make a decision. And nobody risked anything.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So often things don't even get to a point of real conflict.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
However, when it does, it helps to have rapport.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It helps to have friends before you need them. Pretty basic stuff, right?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You're going to find a lot more success.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
There's a lot more to it, but we'll get to it later.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Make sure I don't run out of time here. All right. So this is more about culture.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
There are no small acts of defiance. When you push back in a thoughtful or
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
empathetic way, also importantly, you're right.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Not so much that you're right, it's that it's affected.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
At the very least, the discussion.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
what change came out of this. It doesn't even matter that you're right,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that it had a net positive result. When you are defiant,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm not going to do this, is probably not how you want to go about
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
this. It's not a good start. I'm not saying that you should never do
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
this. You should never outright say no.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
However, when you push back or you question or you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
get involved, especially outside your job role,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
no matter how small, pretty recently, somebody wanted to put an icon in an
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
application. The icon, it looked like crap.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Like you couldn't understand what it was communicating. It was just noise.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It was bad.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's my personal opinion, but I did cite some actual reasons for
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
why it was unreadable, how it wasn't useful.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This had nothing to do with me. I was like barely even involved in this
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
task, but you know, sort of thoughtfully brought it up,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
made some suggestions how it should be changed. That's it. Like it seemed,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
why even say anything? It seems dumb. And if it's a total waste of time,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
obviously, you know, get your ROI out of this. However,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but when you do that kind of thing, you are showing the people around you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that it's okay to question. It's okay to have doubts about different
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
parts of the process. How did we get to this idea?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
How do we know whether this is going to work or not?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Why are we investing so much in this? Help me understand it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
When you do things like that, you're showing the people around you that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it's okay.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
to be involved in other areas of the business.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's okay to be involved in things that are just not your lane.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And human beings are complex, and we have a lot to offer.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We're much more expressive than our single job role would have us believe.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Also, we need to be shown.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We're experiential, so you change the culture,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and every time you do, you make it easier, right?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So you're making it easier for somebody else to question something big when you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
question something small, as long as how you're doing it is
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
actually, you know, well-intentioned and effective.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We can keep going. This is thinking beyond the job role of
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
engineering in particular, but also everything else.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
How does this sort of behavior change how we work together?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
What does it mean for our life?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Cool. All right, so we talked about mostly reactive stuff
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
for now, which is important and most we're going
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
to face. However, you can do stuff that no one asked you to
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
do. Spoiler, you're a free person. You don't have to do everything you're
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
told. You will reap the consequences of not
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
doing what you're told, so that's also true. However...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You can do things that nobody asked you to do.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is easier because nobody's paying attention to it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And I am of the belief that collectively as a society,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but also of course that permeates even our culture,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
especially in large organizations. We are severely deficient in proactive
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
enthusiasm. That is, seeing a thing that could change and not
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
just complaining about it at the water cooler, but no,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm actually going to take some steps. I'm going to start asking some people.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm gonna start, you know, putting some allies together,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
see what they think about this, making sure my understanding of the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
opportunity or problem is right. And then just start putting things in
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
motion, start talking about it. You don't even necessarily have to act,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but you can. And
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We are very deficient in this. And a lot of this is just how things work
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
in terms of a top-down structure and making sure that things are ordered.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But that's very difficult in a changing environment when you can spin up software
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
or various other products very quickly. AI assisted,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
particularly at the prototype and early development stages.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Very, very fast. When change happens so rapidly,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and in our industry, culturally, everything is moving.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's difficult to have a very rigid, linear process for development.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You need people who are sort of lower on the chains, bottom-up intelligence,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
to identify opportunities and challenges and actually feel like they have the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
courage and the ability to do something about it. My advice is to just...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Try. Now, if you're going to act outside your job
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
role, which I do many times, make sure you're doing your job well
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
first. That should be without saying that you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
are at least doing your job well, and you're not causing more problems,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and you're also not neglecting your actual responsibilities,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
your core responsibilities.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I do think we have a greater responsibility.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And the last thing I'll say about that is my favorite approach is literally just
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
picking higher level company goals. You know, like we had a goal last year,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I think, or whatever, increase marketplace vibrancy.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's your goal. You're on a specific thing with a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
specific task. But if you have free capacity,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
or you can just talk to people or get an idea going,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That is your goal. You are responsible to higher level ideas
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and values and company directives. And that is the easiest way to circumvent
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
lower level sort of bad ideas or just complacency or nobody wants to take it on.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If you are willing to supply the effort, you're willing to take a little bit of
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
career capital risk,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and you can point to something that is aligned to company values somewhere,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
directive somewhere, you can do it. Just go do it. Don't worry so much.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
As long as you're being responsible and you're not negligent, again,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
don't figure it out. You know what the risks are.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Just go do it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Don't worry about the billing codes. Tell your manager if you want to.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But that is my advice. That's where most of the positive change
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that I've been able to create has come from. I just didn't ask.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I asked where I was concerned. But beyond that,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Just go try things or just make enough to show somebody, to inspire somebody.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It seems so simple, but this is just a reminder. Yeah,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you can do things that nobody asks you to do. Not only can you, but you should.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And I think that you have.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Every right to do so.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So say what you really mean in the next slide is also pretty related to this.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Chances are you know something that is valuable.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And do not discount that because it is outside of your lane, essentially. Again,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
however, there's always wait to, if you're going to go against the flow,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
which is fine, we need people to change the flow of
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
things,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Just, you know, make sure.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're likely to be right. You need to be effective.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But say what you really mean, because if you don't say what you really
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
mean, just like before, the friction and the pressure in the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
system, it always comes out somewhere. Chances are you're not the only one
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
feeling it. I highly recommend that you are direct,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're transparent, obviously non-inflammatory.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
How you say things really, really matters.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
As long as all those boxes are checked, I have never regretted speaking my mind.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And things almost always get better when you do.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Hand in hand with that is the next one. Oh, ask for what you really want.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is a real crazy idea, but you are a free person.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And this organization, like every organization at every level,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
is just composed of people. And if those people don't say or ask for
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
what they want in the way that they work, what they're working on,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
what they think matters, what they think is effective,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
how they think things could be improved, then it doesn't happen.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
What you're going to get is you're going to get the people who are willing to ask
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
what they want, you're going to get what they want.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And if those are not aligned, well, that's on you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So hopefully this helps in the sense that I believe there are only two things that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
actually matter here. Effectiveness.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and alignment, meaning to company goals, product goals, your role, moral, ethical,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
your personal values, as long as it's aligned and it works,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
literally everything else is just somebody's opinion. So that in practice,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
somebody else's opinion can matter a lot, depending on whose opinion it is.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So, you know, but it's important to remember that you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
can have what you want and you're only going to get it if you ask for it or you
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
work for it. So if you feel strongly about something,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
whether it's a process change or whether it's a change in investment or product
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
direction, don't be afraid to start a conversation
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and start asking for it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
At the very least, get it going. You don't have to come out the gate
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
demanding stuff. That's probably not going to work out
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
well. But that's my advice. Don't forget that you can change things.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Just a reminder. And every time you do, again,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you give everyone else a license to do the same thing.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But even if it doesn't work, you may have inspired somebody.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So there's no separation. And I mentioned this last time between
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
work and life. I don't see it that way. You should bring,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you should be getting something out of your work. So selfish, selflessness,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
meaning it is for me, but it's also for everybody else.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That's a good way to live. And I think you should bring yourself
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
into your work as much as you can, because again,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're giving a license to other people around you to do the same thing.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is a different kind of defiance. It is a...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is who I want to be, how I want to act. And of course,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it can cause problems, but you're giving license to everyone
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
else to do the same. And it's creating more of a culture that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you're looking for. Of course, there is a risk. But this is my advice,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
which is if you feel things, if you want things,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
if you have things you need to say, especially when it is
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
other people's interests. That's the selflessness part of that.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
It's in their interest as well. Just ask for it, just demand it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And I think you'll be surprised by the results. That is my experience anyway.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
All right, I think there's one more, right? Here we go. Yeah,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'll leave you with this actual part and then we will go into Q&
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
A or discussion. Just you can tell me how wrong I am.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
All right, so that is, there's a moment coming for each of you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I just, I just know it will happen because that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
just seems to be how reality works. Now that you know this,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Now that you're aware of this, there's an inflection point where some
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
work you think is not worth doing or is counter to the actual goals of the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
product or the business or what the customer wants. Reactive,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
or you're going to see a problem and you're going to know,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I could probably do something about that. You're going to have a choice.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
This is a moment where you will have to decide, will I?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Am I going to do something or not? When I say something,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
am I going to ask a question? Am I going to get more context?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Assume competency in the other person. However, you're going to just ignore it.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You're going to quietly bury it and just move on and pretend that you did not know
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that you could have had.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
some small act of defiance here and made things better.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So it's really your choice in that moment. And I promise if you make that choice,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you will not be the same person afterward. And it will affect how you see everything
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
in life and every challenge, especially the ones with conflict,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
especially the ones that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
feel right, but are not convenient for you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And you will not regret, at least I have never regretted making
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
the choice that was not convenient for me, but felt right at some level.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So that's the talk. Anyone have any questions?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Comments.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
We have a Greg.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
I love this, Steven. Thank you for doing it. I had a...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Okay.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Mentor when I.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
I was much younger and had...
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
First started my career at Cox who taught me that.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
If you're gonna wait for permission to do the right thing,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
you're probably gonna be waiting for a while.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
I love what you were.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Saying about, you know, it's OK to do things that you can do more
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
than.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
What you've been asked to do?
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
But my question is, you talked a little bit about...
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Defiance.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm wondering what your thoughts are about compliance.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I think that...
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Most of what we do, as long as things are working,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
should be compliant, right? You don't want to introduce noise into a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
system, even just, you know, the medicine becomes worse than the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
poison. At some point, my thoughts are compliance should be the
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
norm in a functional system.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You shouldn't need this out all that often, however.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I think it's important to know that we are individuals and that we should be
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
able to express a defiance against the status quo or how things are
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
traditionally done, or against complacency,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
just didn't do the research, or didn't put a lot of thought into it,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
or it was politically convenient for somebody else. This is easy,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
or it's too much work, or it takes too long.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Whatever. We should feel like we can be
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
non-compliant without concern. Again, for the greater good,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
should be net positive, well-intentioned, without too much concern for ourselves,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Mm.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
even if there is some. It does take a little courage,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but it should be compliant most of the time.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And a lot, so much of this is in the how, not the what you're doing. Oh,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I'm still here. That is my opinion. If you are non-compliant,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Mhm.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
how you are non-compliant is very, very important.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Yeah, I didn't want to lead the witness. And we don't have to go any further into
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Sure.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
this, but I do wonder if a healthier system,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
if in a healthy system, would we rather see
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Active defiance over malicious compliance.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I would, personally, but I'm incredibly biased giving this
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
speech. So I'd say yes, it depends. The more disordered you are,
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
Okay.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
the more important it is that the people are individually competent and
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
well-intentioned in a distributed system, I think, for most of them.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
hierarchy and structure and process make up for a lot of failings,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
some of which could be moral failings. That's definitely possible.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Whatever you want to call that. Not necessarily doing the wrong thing,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but being lazy or just taking a shortcut. You need higher quality people, really,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
if you're going to have more disorder, is my opinion.
MacConnell, Rick (CAI - Atlanta)
There, go ahead, Gregori.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Happy New Year, everyone. Very good talk. Haddad.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
A question, because I always recommend the team to
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
speak up, but I think that is my personal bias,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
and I don't know, based on your experience,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
if that comply or it doesn't matter, always advise people like,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
it's okay to challenge an idea or person, but you also have to look at the forum.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
You know, if it's a 300...
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
people, teams meeting at the end of a sprint
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
review, you know, you speaking up or questioning may sound
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
very different, but if it's like a one-on-one or a small
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
group, so I always advise people to like, hey, a good question can sound very...
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
destructive in the different forums. So like, do you have any recommendation?
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Like, I always recommend start with a
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
one-on-one or small group before you build up, but is it me being too cautious?
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Like, what's your take on that?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So the delivery matters a lot, but yes, also the forum.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Like we are social creatures, right? Our reputation. Yeah,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
I know, but those are, yes.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
the threats to our reputation, perceived threats.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Perception is everything. There's only perception, right?
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah, yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
So that matters. The forum matters. I think I mentioned this in the last talk
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that one of my favorite approaches in order to be able to challenge something
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
that, you know, it doesn't have anything to do with me
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Who?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
really.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
is to go talk to people who it is their thing to have something to do with this
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and get their allegiance beforehand, make sure I understand,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
but also literally rope them in. Now it's not Steven. Now it's Steven plus,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Teri.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you know, the actual people who should care about
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
this and bringing them to bear on the problem. And now
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You cannot be written off. It's really not just a you thing.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
That is an easy approach that takes a little less individual risk and causes
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
less problems.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah, true, true. I was less concerned about the people
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
asking the question. It's more the person receiving the
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
question may feel more attacked if... No, it's just I think the forum kind of
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
how not to feel attacked, is that what you're asking for?
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
change people receive your question. You know, if I ask you a question about,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
hey, I don't think we're going to make money
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
on that product at the coffee machine versus a one-on-one versus
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
A team meeting with 300 people, people tend to react differently to the
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
same question.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Yeah, the social cost is much higher to getting
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah, I am.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it right. We all act differently in those. The easiest thing I can say is,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
it's all culture. Every time, we're all casting a vote with our actions
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
all the time. So if people always react poorly in these
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Mhm.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
kinds of settings, you better believe no one's going to be
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
asking hard questions anymore.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
To.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Is that what you want? Because they're still asking them.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
They're just asking them quietly amongst each other and to themselves in their
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
heads. And there would still be a problem. You've just buried it.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
True.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
And that's even worse. So what you want is to, you know,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you don't want to make things worse by overreacting or disincentivizing that
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
kind of behavior. It's important to look at the intent.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
because there is a cost. Nobody, just like standing up and trying to make
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
something better. If it works out or it has a good outcome,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
you don't have to be right. It has a good, worthwhile outcome, even the discussion,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Mm-hmm.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
people will be incentivized to do the same. They will feel safe to do the same.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If the opposite happens, then
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You better believe that people will not feel safe to do the same,
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and it will get worse.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yes, yes. And on the compliance comment before,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
the guideline I normally give my team is like, as long as it's ethical, legal,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
and you use the money and the capacity, like it's your own money and business,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
like I think most people should have
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
the room to try. I think it's, I think I'm always concerned when people
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
tell me they want to stay in their lane, like it's,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
because I think people tend to restrict, you know,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
make their lane smaller and smaller, and then we don't add as much value.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
So I always advise people that, I think if you like.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Consider, I think, which is your point, you know, that it's your own business,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
your own mission, and you want to make the best decision.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
I think we have more leeway than we think.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I would agree, especially if it works out, and especially if you're thoughtful
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
enough and not wasteful and you can start to demonstrate that it could work, right?
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
True, true.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
You know, you don't have to just bet everything
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
immediately. Yeah, I would love to see more of that as well.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
But I think honestly, you know, just defines at the quality assurance
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
level and saying, hey guys, this ain't ready. This was
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
How do you even know this is going to work? It's totally fine,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
just between you and your four teammates. That is also great,
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Chu.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
and I think we should see more of that. You don't necessarily need to go start a
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
startup within Cox Auto in order to make a change.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Yeah, good point, good point. Thank you.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Yeah. Any other questions or comments?
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Cool. I mentioned this on the last one. If you do any of this and you get
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
positive results, please send me a message and tell me.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I won't share it or anything. I just, I want to know.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
I want to know if this worked for you. And hopefully you all found this useful.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
If you found it valuable, please let me know as well.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Because, you know, it's hard to read a crowd with a bunch of
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
icons. But yeah, thanks for coming. Feel free to message me if you have any
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
follow-ups.
Faroux, Gregori (CAI - Mission)
Thank you so much. Take care.
Porter, Vicki (CAI - Burlington)
Not us, and then thank you, Steven, while the translation gets taken care of
Recce, Rocco (CAI - North Hills)
Thank you.
Porter, Vicki (CAI - Burlington)
by some help.
Schrembeck, Steven (CAI - Atlanta)
Bye.