Field Guide to Programmers

Reginald Braithwaite posted a funny take on the old saw about managers taking over doomed projects. Definitely worth the read, especially if you are stuck in a project death spiral and desperately need a laugh.

That said, I thought his additional commentary at the end was particularly insightful (see below)…

Billy Martin’s Technique for Managing his Manager:

Someone suggested that the ability to quit your job is a luxury. I don’t like to use that word, because it suggests that the job itself is a luxury. It is possible that the pay cheque is a luxury, but for people who are engaged in their careers, the job is a necessity because their self-actualization depends on doing a good job. When you put it that way, the question becomes whether people have the luxury of remaining in a job where they don’t feel good about themselves and what they do.

[Via: raganwald]