Dan McKinley Math, Programming, and Minority Reports

In my talk Egoless Engineering I make the case that results are better when teams cooperate, that punching down and other forms of brilliant-jerkhood are actually dumb, and that leaders should reward curiosity and generosity. I think misery is a dumb strategy and I am encouraged that some folks have found this case compelling.

Some of those who find the content compelling wish they could persuade their leaders on these points, and have asked me for advice on how to accomplish this. I address this a little in the talk:

I stand by this overall assessment. It’s unrealistic to expect workers to build a culture that executes well without leadership support in the best case, and against leadership’s instincts in the worst. It’s taking risks, especially in proximity to down-punchers that will attempt to undermine you.

That said, I don’t think there’s nothing you can do to win support. Over the decades I have discovered a few hacks for influencing superiors. I apologize in advance for how dumb some of this sounds. Please know that I mean this pragmatically, and sincerely. None of this advice is sarcastic. It may be darkly funny, but it is not a joke.

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