cynthia/gist:9874671

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<title>How Software Companies Die</title>
<meta name="author" content="Orson Scott Card">
</head>

<body>

<h1 align=center>How Software Companies Die</h1>
<p align=center><b>By: <person>Orson Scott Card</person></b><p>
<p><i>{Windows Sources, March 1995, p. 208}</i></p>

<p>
The environment that nurtures creative programmers kills management
and marketing types - and vice versa. Programming is the Great
Game.  It consumes you, body and soul.  When you're caught up
in it, nothing  else matters.  When you emerge into daylight,
you might well discover  that you're a hundred pounds overweight,
your underwear is older than  the average first grader,  and judging
from the number of pizza boxes  lying around, it must be spring
 already.  But you don't care,  because your program runs, and
the code is fast and clever and tight.  You won.

<p>
You're aware that some people think you're a nerd.  So what?
They're not players.  They've never jousted with Windows or gone
hand  to hand with DOS.  To them C++ is a decent grade, almost
a B - not a  language.  They barely exist.  Like soldiers or artists,
you don't  care about the opinions of civilians.  You're building
something  intricate and fine.  They'll never understand it.

<h3>BEEKEEPING</h3>

<p>
Here's the secret that every successful software company is
based on:  You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers
tame bees.  You  can't exactly communicate with them, but you
can get them to  swarm in one place and when they're not looking,
you can carry off  the honey.

<p>
You keep these bees from stinging by paying them money.  More
money than they know what to do with.  But that's less than you
might  think.  You see, all these programmers keep hearing their
fathers'  voices in their heads saying &quot;When are you going
to join the real  world?&quot;  All you have to pay them is enough
money that they can  answer (also in their heads) &quot;Geez,
Dad, I'm making more than you.&quot;  On average, this is cheap.

<p>
And you get them to stay in the hive by giving them other coders
to swarm with.  The only person whose praise matters is another
programmer.  Less-talented programmers will idolize them; evenly
matched ones will challenge and goad one another; and if you
want to  get a good swarm, you make sure that you have at least
one certified  genius coder that they can all look up to, even
if he glances at  other people's code only long enough to sneer
at it.

<p>
He's a Player, thinks the junior programmer.  He looked at
my code.  That is enough.  If a software company provides such
a hive,  the coders will give up sleep, love, health, and clean
laundry, while  the company keeps the bulk of the money.

<h3>OUT OF CONTROL</h3>

<p>
Here's the problem that ends up killing company after company.
All successful software companies had, as their dominant personality,
a leader who nurtured programmers.  But no company can keep
such a leader forever.  Either he cashes out, or he brings in
management  types who end up driving him out, or he changes and
becomes a  management type himself.  One way or another, marketers
get control.

<p>
But...control of what?  Instead of finding assembly lines of
productive workers, they quickly discover that their product is
produced by utterly unpredictable, uncooperative, disobedient,
and  worst of all, unattractive people who resist all attempts
at  management.  Put them on a time clock, dress them in suits,
and they  become sullen and start sabotaging the product.  Worst
of all, you  can sense that they are making fun of you with every
word they say.

<h3>SMOKED OUT</h3>

<p>
The shock is greater for the coder, though.  He suddenly finds
that alien creatures control his life.  Meetings, Schedules, Reports.
And now someone demands that he PLAN all his programming and
then  stick to the plan, never improving, never tweaking, and
never, never  touching some other team's code. The lousy young
programmer who once  worshipped him is now his tyrannical boss,
a position he got because  he played golf with some sphincter
in a suit.

<p>
The hive has been ruined.  The best coders leave.  And the
marketers, comfortable now because they're surrounded by power
neckties and they have things under control, are baffled that
each  new iteration of their software loses market share as the
code bloats  and the bugs proliferate.  Got to get some better
packaging.  Yeah,  that's it.

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	<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN">
	<html>

	<head>

	<title>How Software Companies Die</title>
	<meta name="author" content="Orson Scott Card">
	</head>

	<body>

	<h1 align=center>How Software Companies Die</h1>
	<p align=center><b>By: <person>Orson Scott Card</person></b><p>
	<p><i>{Windows Sources, March 1995, p. 208}</i></p>

	<p>
	The environment that nurtures creative programmers kills management
	and marketing types - and vice versa. Programming is the Great
	Game. It consumes you, body and soul. When you're caught up
	in it, nothing else matters. When you emerge into daylight,
	you might well discover that you're a hundred pounds overweight,
	your underwear is older than the average first grader, and judging
	from the number of pizza boxes lying around, it must be spring
	already. But you don't care, because your program runs, and
	the code is fast and clever and tight. You won.

	<p>
	You're aware that some people think you're a nerd. So what?
	They're not players. They've never jousted with Windows or gone
	hand to hand with DOS. To them C++ is a decent grade, almost
	a B - not a language. They barely exist. Like soldiers or artists,
	you don't care about the opinions of civilians. You're building
	something intricate and fine. They'll never understand it.

	<h3>BEEKEEPING</h3>

	<p>
	Here's the secret that every successful software company is
	based on: You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers
	tame bees. You can't exactly communicate with them, but you
	can get them to swarm in one place and when they're not looking,
	you can carry off the honey.

	<p>
	You keep these bees from stinging by paying them money. More
	money than they know what to do with. But that's less than you
	might think. You see, all these programmers keep hearing their
	fathers' voices in their heads saying "When are you going
	to join the real world?" All you have to pay them is enough
	money that they can answer (also in their heads) "Geez,
	Dad, I'm making more than you." On average, this is cheap.

	<p>
	And you get them to stay in the hive by giving them other coders
	to swarm with. The only person whose praise matters is another
	programmer. Less-talented programmers will idolize them; evenly
	matched ones will challenge and goad one another; and if you
	want to get a good swarm, you make sure that you have at least
	one certified genius coder that they can all look up to, even
	if he glances at other people's code only long enough to sneer
	at it.

	<p>
	He's a Player, thinks the junior programmer. He looked at
	my code. That is enough. If a software company provides such
	a hive, the coders will give up sleep, love, health, and clean
	laundry, while the company keeps the bulk of the money.

	<h3>OUT OF CONTROL</h3>

	<p>
	Here's the problem that ends up killing company after company.
	All successful software companies had, as their dominant personality,
	a leader who nurtured programmers. But no company can keep
	such a leader forever. Either he cashes out, or he brings in
	management types who end up driving him out, or he changes and
	becomes a management type himself. One way or another, marketers
	get control.

	<p>
	But...control of what? Instead of finding assembly lines of
	productive workers, they quickly discover that their product is
	produced by utterly unpredictable, uncooperative, disobedient,
	and worst of all, unattractive people who resist all attempts
	at management. Put them on a time clock, dress them in suits,
	and they become sullen and start sabotaging the product. Worst
	of all, you can sense that they are making fun of you with every
	word they say.

	<h3>SMOKED OUT</h3>

	<p>
	The shock is greater for the coder, though. He suddenly finds
	that alien creatures control his life. Meetings, Schedules, Reports.
	And now someone demands that he PLAN all his programming and
	then stick to the plan, never improving, never tweaking, and
	never, never touching some other team's code. The lousy young
	programmer who once worshipped him is now his tyrannical boss,
	a position he got because he played golf with some sphincter
	in a suit.

	<p>
	The hive has been ruined. The best coders leave. And the
	marketers, comfortable now because they're surrounded by power
	neckties and they have things under control, are baffled that
	each new iteration of their software loses market share as the
	code bloats and the bugs proliferate. Got to get some better
	packaging. Yeah, that's it.

	</body>
	</html>

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	INTERNET ARCHIVE ON 15:43:56 Mar 30, 2014.
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	ALL OTHER CONTENT MAY ALSO BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT (17 U.S.C.
	SECTION 108(a)(3)).
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