Lines Matching full:you
7 on who you ask) management style for the linux kernel. It's meant to
15 might not actually be true. You'll have to decide for yourself.
19 companies. If you sign purchase orders or you have any clue about the
20 budget of your group, you're almost certainly not a kernel manager.
21 These suggestions may or may not apply to you.
43 particular, if somebody tells you "choose (a) or (b), we really need you
44 to decide on this", you're in trouble as a manager. The people you
45 manage had better know the details better than you, so if they come to
46 you for a technical decision, you're screwed. You're clearly not
49 (Corollary:if the people you manage don't know the details better than
50 you, you're also screwed, although for a totally different reason.
51 Namely that you are in the wrong job, and that **they** should be managing
56 makes you look like you know what you're doing, so what a kernel manager
61 small one is whether you can fix your decision afterwards. Any decision
62 can be made small by just always making sure that if you were wrong (and
63 you **will** be wrong), you can always undo the damage later by
64 backtracking. Suddenly, you get to be doubly managerial for making
72 you cannot escape. A cornered rat may be dangerous - a cornered manager
77 fairly easy to backtrack. Since you're not going to be able to waste
78 huge amounts of money that you might not be able to repay, the only
79 thing you can backtrack on is a technical decision, and there
80 back-tracking is very easy: just tell everybody that you were an
81 incompetent nincompoop, say you're sorry, and undo all the worthless
82 work you had people work on for the last year. Suddenly the decision
83 you made a year ago wasn't a big decision after all, since it could be
89 - admitting you were an idiot is harder than it looks. We all like to
90 maintain appearances, and coming out in public to say that you were
92 - having somebody tell you that what you worked on for the last year
95 deleting it, you may have irrevocably lost the trust of that
101 admitting up-front that you don't have a friggin' clue, and telling
103 might be the wrong thing. You should always reserve the right to change
105 to admit that you are stupid when you haven't **yet** done the really
113 not. After all, if **they** aren't certain whether it's a good idea, you
118 Remember: they'd better know more about the details than you do, and
120 thing you can do as a manager is not to instill confidence, but rather a
131 couldn't decide was that they were both wrong. You end up coming up
132 smelling like roses, and you avoided yet another decision that you could
139 Most people are idiots, and being a manager means you'll have to deal
141 **you**.
144 as easy to undo personality disorders. You just have to live with
157 (2) learn how to apologize when you forgot rule (1)
159 The problem with #1 is that it's very easy to do, since you can say
160 "you're a d*ckhead" in millions of different ways [#f2]_, sometimes without
162 you are right.
164 And the more convinced you are that you are right (and let's face it,
165 you can call just about **anybody** a d*ckhead, and you often **will** be
168 To solve this problem, you really only have two options:
187 sadly that you are one too, and that while we can all bask in the secure
191 other people that are less of an idiot than you are.
195 Make sure that you, as a kernel maintainer, are in the second group.
197 easier. In particular, they'll be able to make your decisions for you,
200 So when you find somebody smarter than you are, just coast along. Your
205 smarter person hadn't thought about. In either case, you win.
208 not necessarily translate to other areas. So you might prod people in
211 naturally gravitate back to what they are good at, so it's not like you
212 are doing something irreversible when you **do** prod them in some
219 Things will go wrong, and people want somebody to blame. Tag, you're it.
223 best way of taking the blame: do it for someone else. You'll feel good
226 incompetence will grudgingly admit that you at least didn't try to weasel
229 Then make the developer who really screwed up (if you can find them) know
231 future, but so that they know they owe you one. And, perhaps even more
233 face it, it sure ain't you.
235 Taking the blame is also why you get to be manager in the first place.
236 It's part of what makes people trust you, and allow you the potential
237 glory, because you're the one who gets to say "I screwed up". And if
238 you've followed the previous rules, you'll be pretty good at saying that
247 first you can apologize for, the second one you won't really get the
248 chance. They likely will no longer be listening even if you otherwise
252 somebody else puts on airs, it **really** rubs us the wrong way. You may
253 be morally and intellectually superior to everybody around you, but
254 don't try to make it too obvious unless you really **intend** to irritate
259 internet, nobody can hear you being subtle". Use a big blunt object to
260 hammer the point in, because you can't really depend on people getting
265 without making it painful to the recipient, who just thinks you're being
272 a while, and you'll feel cleansed. Just don't crap too close to home.
280 you're incompetent, the obvious question becomes one of why do it in the
283 First off, while you may or may not get screaming teenage girls (or
285 room door, you **will** get an immense feeling of personal accomplishment
286 for being "in charge". Never mind the fact that you're really leading
288 as you can. Everybody will still think you're the person in charge.
290 It's a great job if you can hack it.