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Letters to a Young Manager


Throw in a steak, #573
LTYM >

Please note that this letter is in-process; the following are my notes

Dear Adam,
***
When you have a team that is carnivorously moving forward, your job as manger is to occasionally throw in a steak. Not sure who said this; Google search didn't find it. May have been DeMarco & Lister in the discussion of team jell (not gel) in "Peopleware." [1]

"Once a team begins to jell, the probability of success gres up dramatically. The team can become almost unstoppable, a juggernaut for success. Managing these juggernaut teams is a real pleasure. You spend most of your time just getting obstacles out of their way, clearing the path so that bystanders don't get trampled underfoot..." [1]

The ad hoc spaghetti dinner story "Success breeds success, and productive harmony breeds more productive harmony, Your chances of jelling into a meaningful team are enhanced by your very first experience together." IBID. pp. 140-141
***
Sincerely yours,
Ed
________________________

[1] Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister, "Peopleware," 1987, pp. 123

Takeaways:

A jelled team is a carnivorous doer

Discussion Questions:


For Further Reading:

See "A Jelled Team," story #415




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