Action

I know a company where the CEO and the COO decided to stop acting on QA reports. I guess it seemed easier for them to sign-off waivers than to fix problems.

Quality went down and customer satisfaction went down with it.
At a certain point they decided they did not want to pay for reports that required them to act and fired the QA department.
Quality, they quoted, is everybody's job.

Quality went further down and customer satisfaction followed suit.

The last time I heard about them, the CEO and COO had been let go after a takeover and the company was hiring auditors.

Fungus

Learning

I focus more on learning than on teaching.

I believe it is my responsibility to learn.

The organizations I work for may help me:
a) by telling me what I need to learn to be more valuable.
b) by creating an environment that makes learning easier for me.
c) by allowing access to organizational knowledge (people and documents).

But at the end of the day, like I said ...
It is my responsibility to learn.

Fungus

Children

Someone told me that Ancient Romans were a great civilization until they stopped planting trees for their children.

I try to focus on what I can do.
I try to make sure that I am continuously learning and teaching ... not only Math and Sciences, but everything. And yes. I've planted a few trees for my children and for other children too.

Fungus

Motivation

The Top Leader is responsible to create a vision that people can subscribe to.
The Top Leader should state where to, and how far we want to go.
The top leader should also make sure that everybody understands the vision, mission and goals.
That's about it.
When leaders start telling people how to do it, they start to fail.

Under the old, bureaucratic, hierarchical model, middle managers were supposed to have relevant knowledge and experience, and they were expected to coordinate the working bees, making sure they did the right thing.

Under newer models (like ISO 9000), all employees are expected to actively participate in the organization, to work according to documented processes, to measure the results, and to improve them continually.

A good process lets the performers know how they are doing relative to the objectives, and lets them improve the process.
A good process empowers employees.

Many middle managers, and some CEOs find this new order less than comfortable.
What will they do if they are not directing, managing, coordinating or supervising?
Maybe they would have to work.

And how would they explain their salaries and perks?

Many working bees also find this new order undesirable.
Loosely quoting from Aldous Huxley: They are awfully glad they're betas, so they don't have to think.

No surprise then, that they don't push towards the new order.

Fungus

Peter principle

Peter Principle seems to apply only in "X Theory" hierarchical organizations where employees do not have a say in their own development. Government bureaucracies are a good example of such an organization. It does not happen in "Y Theory", team based, customer oriented organizations, where people tend to seek responsibilities above their proven competence, but have the drive and support to develop the skills they need to succeed. Software development is no exception. Fungus