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A review by fivetilnoon
Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency by Tom DeMarco
4.0
One of the better business books I've read recently. A little dated but not terrible. The fundamentals still apply. Short easy-to-digest chapters with well thought out arguments presented in a realistic way.
Highlights for me:
* Slack and efficiency are opposed. Think of the tile game with no extra spaces. It's efficient but can't change. No slack means no room to change.
* If everyone is 100% busy there is no availability to take on new things that come up. Being available has value too, not just being busy
* Team members need control (decision making) over their own environment (Buddha style). You can use trust from your reserve (Hercules style) to force control but this uses trust from the reservoir
* People under time pressure do not think faster
* Pressure has a limited capacity to benefit and a high capacity to do actual harm
* The term "aggressive schedule" is code for a schedule that is absurd and has no chance of being met
* A missed schedule indicts the planners, not the workers
* Overtime encourages time wasting. No one has to cut unnecessary meetings or be disciplined about interrupts because everyone just works more hours to make up for it
* Overworked managers are doing things that they shouldn't be doing. See Chap 12.
* Defining characteristic of modern litigation: everyone loses
* When rewarding failure with punishment: Ensures people will only take on sure things. Creates a cycle of blame when things go wrong
* Paradox of automation: it makes work harder, not easier. The easy work is automated, leaving only the hard work.
* Process ownership should be in the hands of those doing the work
* The most effective way to gain trust and loyalty with direct reports is to give the same in equal measure
* Being a "Can Do" manager runs counter to risk management. Need a healthy mix of both.
* Instead of proceeding at breakneck speed, proceed at all prudent speed. Less risk overall.
Highlights for me:
* Slack and efficiency are opposed. Think of the tile game with no extra spaces. It's efficient but can't change. No slack means no room to change.
* If everyone is 100% busy there is no availability to take on new things that come up. Being available has value too, not just being busy
* Team members need control (decision making) over their own environment (Buddha style). You can use trust from your reserve (Hercules style) to force control but this uses trust from the reservoir
* People under time pressure do not think faster
* Pressure has a limited capacity to benefit and a high capacity to do actual harm
* The term "aggressive schedule" is code for a schedule that is absurd and has no chance of being met
* A missed schedule indicts the planners, not the workers
* Overtime encourages time wasting. No one has to cut unnecessary meetings or be disciplined about interrupts because everyone just works more hours to make up for it
* Overworked managers are doing things that they shouldn't be doing. See Chap 12.
* Defining characteristic of modern litigation: everyone loses
* When rewarding failure with punishment: Ensures people will only take on sure things. Creates a cycle of blame when things go wrong
* Paradox of automation: it makes work harder, not easier. The easy work is automated, leaving only the hard work.
* Process ownership should be in the hands of those doing the work
* The most effective way to gain trust and loyalty with direct reports is to give the same in equal measure
* Being a "Can Do" manager runs counter to risk management. Need a healthy mix of both.
* Instead of proceeding at breakneck speed, proceed at all prudent speed. Less risk overall.