Ben Buckman.net

My last post pissed off a lot of people that I didn't necessarily want to piss off. I revised it but the damage had been done. So not being able to unwrite it, and with the benefit of some hindsight (and honest feedback), I'll try to add some belated balance.

The first point I neglected to mention was that this job I just left was obviously a good jumping board. It was on that job that I developed much of the skillset which let me get this new job. I realize now what I didn't then, that management actually sees the launchpad potential of the company as a positive (or at least unavoidable) element. The lack of staying power seemed only a strong negative while I was there; in hindsight, wanting to leave made me open my eyes to the greener pastures.

The other obvious factor I should have taken much more into account was the simple laws of physics governing the whole operation. There was only so much money, only so much that could be done at one time. While I was there, it just seemed a big circular mess: motion was too slow to be perceived, and everything caused everything else, so being frustrated at the end result was reasonable. It was to a degree, but I could have climbed off my horse a few days earlier.

The simple truth is that if I thought I had the ability to run a small business like that myself, I would be. So until I'm doing it myself and doing it better, I should probably keep a tighter lid.

Which brings me to a broader question that I've been thinking about for a while, the balance between openness and constructiveness in these situations. For example, I've long thought the policy (culturally enshrined in the U.S.) of hiding salary information from employees and co-workers mostly benefited employers and hurt employees by preventing upward pressure on wages. Some people don't want to know what their colleagues earn because it'll make them jealous or angry for no good reason. But what if everyone assumes management makes more than they do - wouldn't disclosure actually reduce pressure on wages? A hypothetical employee asking for a raise might not be bitter when it's refused if he or she knows his boss makes less than he's asking for. When that information is hidden, however, it's reasonable to assume the motive is a desire to prevent everyone asking for a raise, so paradoxically, it seems fair to do just that.

Another example of openness hurting, closer to home, is any scenario with someone criticizing their current state (involving other people) in an open forum. The fact is, we can't have open conversations where we air our minds about everything, because we'd hurt too many people. There were times where I saw a glaring problem and possible solution but had nowhere to go with it; I couldn't write anything on this blog because of possible retribution; there were no open channels with the powers-that-be in which airing them could have any positive impact; so it went nowhere. For me, that just caused a lot of pent-up frustration that escaped when there was no longer a risk of retribution. A more "present" person would be able to channel all that positively, I need to get a lot better at that.