Wherein the guys leave a pair of shoes in the vent for John McClain on Christmas Eve.
published Feb 22, 2022
Show Notes
Refactored #058: “Meeting Complexity”
On this episode of Refactored…
The guys play Zoom Bingo: “I’m sorry, can you repeat that? ”
Parkinson’s Law enters the chat because “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
Frank makes a case for keeping meetings really tight. Tight in which dimensions? Glad you asked:
Number of functional areas represented by attendees
Number of topics for discussion
Number of total participants
The guys invent the Flaming Cat Index (or FCI), which is the product of multiplying the numbers of participants, topics, and departments for a given meeting.
Frank flexes with a timely admission that his default meeting duration setting is 30 minutes.
The guys agree on nomenclature for team member personas:
Little Jimmy — the new entry-level developer
Big James — seasoned professional; lead/architect/etc.
Aldrich Blankenship — WASPy mustachioed executive with an underbite
Q: How transparent should you be about discipline and terminations? A: As much as possible, and no more.