The crew of the Santa Fe, a nuclear submarine in the US Navy, had a crew complement of 135. That fits comfortably into the Dunbar theory of social capacity. One of the things that the captain changed, though, is moving the intimate technical knowledge down the organizational stack, placing decisions in the hands of those closest to the impacted domain space. Marquet realized rather profound improvements in organizational performance and engagement, but I’m not sure that he recognized that part of the reason for this success is restructuring responsibilities around smaller working groups that built deeper, more intimate relationships with their areas of responsibility (and removing himself from the decision space in the process).
Links
Why ‘Pep’ The Prison Dog Got Such A Bum Rap
We visited the Eastern State Penitentiary this summer and it definitely needed this to lighten the mood
Paul Ford: What is Code?
Humorous yet very informative
The Great Works of Software
Web Design – The First 100 Years
When I’m Gone
Death is always a surprise. No one expects it. Not even terminal patients think they are going to die in a day or two. In a week, maybe.
Doing Terrible Things To Your Code
Is Advertising Morally Justifiable? The Importance of Protecting Our Attention
What is needed is an effective property-rights regime that gives individuals the right to control where we direct our attention, and thereby bring the market price of this modern commodity in line with its true market value. Advertisers should pay us, not third parties.
Is Advertising Morally Justifiable? The Importance of Protecting Our Attention
Stock Options? Don’t Need ‘Em! I’m Coding For Uncle Sam!
In newly released figures, the government says that constructing the original enrollment system, known as the Federally Facilitated Marketplace operating system, cost $200 million and would have required $70 million a year to maintain. The new version of the site, revamped by USDS engineers from Google, Y Combinator startups and other commercial tech outposts, cost $4 million to produce, with annual maintenance costs also $4 million.
Max Beatty 