AT-ATs and Snowspeeders

... or how to survive teh big corp world. Lets' go through the differences between AT-ATs (big corporations), snowspeeders (smaller agile companies) and how to take the best of both.

Transcript

1. AT-ATs and Snowspeeders … or, how to survive the big corp world
2. Small “Empire Strikes Back” and “The Last Jedi” spoilers
3. Topics • But Why? • What is a “Big Corp”? • What do they want from me?
4. But Why? • We could become one (or do a GitHub) • Some of our clients and partners are big corps • A few competitors are big corps • Your talents or interests could drive you there • Simple curiosity maybe
5. Corporation “Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can function. We can't play football unless everyone believes in the same made-up rules, and we can't enjoy the benefits of markets and courts without similar make-believe stories. But stories are just tools. They shouldn't become our goals or our yardsticks. When we forget that they are mere fiction, we lose touch with reality. Then we begin entire wars `to make a lot of money for the corporation’ or 'to protect the national interest'. Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us.” ― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
6. Corporation • Legal entity / person with a separate identity from its owners ◦ Contracts ◦ Loan & borrow money ◦ Sue and be sued ◦ Own assets ◦ Pay taxes ◦ Common suffixes: “Inc”, “Ltd”, “Corp”, “LLP” (to an extent)
7. Business Size Size Employees Small 1-99 Medium 100-499 Large 500+ * US Census && Government of Canada
8. BIG corporation • Several independent, highly profitable units • Thousands of employees • Processes and hierarchies
9. Some Examples 120,000 employees € 52B revenue 138,000 employees € 23.6B revenue 124,000 employees $ 89.9B revenue 38,000 employees $ 13.8B revenue (peak)
10. AT-ATs Advantages • Lots of Troopers - High redundancy, minimal bus factor • Highly Armoured - Lots of processes. Very hard to mess up. Protections and failsafes everywhere • Firepower - Threats are dealt with via brute force • The empire has ridiculously deep pockets and historical knowledge
11. AT-ATs Disadvantages • Slow to move and pivot/turn • Overconfident at times • Legacy pieces, legacy officers • Extremely profit driven*
12. So...
13. More Structure • Command • Hierarchy • Roles - Handbooks • Very layered. Like an organizational lasagna • Long, long planning • Predictable • Clear • Unlikely to change
14. Specialization • Tribal knowledge of technologies and labyrinths • Not-Invented-Here • Less experience with outside stuff • Lots of internal engineering system maintenance, way less actual impactful code • Less learning new things, more strengthening knowledge
15. How to become a snowspeeder? • Individual Achievements • Empowering - Helping others • Reusing - Being helped by others (building on top) • Visibility and Measurable Impact
16. Sample Metrics • (Testing) Code Coverage • Bugs caught early • Fixed bugs • Build / test / onboarding time • $$ • Addressed DSAT instances
17. Final Tips • Own it • Communicate often • Communicate effectively • Be trustworthy • Be professional • Think long term • Keep yourself refreshed (and entertained)