devops days tel aviv 2013: - rainmakers, that is what we need! don't we? - arjan eriks
DESCRIPTION
The focus on culture and sharing within Devops is very strong. More than ever we focus on teamwork. And teamdynamics. But what do those highly skilled and talented guys bring to the table? Can and will they make a difference? This talk will focus on the different aspects of high achievers. Who is delivering and who should you get rid of rather sooner than later. Famous start ups and leading Devops companies have written a lot about this topic. But so do old school top notch universities. Combining those items and by adding our own flavour we believe we have come up with a recipe that will help any team that wants to practice devops beyond the borders of their own team. Btw, What has Super Mario to do with this abstract? Speaker: Arjan Eriks, Schuberg Philis Arjan works currently at Schuberg Philis, building clouds and growing devops. He spoke at Build a Cloud Day Amsterdam, Cloud Expo Santa Clara and Devops Amsterdam Summit. Before joining Schuberg Philis in 2005, Arjan worked at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and was responsible for the Web Operations department. On top of his day job, Arjan also joined the group that organised Devopsdays Amsterdam. Outside irregular office hours, he's trying to become a long distance swimmer and above all to be super dad! Blog: www.drozer.com Twitter: @drozertTRANSCRIPT
Rainmakers, that is what we need! Don't we?
Devops Days Tel Aviv
Who Am I?
» Arjan Eriks » Twitter: @drozert / Github: drozer
» Wanted to be a jet fighter pilot when I grew up» Worked for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines» Works for Schuberg Philis, Amsterdam, Netherlands» Married, 3 kids» Trying to be a long distance swimmer» Organizer DevopsDays Amsterdam / Meetups / Cloudstack Collab Conf
We
believe 100% can make a
difference
Our definition of business critical applications
Generic applications– Limited impact on core business– Standardization on a large scale– Cost vs. (user) acceptance– Escalation based decision making
Critical applications– High impact on core business
or society– Integration of specialties– Cost vs. business risk– Real time decision making
Generic applications
Critical applications
we build dedicated
customerteams
with full context and responsibility
No hierarchy?
Means different decision makingProcesses! - The consent model
Means teams have right mix of technical and non technical skills
How do we value our people?
SINNERS
SLOTHS
RAINMAKERS
STARS
SAINTS
STALWARTS
the Rainmaker?
High achieving professionals / Stars
»10 times more effective than B players / stalwarts»Hyper responsible, Hyper self critical»They expect perfection from peers (in silence) and
themselves»No perfection = frustration
»We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions
»Constant feedback (positive) is needed to address uncertainty
A rainmaker makes the difference when needed - examples
»Building a cloud at Schuberg Philis»Saving a Telco project that is about to collapse» Implementation of Chef»The road towards SDN
So why am I embarrassed that I actually said that?
Customer
Continues Performance Benchmark
Any application
How does the rainmaker value the rainmaker?
»The big three Anxieties– The lack of purpose and direction• What's it all about?
– Isolation, abandonment, being disconnected• Why do I keep myself voting off the island?
– Significance, do I matter?• Does anybody care about me?
What if you are about to become the sinner, the brilliant jerk?
Social acceptance of the individual by the team
» If the team acceptance is low, » the anxieties grow bigger (isolation, significance) »And the exceptional talent of the “STAR” performer » turns into “SINNER”
»Sinners can only survive is the impact on the team is low and the team accepts the sinner, otherwise he must be removed.
What can the high achiever do to overcome these anxieties?
1. Stop to reflect alone (with self awareness), 2. Put it behind you 3. Create a mid term /long term goal 4. Seek support with honest mentors5. Do not blink 6. If it is hard do it often
Say yes to adventure and no to folly / nonsense
Anxiety Vulnerability
Courage
What did we do @ Schuberg Philis?
»Recruit above average or young talent»Amazing recoveries or adequate severance»Peer review more important than appraisal stacking»Organization / Not more procedures / Adjust team
Recruitment
»Hire future stars– Experienced people will slow down when they join
»Hire young talent– Not experienced but they will be– They do not need to break bad corporate / enterprise habits
»A players hire A players, B players hire C players. So A engineers recruit BASTA
»Mentoring is of utmost importance
Amazing recoveries or Severance
»High Achievers vote themselves of the island, so»Round tables with peers if they are sinner/saint or sloth»Frequent talks about self esteem, direct feedback, not
only the task (not important), but how it is perceived by the customer / team / etc.
»When this does not work, decide mutually that we have different futures
»The team will feel relieved and make more progress
Peer review cycle
»Peer review should be there always. We are formalizing it a bit to make it actually happen.
»Everyone picks their own peers. The last bit of hierarchy picks another one to ensure 360
»Trust people that they want to go the shortest route from A to B in their perception. Talk about the value of B.
Organization
» Just enough structure to keep overview (Kanban / Scrum)
»We do not implement more rules, we implement more responsibility and accountability
»Again we spent a lot of time on “the road ahead”. We even organized a summit for this.
»We share values, and we live by example»Move people around teams to adjust and create the
correct mix
More info
» Flying without a net – Thomas J. Delong» Ranking the stars – Bob Eccles» Difficult conversations, how to discuss what matters most –
Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Roger Fisher» Lets hear it for the B players – DeLong Vineeta Vijayaraghavan» Netflix preso on Culture (http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664)
» Joyent preso on Leadership (http://www.slideshare.net/bcantrill/surge2013)
» Valve – Handbook for new employees» The Rare Find, spotting exceptional talent before anyone else –
G. Anders
QUESTIONS? And shameless add
http://www.cloudstackcollab.org / [email protected] / @CloudStack #CloudStack
CloudStack Collaboration Conference EU20-21-22 November 2013 Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam
(oh and Yes we (f|h)ire!)