Management, Movies, and Mythology

1. S A M E T H I N G H A P P E N S E V E RY T I M E :
M A N A G E M E N T, M O V I E S , & M Y T H O L O G Y
PA U L M . J O N E S • @ P M J O N E S • J O I N D . I N / E V E N T / M A D I S O N P H P 2 0 1 5

2. A B O U T M E
• 8 years USAF Intelligence
• BASIC in 1983, PHP since 1999
• Jr. Developer, VP Engineering
• ZF1, Aura, Relay, Radar
• PSR-1, PSR-2, PSR-4
• mlaphp.com

3. PAT T E R N S I N S O F T WA R E

4. T H E C A M P B E L L M O N O M Y T H

5. – H E I N L E I N , Q U O T I N G R U T H E R F O R D
There is only one science. It is called physics.
Everything else is stamp-collecting.

6. PAT T E R N S I N M O V I E S
S TA R WA R S , P R I N C E S S B R I D E , T R O N , T H E M A T R I X , S TA R T R E K ,
T H E H U N G E R G A M E S , H A R RY P O T T E R , T H E L A S T A I R B E N D E R ( T V )

7. T W O G U Y S A N D A G I R L
• A strong independent woman and two dudebros
• Not strictly Campbell but common in modern hero(ine) stories

8. PA R E N T T R O U B L E

9. A L O N E I N T H E W O R L D

10. O L D M A N A S M E N T O R

11. G I F T O F ( M A G I C A L ) A S S I S TA N C E

12. B I G H A I RY H E L P E R

13. E V I L R U L E R & E N F O R C E R

14. Y O U ’ V E S E E N I T;
Y O U C A N ’ T U N S E E I T
• Basic introduction to Campbell
• Observational, not predictive
• You’re going to see it everywhere
• Delight in discovery and recognition
• Make sense of stories
(and life)

15. PAT T E R N S I N T E A M S

16. “ U T I L I TA R I A N ” V S “ A C A D E M I C ”

17. T I M E O R I E N TAT I O N
• Future-oriented: “first do it right, refactor as needed”
• “Academic”, detailed, patterns, abstracts, layers, interfaces, testing
• Present-oriented: “first get it done, then make it faster”
• “Utilitarian”, rapid, “simple”,prove that I need it, do the least needed

18. A N E C E S S A RY T E N S I O N
• What is practical depends on what you want to practice.
• Highly adapted systems become less adaptable
• E.g., contractors vs consultants
• Strike the right balance between future and present

19. P R O B L E M C H I L D

20. L’ E N FA N T T E R R I B L E
• Competent, intelligent, knowledgable, talented
• Low empathy, remember hits/forgets misses
• Games the rules; does not take instruction well
• “Student syndrome”; negotiates conditions post-facto
• Has never really “failed” in own mind

21. H O W T O H A N D L E
P R O B L E M C H I L D
• Works well in a team …
but only when leading it!
• Independent work:
thrives on responsibility
• Leadership role:
sword that cuts two ways
• Fire/release/let go

23. U N S T R U C T U R E D M E R I T O C R A C Y

24. T H E T Y R A N N Y O F
S T R U C T U R E L E S S N E S S
• (Jo Freeman, via Laura Thomson)
• No explicit formal hierarchy
• Earn position by merit
• No defined standard of merit
• Hierarchy is informal and implicit
• In-group, or out

25. D E A L I N G W I T H I N F O R M A L S T R U C T U R E
• Recognize that hierarchy exists (ALL members)
• Identify social hierarchy positions and holders
• Decide if you like you where you are
• Concentrate more on social strategies, less on technical ones
• Toby Young, “The Fall Of The Meritocracy”

26. T H E E V I L R U L E R : T I M E

27. – B R O O K S ’ L A W ( F R E D B R O O K S )
Adding manpower
to a late software project
makes it later.

28. – T I M O T H Y L I S T E R
People under time pressure don’t think faster.

29. – D O U G L A S H O F S TA D T E R
It always takes longer than you expect,
even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

30. – D O U G L A S H A R T R E E
The time from “now”
until “the completion of the project”
tends to become constant.

31. H A N D L I N G S C H E D U L E P R E S S U R E
• Extend deadline (“free”)
• Reduce scope (not free)
• Parallelize independent tasks (not free)

32. E V I L R U L E R ’ S E N F O R C E R ?
C U S T O M E R S , O W N E R , P R O J E C T M A N A G E R , T E A M L E A D

33. C O N C L U S I O N

34. • Patterns in movies: hero(ine)s, old mentor, gift of assistance, strong helper
• Patterns in teams: “academic/utilitarian”, problem child, meritocracy, time
• Recognize these patterns to deal with them effectively

35. T H A N K S !
• paul-m-jones.com
• @pmjones
• leanpub.com/mlaphp
• joind.in/event/madisonphp2015