The Switching Pattern and other Safety Nets
I just read the most recent Pragmatic Engineer newsletter post by Gergely Orosz on Section 174 of the US tax law (link at the bottom of this newsletter). He goes into detail on the potential implications of Section 174 on software companies and the TLDR; I get from reading the article is that in 2024 there likely will be less hiring and additional layoffs in tech. This is not something I like to think about, however, I felt compelled to write this today. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.
I hate this. I have a lot of friends and colleagues in this industry and to think of more downsizing this year hits me in the heart. I do like to be a realist, though. I mean, I am an optimist, but optimism can’t cure the financial reality that many companies are and could be facing. As a former technical project manager I also like to try to predict and mitigate risks. It’s in my nature. And although I hope that Gergely is wrong in his predictions for the year, I can’t help but think about how to mitigate risks around this for companies and for people working in them.
Panarchy comes to mind - the fact that changes and challenges exist at multiple dimensions... Company level, department level, team of teams level, team level and the individual level. This shift in particular is higher up though, beyond the industry level. This has implications for those of us who are running the companies and for those of us who are working in the companies. What will the ripple effects be? How can we prepare? Let’s look from both of these vantage points and then I’ll end this with a discussion about going through transitions.
The Company Level - Mitigation Ideas
With my company hat on, my brain on this goes over to the Switching Pattern of Dynamic Reteaming. The switching pattern is when one person switches to another team in your company. It could also be a rotation of people from one team to another, or switching within a team. You can use switching as a way to build in redundancy in your teams to spread ownership around and to have multiple owners of systems, especially critical ones.
Now in my book Dynamic Reteaming there are stories of software companies that strategically pair and switch pairs in order to spread knowledge (Chapter 9 in the Second Edition). Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one that comes to mind. In my interviews with Richard Sheridan I remember him telling me that he and his cofounder deliberately built their company to avoid “towers of knowledge,” which is when you have only one owner of a system, for example. When you have concentrated ownership of systems, and those people leave for whatever reason, it’s harder to recover afterwards and you will likely have setbacks. Sometimes you can’t afford those setbacks and it hurts your business. Sometimes, especially if the code bases are particularly complex and without tests it could take a lot of detective work to deal with issues that might come up especially when they are emergencies. It all smells like a lot of stress, pressure and potential burnout if you’re facing something like that.
In the early days at AppFolio we had consultants in with our first team, and they helped to teach us and propagate TDD and extreme programming practices. This built in safety nets for us and made it easier for new-to-the-team developers to make changes with less fear, as they got feedback on whether their changes broke existing code or not etc. and as they extended the codebase they would write new tests. That’s something that takes time and energy to learn and spread around, but you could do this as a mitigation tactic for future departures.
Others might think it’s too expensive to have two or more eyes on a system instead of just one and instead of buttressing our codebases we need to plow ahead with other things like adding new features. Or some might say that delivery dates will suffer if you switch someone to another team and they have to onboard and get up to speed there. That honestly does cause a bit of drag on team productivity in the short term. However, there are benefits of “seeing the forest through the trees” and taking a bigger picture look at how you’re operating in your teams in light of mitigating future departures. You can weigh the costs and the benefits and decide what’s best for your teams.
I think that now is a good time to do an inventory of the systems you have, and who has knowledge about them, so you can prioritize having shared ownership especially over what you deem as the critical systems. How to execute on the shared ownership is something that could take various forms. It could be via encouraging pairing within a team or cross team, and adding tests to critical systems where you have cut corners in the past. It could be by starting a “shepherd” like program where people volunteer to be the pair that becomes the experts or owners of that system. You could also inch your way in this direction by starting a nomading program where people switch to another team for a couple of weeks and then return to their home team. I’m curious to hear what you might do in your organization in order to encourage more shared ownership to build in some safety nets.
The Individual Level - Mitigation Ideas
Switching gears a bit to the prospect of being laid off. If you want to prepare for that unfortunate circumstance as an IC, manager or higher, there are proactive things you can do now while you are still working.
Think about how you can differentiate yourself from other people in the same role as you. What is your speciality in your craft? What is the thing that makes you unique across hundreds of people that have the same job title that you have? Claim a “niche.” What do you want to be known for? What keywords do you want to have “show up” when people see your name or think of you?
Take inventory of your relationships and connections. Make a spreadsheet of all of the people in your network who you want to work with again in the future. Talk with them regularly. Keep up your relationships with people and offer to help them. See how they’re doing. Build your bridges.
Cut down on your own spending and save your money. If you don’t have an “emergency fund,” start creating one in case you need it.
Try to take the high road and maintain your relationships if you are told to exit. It’s hard for everyone when this stuff happens. You might as well leave as gracefully as you can as you never know, you might cross paths with these people again in the future and maybe you will work with them again.
These are very much “pre need” suggestions. “Pre” is before, and “At” is when you are at the specific time of need. Doing an estate plan is a “pre need” activity for instance. If you leave your planning for when you are “at need” it could become very overwhelming. The feelings, tensions, energy and emotions at “pre need” and “at need” stages of job loss are very different. This brings us into the topic of transitions.
Going through Transitions
Getting familiar with transitions is another thing you can do now, when at “pre need.” I like the books by William Bridges on the topic, especially the book called Transitions, Making Sense of Life Stages. (If you are “at need” this book is also helpful). In that book Bridges talks about endings, the neutral zone, and new beginnings. The ending can be when your job ends. Or when your company lays off your coworkers. The neutral zone is the liminal time where you might be faced with a lot of emotional ups and downs as you pursue your next job or other endeavor. The new beginning is when you are at your new job, or whatever “future state” you wind up in. Maybe you start a new company of your own!
During neutral zones, particularly if you are not used to them, you could be surprised by how you feel. I remember leaving a company once and my neutral zone propelled me to write Dynamic Reteaming and it felt like I was catapulted out of my job and into an exciting future. I also remember a time getting laid off and really feeling some deep lows and quite a bit of despair. We’re all different and maybe you’ve experienced things like this or it felt differently to you. What’s striking to me is that different times in my career when I’ve left or have been elbowed out of companies is that each time feels unique and different. Moreover, my logical brain and physical body are not always matched up with what I’m going through. My brain might know what to do but my body might feel like it’s been hit by a bus going through some transitions.
These are some things that I find helpful during a neutral zone, “time in between”, or liminal state:
Come up with a regular daily routine. Get up, shower and get dressed for the day. Keep up the self care.
Get some things going that are in your control. Start a book project. Make a video. Create an app. Unleash the AI interests you haven’t had time to pursue. It might feel good to cultivate and build something that is your own (as opposed to getting sucked into Tik Tok, for example).
Be mindful of your health. I like to focus on getting a good night's sleep and cooking our meals whenever I can.
Consider meditation, mindfulness activities, or getting outside in nature. Some people like to exercise as well. I like a simple walk around the block where I let my brain unpack itself. Some days it’s harder than others to do that. Taking naps is something that I like to do as well when I have time. I also like to just “sit there”.
Think about what is important to you. Sometimes we take jobs and go after opportunities that we think are a good idea for us, but we might feel more fulfilled if we make a different choice. During a neutral zone it’s a good time to reassess what activities give you energy and what activities take your energy away. Think back to your last job and reflect on what gave you energy and what took it away. Maybe it will hint at a different or the same type of job to go for in the future.
Start the business you’ve always thought about when you were working for someone else. Neutral zones are the times when you can break ground on that one thing you wanted to build for years, and now you have the opportunity to be an entrepreneur. Maybe now is the time? You can even partner up with someone.
Reach out for support. There are ups and downs especially if you are having doubts about yourself and your skills during a neutral zone. Talk with a friend, colleague or counselor. Have standups with your friends who might be in a similar situation.
So who knows what we will see in 2024. I like to look on the bright side. I hope that the downsizing and layoff predictions aren’t as bad as some might guess. Nevertheless, I still think now is the time for building up your own personal contingency plan as well as building up the spread of system ownership if you’re into that at your company. If any of this resonates with you and you want to talk, respond to this email and let me know. I hope it’s helpful.
I’m heading to Japan next week as a keynote for Scrum Gathering Tokyo. I’ve been heads down in planning mode for this trip, and I’m really looking forward to it. If you have any Tokyo or Kyoto recommendations, feel free to let me know! And have a great rest of your week.
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Here is the Pragmatic Engineer post I referenced.
I also referenced my book Dynamic Reteaming which you can read about here.
Transitions by William Bridges was also referenced in this post, and it’s a great read.
Thanks again for reading and have a nice week.