This content, written by Lloyd Tabb, was initially posted in Looker Blog on Aug 21, 2013. The content is subject to limited support.
“Miss Goldstein, please take a memo for me…. Colleagues, it has come to my attention that we are spending too much money on our secretarial staff, particularly as in the creation of memos. We’re going to need to limit the number of memos we can each send…”
Can you imagine living back then? Having someone literally type up your (non-e)mail for you?
My mother was a executive secretary. She was an amazing writer. But when she wrote, she spoke for someone else.
Too many companies do the same today with engineers. A product manager dictates what should be built and engineers go code it with little input on what should be built or why it is being built. The product manager changes his mind frequently and whipsaws the engineers from one feature to another.
At Looker we’re following a different path. Engineers and analysts interact directly with our customers and prospects. Our programmers care about the customer, know the customer, and know what is possible. Everyone is encouraged to think creatively to solve customer problems. We talk constantly about product strategy, everyone comes in with both the voice of the customer and knowledge of the capabilities of our platform so we get it right faster.
We don’t need someone to come in and give dictation.
Want to come? Go get yourself a pen.