Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

by Michael Lopp

Being emotionally invested in what you are doing is an absolute requirement for caring about your job. What I hear when you walk into my office and freak out is “I’m caring about my job here, Rands, please listen.” It’s taken years of weathering these explosions to hear this and not to take it personally, but I’ve come to expect that freakouts are a normal event in passionate engineering teams. It’s still a management failure. It’s great that your freak has chosen to freak out. The alternative is that they’re not saying a thing and have decided to leave the company. The fact that your particular Dingfelder is screaming at you in your office is a good sign that he’s not leaving because he clearly, loudly cares. But you screwed up. Someone is screaming in your office, and once you successfully defuse the situation, you know two things. First, there is a problem that needs to be solved. Second, and more importantly, someone believes the best way to get your attention is by freaking out.