Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time

by Titus Winters

Most management texts advise that you use the “compliment sandwich” to soften the blow when delivering hard feedback. A compliment sandwich looks something like this: You’re a solid member of the team and one of our smartest engineers. That being said, your code is convoluted and almost impossible for anyone else on the team to understand. But you’ve got great potential and a wicked cool T-shirt collection. Sure, this softens the blow, but with this sort of beating around the bush, most people will walk out of this meeting thinking only, “Sweet! I’ve got cool T-shirts!” We strongly advise against using the compliment sandwich, not because we think you should be unnecessarily cruel or harsh, but because most people won’t hear the critical message, which is that something needs to change.