

Hero Worship in IT - Good or Bad? - DanielBMarkham
http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2007/12/the_guy.php

======
mechanical_fish
Well, it's true that sometimes projects fail because people uncritically
follow the advice of respected authorities.

On the other hand, sometimes projects fail because nobody respects authority.
Every single decision, from the compiler to the database vendor to the lunch
menu, is challenged by the free-thinkers on the team and then debated to
death. Eighteen months go by, and the software doesn't ship.

Sometimes projects fail because everyone loses the plot. Determined to avoid
being trapped by the constraints of a standard methodology, but unable to find
the time or the talent to develop, document, and teach a methodology of their
own, the leaders fall back on the classic IT solution: handwaving. There are
no established authorities or written specs, and processes like QA or release
engineering evolve from week to week and are passed on by word of mouth.
Eventually, the one person who knew how everything worked accepts another job,
everything falls apart, and the software doesn't ship.

Sometimes projects fail because the people on the team are demoralized.
Without a successful company to model themselves on, they fear that they've
gone down a dead end. Without a community or a written argument to back them
up, they are hesitant about proposing their new ideas, all of which sound
stupid. ( _"Yes, we should write tests for code that hasn't been written
yet."_ _"Yes, we should ship version 0.5 even without those 'critical'
features, to start getting feedback."_ ) The employees sit around in their
cubes, playing Tetris and looking forward to happy hour, and the software
doesn't ship.

And, of course, sometimes projects fail because the team was badly put
together in the first place. Anxious to avoid hiring "hero worshipers" who "do
not think for themselves", the boss doesn't ask the interviewees what they
think of Paul Graham, or the Joel test, or XP, or Martin Fowler, or Bruce
Tate, or DHH, or Seth Godin. Five weeks later, the "team" consists of a Java
developer who secretly prefers Rails, admires 37signals, and wants to work as
the back-end guy at a YC-style startup; an Oracle-certified .NET developer who
wants to be a VP at a $100-million IT consulting firm; a designer who knows a
little PHP and wants to work part-time; and a marketing person who used to
work for Procter and Gamble. These folks can't agree on anything, and the
software doesn't ship.

So, on balance, I think that so-called "hero worship" is pretty useful, and
the IT industry needs more and better heroes. (Though I prefer the term
"leaders".)

~~~
edw519
I didn't realize you worked at the same place I did. Are you the guy in the
blue shirt I said hi to in the break room?

------
dpapathanasiou
Those essays (especially the ones written after Viaweb and before YC) can be
inspiring if you're stuck in a cube at Big Company, Inc. and neither your
managers nor your fellow programmers are interested in doing anything else
with their lives.

That doesn't mean _everything_ Graham writes about is as compelling (the essay
on philosophy is an example), though, and you're right to point out that it
can go too far.

~~~
jkush
I've always had an entreprenurial / always-doing-something spirit, but I do
owe my decision to get the hell out of a cube to Paul Graham's essays.

He's not a hero to me and I don't worship him but I still am quite glad he's
around.

~~~
jgrahamc
I've been lucky enough to get to know Paul a little. He invited me to take
part in the first MIT Spam Conference in 2003 and I've seen him on and off
since then. I don't think hero worship is appropriate, but I think Paul should
be celebrated for a few things: sunny personality, good writing, openness,
curiosity. There are a lot of people in the computer industry with difficult
personalities, who can't communicate in writing, who are fixated on a
particular technology. Paul isn't like that. Those things make him worth
looking up to.

------
apathy
Crux:

> They want a hero -- somebody more than a mentor.

This is the problem. Grow up and understand that nobody -- not Paul Graham,
not DHH, not your guru-like boss that rebuilt an AIX filesystem with 'ed' --
nobody is perfect. And realize that no one can make your decisions but you.

Then there is no problem. Decide -- don't follow -- and you're fine. Slavishly
hanging on every word of another, imperfect human being will always get you in
trouble, and it's no quality that any would-be leader should embody.

If you want to follow someone else, go back to your cubicle!

------
cglee
In certain societies and cultures, it's common to have a "master", "guru", or
mentor to help out a young apprentice. It's actually an expected way of life.
We don't seem to have that in the US, or at least, it's not taught as a
necessity growing up. Paul, among others, fill this void to young, energetic,
tech inclined students. You can call it hero worship, or simply some form of
mentorship/apprenticeship. If anything, the celebrity around PG signals a deep
desire for good, honest mentors.

~~~
downer
_ > If anything, the celebrity around PG signals a deep desire for good,
honest mentors._

I agree with the second part of this point; in regard to the particular
subject, hopefulness that said subject will finance one's startup is an
integral part of it.

------
henning
This heretic has besmirched our beloved PG - seize him! Silence the blasphemer
at once!

~~~
icky
Chief Acolyte henning, please permit me to fetch the sacred tongue-tongs!

------
sosuke
Hate to take some of the depth out of his well written article but it could be
that people of varying experience and confidence find it easy and reassuring
to lean on a well known mentor or hero as a way to prevent absolute failure in
the eyes of others and maybe themselves.

~~~
run4yourlives
Not sure why you've been downmodded, but I think you point's a pretty good
one.

------
mattmaroon
PG handles it well at least. I've met a lot of people who don't.

------
edw519
Albert Einstein didn't understand the concept of hero worship until be
befriended Charlie Chaplin. When they were together at the premiere of City
Lights, a crowd rushed their car to get a better look.

A confused Einstein asked, "What does it all mean?"

Chaplin replied, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

------
falsestprophet
"...defend vigorously any sort of perceived attack against him."

On that note, I will fight you.

edit: I will find you old man!

------
Eliezer
OMFG heroes can be imperfect! Alert the media!

