
Signs you might be in "Survival Mode" - royosherove
http://5whys.com/blog/signs-you-might-be-in-survival-mode.html
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whyme
Ever seen those web adverts that list a few generic health problems and ask
you to 'click here', or read a horoscope that makes claims almost anyone can
relate to?

So how is this different? Why so many upvotes...really, this is just more spam
- is it not?

~~~
ScottWhigham
I think it's either (a) a voting ring, or (b) the changing demographic here.
Ignoring (a) (because we can't prove/disprove as we aren't admins/mods), we
can discuss (b).

5-7 years ago, this place was "mostly founders and early employees". This
would've likely been flagged or, at best, only received a few upvotes. Today,
I suspect its 10% "founders and early employees" and 90% "other". This is
likely interesting to the "other" demographic - first they've seen it, or it
may resonate with them because it's very negative focused and they see
themselves in it.

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ak39
There's a quicker method of identifying "survival mode": just ask your
accounting/finance officer about your cash flow for the last quarter and the
projection for the next.

If your company isn't able to cover its burn rate and keep some cash for these
two things:

1\. Setting up a growth plan (more revenue), or 2\. Continuing pivoting until
you find something that allows you to do 1 ...

... you're in survival mode.

In survival mode, the only move is to lower your metabolic rate or burn rate.
Much like a body would shut down non-critical functions just to "survive" so
too will the company need to eliminate non-critical expenses. All this simply
to buy more time for a eureka moment that will answer your growth question.

Tough as hell.

~~~
downer75
That's not quite a silver bullet definition for all scenarios.

Having worked for large organizations, where "money is no object", the reality
of your scenario becomes distorted by the fact that you have to pander to the
almighty overlords who control the purse strings. Suddenly everything becomes
purely political, and success solely relies on entertaining the favor of
powerful people (powerful individuals, with respect to the scope of the
organization, and their capacity for making broad, sweeping decisions).

In very big organizations, there might be three or four degrees of separation,
between you and your actual masters, the ones that your direct boss is
beholden to. Your boss might meet directly with these _VEH-HEH-HERRRY_
important people maybe less than twice a year, but have direct orders handed
down from them by their heralds on a weekly basis.

Such orders might come in the form of:

    
    
      In addition to your usual work load, make X work by next 
      quarter with with Y people; We understand that you 
      already have Y people, but your job now depends on making 
      X work. Do not fail us.
    

I had a boss come back from a very short meeting like that, ashen and
distraught. She left early for the day, and the next few months were a living
hell for all of us. We did get X done successfully, and on time, but afterward
I quickly drafted my resume, and took a hike.

With jobs at large companies and other forms of organizations and
institutions, you might be completely disconnected from the cash flow
situation. The reality may be that the organization, by most measures is
actually nearly indestructible, and has existed since before you were born and
is sure to exist long after you die, but as with any form of collective human
effort, there is still a bottom line somewhere in the mix, and you might not
have obvious clues as to how it expresses itself, other than the amount of
stress your involvement inflicts upon you.

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strictfp
Equally valid symptoms for having dysfunctional leadership.

~~~
ams6110
Yes, nothing here that's really exclusive to survival mode projects. I've
experienced all of these on projects that were well funded, but poorly run.

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harwoodleon
This could also be read as - "Signs you might be in a startup"

~~~
ryandrake
I think just about every software company I've worked for exhibited most, if
not all, of these traits. Two in particular:

Urgency

I've observed, on several occasions, at multiple companies, senior managers
talking openly about deliberately instilling "a sense of constant urgency"
into the team. I don't know if we were perceived as unmotivated (we were) or
if there was some external threat coming that warranted urgency (debatable),
or whether management just picked up on the "a sense of urgency" phrase from
some HBS article (probably). Either way, the end result was this kind of
"forced urgency" with motivational speeches about how we should all feel
urgency about the company's success, and that every task assigned to everyone
was always an emergency. Needless to say, it was a great place to work.

Reaction Mode

I've worked at very few software companies that seemed to have an actual long
term plan AND were willing to stick to it. It's easier to "just do what the
customers are asking for today and then change to do what they are asking for
tomorrow". I've worked at companies that pretended to be selling a product,
when, in reality, nobody wanted their product as-is and they would get roped
into constantly doing custom engineering for VIP customers (bonus: every
customer was a VIP customer). So, while the team would be ostensibly working
on improving their core product, in reality, they were adding buzzers and
lights that had little to do with the core function of the product, in order
to react to what one or two customers wanted. The recent "agile" craze has not
helped in this regard.

~~~
S4M
>> I've observed, on several occasions, at multiple companies, senior managers
talking openly about deliberately instilling "a sense of constant urgency"
into the team.

Holy crap, that's a terrible thing to do. But if senior management thinks like
that, it would explain some stupid stuff I've seen in various companies...

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junto
I'm a father with two young children. I matched all of those 8 points.

I think I've been in survival mode since the first child was born!

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tbrake
All of these sound like symptoms of a total loss of control. Whether through
poorly negotiated contract or necessity, you're in a position where decisions
of any importance are taken out of your hands.

Not being the master of your own fate (edit: insomuch as you can choose what
to work on and when to work) can be brutal for some people. I'm not at all
suited for it.

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ygra
Since plenty of people here seem to have experience with this sort of thing
... I'm currently in a place where I can at least see 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 for
me and 1 and 7 for others as well. Would it be wise to stay there or are those
signs rather a sign that I should be looking somewhere else?

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brokentone
Well said, describes where I'm at now. Many people associate these signs
exclusively with "burnout" but my problem with that term and thought is that
it feels "terminal"\-- meaning there is no fixing it apart from quitting and
taking time off, finding a new idea/company you are passionate about and
trying again.

I think it's common to be in this state without being what I'd call "burned
out." If your management doesn't understand or support your team, and have
undue expectations, that could easily put you in "survival mode."

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processing
Living in survival mode past couple of years. It's beyond painful.

~~~
ttflee
Me too. Maybe those who have doubts if they are in survival mode should also
check if they are burnt out at the same time. To identify the problem is the
first step solving it.

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rexreed
Awesome, short and sweet. I read this as "do the opposite of these if you want
to be a good leader running a great organization."

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nisa
Okay. That's me right now. How to leave the survival mode in the long term? I
involuntary slip into it again and it again...

~~~
royosherove
One of the main reasons is that the team is over committed. An important move
is to draw a line in the sand. After that line, you will reestimate your
current work to include learning and quality built in (lots of slack time).
Until that line, figure out what you CAN finish, and only commit to that. Yes,
this involves having a sincere talk with your peers and leaders, something we
are usually shying away from doing, but is an important part of making
everyone see the same reality that you see. It's not easy. It just works.

I write more about these at 5whys.com

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vvpan
So, let me pick everything negative that can be said about a working
environment, put it in a post and then come up with a term for it. How
about... survival mode! Great, post finished.

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refrigerator
I feel exactly like this but regarding my studies at university

~~~
keithpeter
OK, a few suggestions (which you might be sick of hearing, but restating the
basics can some times help)

1) Get the calendar for deadlines for assignments and dates for the exams for
all the modules. Synthesise all the dates onto a single planner. Work out the
order of priorities.

2) Make a time plan for the week and try to stick to it. The plan _must_
include breaks and (at least) a day off a week. Do things with other people in
the day off and at certain times of day like meals.

3) Get topic lists for each module and check them off as you study those
topics.

4) Find other people at about your 'level' of confidence in each module and
try to buddy up with them for study periods in the library...

5) ...find a place to _study_ that isn't your own room/house/wherever.
Libraries can be good, as you _have_ to get work done, but somewhere else
helps as long as it is away from where you sleep (&c).

6) Reduce friction to getting started. Keep notes, study guides, any equipment
and textbooks for each module organised. Pop them into your bag as you go off
to the study location. Pack the night before if possible. Put the bookmarks to
module Websites on your Web-browser tool bar. Use a password manager so you
don't even need to authenticate.

7) Google The Pomodoro Method for the actual study time. The author has gone
commercial now but there are summaries. Its easy.

Any good?

EDIT: 8) At the end of each study day, prepare the stuff you need for
tomorrow. Try to find an easy task on whatever is on the time plan that will
get you started (the Hemingway strategy).

~~~
nisa
For me this regularly fails at:

2) Make a time plan for the week and try to stick to it

It sounds so simple but is near impossible for me to do.

~~~
keithpeter
Is this because of work e.g. random shifts? because of family commitments? Or
just time drifts?

If latter, then try planning just one session a day for now, but be definite
about it. Google the Pomodoro Method.

Anyone else got any time plan mind tricks?

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_asciiker_
I confirm almost all of the signs.

The state of urgency hasn't stopped my productivity completely but it
certainly has slowed it down.

My fix for now is this:

STOP MULTITASKING, ONLY ONE TASK AT A TIME! (seriously!)

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agumonkey
I thought learning by isolation would be a way to enforce deep understanding,
it turned exactly into what's described there. Time for a change.

