(2024-12-29) Cutler Tbm330uncommon Sense Playbook

John Cutler: TBM 330: (Un)common Sense Playbook. I remember listening to a podcast a few years ago featuring a Netflix engineering manager who described how he turned around a struggling team... The approach worked. The team (and the manager) turned things around... None of this sounds revolutionary

I wrote, "Why is common sense so uncommon?" in the margins of my notebook.

Again—nothing groundbreaking. It makes sense.

But it left me wondering. What allowed/enabled these two managers to take a "common sense" approach while other managers struggle for years and quarters to get buy-in on something basic like a temporary pause?

A couple of months ago, as part of a consulting gig, I interviewed my engineering manager friend about his first couple months at a new job

This story from another engineering manager friend who has successfully run the "playbook" with multiple teams and companies—but ran into trouble at their last job—describes four setbacks:

When I joined mid-quarter, the team was drowning in unrealistic commitments

Then there was Kevin. He'd been with the company since it was tiny and knew the founders personally, and his influence was undeniable. Criticizing him felt like heresy, and he knew it. Kevin wasn't shy about dominating me as the new manager

The recent across-the-board layoffs complicated everything. The scars were still fresh

we relied on another team that was completely swamped. I offered to have my team help them, but their manager declined.

I kept trying, but by then, I had lost my window of trust with the team

Even an experienced manager will struggle in this situation.

When I hear leaders say things like, "If we just had stronger managers!" I often wonder whether they realize they could hire mere mortal managers if those managers could run a common-sense playbook. (high agency)

While we might like to believe that 'A players' have all the necessary abilities to thrive in any context, it's worth considering what “normal” competent and motivated people can accomplish in a healthier, less extreme environment.

Sometimes, the real question isn't whether we need stronger managers but whether we're creating conditions where common sense can actually succeed.