Today in Edworking News we want to talk about Simple sabotage for software. The CIA produced a fantastic book during the peak of World War 2 called Simple Sabotage. It laid out various ways for infiltrators to ruin the productivity of a company. Some of the advice is timeless, for instance, the section about “General interference with Organizations and Production”: I guess I've always been fascinated with how well this has stood the test of time? I even got this particular section framed and hung up at our office:
Your Mission
Let's say you were employed as a CTO behind the front lines and you wanted to destroy productivity for as long as you can without getting caught. You can, of course, make a series of obviously bad decisions, but you'd get fired quickly. The real goal here is to sap the company of its productivity slowly while maintaining a façade of plausibility and normalcy. What are some things you can do?
Technology:
- Select outdated or incompatible tools.
- Overcomplicate simple tasks with unnecessary steps.
- Introduce frequent changes that demand relearning.
Product:
- Delay important decisions by demanding perfection before release.
- Focus on minor features rather than critical improvements.
- Prioritize endless meetings over actionable tasks.
Leadership:
- Lead through micromanagement, stifling creativity.
- Communicate poorly, causing confusion and delays.
- Provide vague feedback, leaving team members uncertain about expectations.
Hiring:
- Hire based on superficial metrics instead of genuine fit.
- Choose candidates lacking the necessary skills and trainability.
- Maintain a high turnover rate by fostering a toxic environment.
Project Management:
- Frequently shift priorities, causing disarray.
- Set ambiguous goals without clear outcomes.
- Avoid setting definitive timelines, stalling progress.
The Outcome
It's a hard job to pull it off! But if you can parachute behind the enemy front lines, and land a job as a CTO, you can make this happen. For the non-saboteur, this is obviously a story about how to get the most out of your team. Productivity, in general, is a story of a thousand cuts, and none of these things are in themselves the thing that will ruin the productivity. But productivity adds up on a logarithmic scale, meaning that all these things compound in a multiplicative way. Basically, do 100 things that each is a 5% tax on productivity, and you just slowed everything down by 131x! The only way to keep engineers happy is to say no to 100 minor cuts that each sound plausible and specious.
Summary
During the peak of World War 2, the CIA produced a book titled Simple Sabotage, aimed at guiding infiltrators on how to ruin a company's productivity discreetly. Surprisingly, many of these tactics remain relevant today, particularly those focused on General Interference with Organizations and Production. The crux of this literature was to demonstrate how small, seemingly innocuous actions can cumulatively hinder productivity. This timeless wisdom still fascinates many, and some even display excerpts as a reminder of how subtle inefficiencies can cripple a team.
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Remember these 3 key ideas for your startup:
- Avoid Unnecessary Complexity: Simplify your processes and tools. Introducing complexity for the sake of sophistication can bog down your team. Opt for streamlined workflows that your team can master quickly and efficiently. For example, consolidate your tools into an all-in-one productivity platform to streamline operations.
- Effective Communication: You must prioritize clear, direct, and timely communication. Ambiguous messages and frequent miscommunication can lead to confusion and errors. Regular, transparent feedback helps ensure everyone is aligned and moving towards the same goals. Consider methods to replicate the office in a remote work setup.
- Strategic Decision-Making: Decision-making should be strategic and timely. Avoid the trap of striving for perfection at the cost of progress. Encourage taking calculated risks and iterative improvements over complete overhauls that cause delays. For more on how strategic decisions shape productivity, read about project monitoring techniques.
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- Image Description: A framed section of the World War 2 Simple Sabotage manual exhibited on an office wall, symbolizing the enduring relevance of counterproductive tactics.
For more details, see the original source.
