Changing How We Change Software with GeePaw Hill

Programming Leadership

What if we could create a trade culture that allowed for change rather than relying on mechanical thinking? In this episode of Programming Leadership, Marcus and his guest, GeePaw Hill, discuss how the doubling rate in the software industry has resulted in a complete lack of trade discipline. Drawing on his 40 years in the software industry, GeePaw’s solution is to develop a thick culture in which certain standards are established across the industry. They also discuss why the industrial model of work is so unsatisfying, the real reason why good workers leave organizations, and the importance of luck.

Show Notes

• The doubling rate of makers has resulted in a total lack of culture in the software industry (2:12)
• Defining Thick Culture, Thin Culture, and the Frame (4:01)
• Using the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as a model for the kind of frame the trade needs (5:40)
• How the doubling rate resulted in a lack of leaders that can develop an industry discipline (6:34)
• Why good workers leave organization (18:05)
• Developing a common language of change in the trade (24:24)
• The real-life challenges leaders face when implementing change in their organizations (31:40)
• Why managers and HR are wrong about why employees leave (41:10)

Links:

• The Field Guide to Human Error by Sidney Dekker
• Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet
• GeePawHill.Org
• Twitter
• Alice’s Approach to Change by GeePaw Hill