Olabode Anise

Glad to be back stateside and even happier to come back to Michigan with a fiancée

1-2-3 Cancun

@kunchenguid We seemingly approached the OP differently which is fine. It seems like you were concerned more about the framing of what they said and others while not considering the context. Then, you created a perception about their ability to contribute as an IC through your speculation.

@kunchenguid This seems like a straw person argument lacking in empathy. It feels like a reach that someone would jump to the conclusion that management is generally superior when reviewing a post about someone’s personal experiences after surviving a layoff.

i've been in both management and IC position at senior levels so I have a lot to say about this maybe Sam here meant "I'm personally not good at being an IC" but framing it as "IC is suboptimal" can easily lead others into a wrong mentality so I'd like to offer some viewpoints here - 1. it's a wrong mindset to think that management is superior and IC is suboptimal. this is what trapped many good engineers into a role where they can't fully achieve their potential and even worse become obsolete 2. there's almost infinite demand for strong ICs right now. ask big tech "do you want one more outstanding AI engineer/researcher" the answer is pretty much always yes. "do you want some more managers" however will get a very different response 3. especially now, ICs have a lot more time and freedom to play with new technology, solve interesting problems and gain a massive leverage by utilizing AI effectively - this is extremely important skill for staying relevant in the coming era. not having time to directly interact with the fast-moving technology is the single biggest risk for any individual right now 4. in the AI era, ICs are the ones getting the biggest boost in leverage. in the past couple of years, ICs have gone from having small assistance from copilot code complete, to getting some tasks done by agents, to now running 10-100 agents at the same time. middle managers are roughly doing the same things as 10 years ago, under some slightly different conditions. most of the GPUs in the world right now are doing work for ICs so if you are being converted to an IC, i highly recommend you to avoid falling into the victim mentality. you are being forced into a wonderful career path, and if you play your cards right this might just be the most important pivotal point and a defining moment for the rest of your career

Imo, this has more profound implications than it sounds. Middle management was largely performative theater but it was also a slight nod to a system of traditional career progression at tech companies - a ladder and a process of feedback by your immediate boss. Feedback meant companies were forced to define good behavior vs bad behavior aka values etc. With middle managers gone, the way this plays out is that all conversations become purely tactical over time with a tacit understanding that we are here to get the job done and gtfo. Sounds exciting to everyone tired of meaningless bureaucracy like 1:1s and quarterly appraisals. But this is actually more insidious. Because it depletes an org of its function as a career progressor. Meanwhile, pure tactical work quickly translates to the exact same cluelessness that orgs had with layers of heirarchy and bullshit titles. No one knows where the ship is going though it's moving. At some point most people mentally check out. It's not exactly quiet quitting - value gets produced in the short term. For all its flaws, AI actually helps keep the lights on and more. And folks aren't exactly planning to leave and jump ship. But they also don't come to work with a purpose. Orgs become temporary vehicles of sustenance, not places where careers are made. Now the extraordinary 0.1% still find a way to navigate the system and progress their careers due to sheer talent or ambition. Those with very high agency but poor people skills quit to start something of their own. What remains are schritte-für-schritte folks. These folks used to work for the promise of linear progression. They aren't poor performers by any means. In fact they are the most hard working middle who get shit done and hope that their work gets recognized. These are the ones who come prepared for their weekly 1:1s because it means something to them. They are the ones who care about values and culture and cheer when the org does well. They may be sceptical at times but are still sold on the overall idea of the org and its purpose. When orgs invested in people and promised a career progression, many of these folks did well for the orgs and for themselves. With that system officially or tacitly removed, they turn into zombies bracing for the next lay off cycle.

@lizrhoffman This seems very similar to what the lockup structure was at Figma. Source was a Figma employee during the IPO.

Never seen an IPO lock-up like this one, confirming our scoop semafor.com/article/04/09/…

wdym of course there’s an agent right on the design canvas that’s fluent in Figma and native to the way your team works

If your list doesn’t include Cam, you just don’t know ball. Greatest single season in CFB history,

@daniel__designs Congrats Daniel!

I'm excited to announce I'm joining the design team at Anthropic to work on their consumer products!

AB even being compared to Julio makes AB better lol. If you seen AB at the Publix and didn’t know who he was, and someone said “That’s the best wideout in the NFL” you’d say BS.

@daniel__designs Wishing you luck in whatever comes next Daniel!

I've decided to leave Figma, and today was my last day! I'm excited to share what's next, but before then, I want to say I'm so grateful for the team here, the quality of the craft I got to experience, and above all else, the people. Craft really comes down to people caring. Caring about the little things, the edge cases, the details some may never see. People at Figma truly cared about that at every level, and it was one of my favorite aspects about working there. I cannot unlearn it; it's such a lucky thing to be a part of, and I'll be rooting for them! More on where I'm going next soon, but until then, a well-needed break.

In the words of Bomani Jones, they are nouveau riche.

I‘ve found myself in a pickle. I’ve become a regular at a food truck in my neighborhood going by the name Oliver (for my convenience). I don’t think I have it in me to tell them that’s not my real name. I guess I’m Oliver from now on.

The face of “standing on principle”

Has 9-0 score ever felt like a blowout? Because this game isn’t even close.

The OGs call it Frisco.

Kyle Shanahan is real one. Just look at who he’s hired as coordinators and high-level assistants.

And folks wanted to get rid of Mike Tomlin. This is what y’all deserve.

@DennisF I thought he was dead in the water and then he uncorks that pass.

@JustSayO Dude what even was that? I can’t believe it

Caleb Williams is unbelievable

Achievement, “In every field of human endeavor”. Those were the last 5 words we said to each other before every game. I’m proud to have been a part of Coach Tomlin’s tenure. He changed my career, & saved my life. Coach T honored all those who came before him; both the African American coaches & the Hall of Fame lineage of @Steelers’ coaches. He had a phenomenal 19 year run. Proud of you Coach. Whatever is next I know you’ll excel in… “Every Field of Human Endeavor” Yo👌🏾♦️ to the good brothers of @kapsi1911 @thePivot Clips on @youtube #ThePivot #MikeTomlin #Steelers #Podcasts youtu.be/kho0nKynGBg