Comment by 082349872349872

No, I was referring to a different time constant: the τ such that the number of times the whiskey priest[0] falls off the wagon[1] occuring at t<τ equals the number of times the decay occurs at t>τ.

So, just like the quantum watched pot never boils, the up-through-sales CEO would, out of habit alone, keep nurturing[2] their company officers — staying in touch (t<<τ) and shepherding them away from personal and towards corporate goals.

(My hypothesis being that an up-through-engineering CEO, not finding this behaviour natural, would have to make an explicit attempt to do so, and hence might experience severe cultural issues dealing with people who can deliver a great deal of value under the right leadership but require steady, if small[3][4], external inputs to keep them in the fold.)

[0] compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Camillo_and_Peppone#Charac...

[1] pads headcount, orphans mistakes, etc.

[2] for a prospect: staying in touch and shepherding them towards close

[3] the shepherd's crook can be mightier than the prince's cannon. (back when we had Prince-Bishops they used to commission statues of themselves holding both sword and crook, emphasising their ability to use either temporal persuasion or moral suasion)

[4] see also the unstable yet controllable regime for designing fighter aircraft.

gradschoolfail 2 days ago

Hopefully, you didnt miss this tangentially moored submission (was your depedendency on time constant re: [VP] sales vs engineers related to that covered therein

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41556915

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082349872349872 2 days ago

No, I was referring to a different time constant: the τ such that the number of times the whiskey priest[0] falls off the wagon[1] occuring at t<τ equals the number of times the decay occurs at t>τ.
So, just like the quantum watched pot never boils, the up-through-sales CEO would, out of habit alone, keep nurturing[2] their company officers — staying in touch (t<<τ) and shepherding them away from personal and towards corporate goals.
(My hypothesis being that an up-through-engineering CEO, not finding this behaviour natural, would have to make an explicit attempt to do so, and hence might experience severe cultural issues dealing with people who can deliver a great deal of value under the right leadership but require steady, if small[3][4], external inputs to keep them in the fold.)
[0] compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Camillo_and_Peppone#Charac...
[1] pads headcount, orphans mistakes, etc.
[2] for a prospect: staying in touch and shepherding them towards close
[3] the shepherd's crook can be mightier than the prince's cannon. (back when we had Prince-Bishops they used to commission statues of themselves holding both sword and crook, emphasising their ability to use either temporal persuasion or moral suasion)
[4] see also the unstable yet controllable regime for designing fighter aircraft.

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