This is the dilemma with these “new” tech companies.
In the beginning, they enlist team members that can assist in making their dreams come true. This first wave is the managers that have no “formal” training, things are often completed at the 11th hour, and a whole lot of everything is thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
At this stage, documentation is never great. There are a LOT of single point failures. The system is more “get it out and get it done! Deliver promises no matter what!”. These managers and leaders are good for a couple of years, but they don’t know who to sustain.
The second wave of management and staffing are the people that know how to make a workflow run properly. They take what exists, they typically disappoint a lot of customers- They start saying “no” to people that the first wave would have never said no to.
They develop documentation. They develop QC processes. They develop a proper workflow.
They hold each other accountable to doing things right, and they caution against overpromising and underdelivering.
It’s clear that a company like Rivian is probably still in this first phase. They are, ipso facto, a multi-billion dollar company. But the fact that this issue happened means they do not have measures in place to prevent a single point failure, and somebody on the team still thinks “they can just push the update- they know it will work” at the expense of the proper workflow and using the proper channels.
Shame on them.
I suspect that within the next 4 months we will see brand new leadership within the company.
This is the dilemma with these “new” tech companies.
In the beginning, they enlist team members that can assist in making their dreams come true. This first wave is the managers that have no “formal” training, things are often completed at the 11th hour, and a whole lot of everything is thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
At this stage, documentation is never great. There are a LOT of single point failures. The system is more “get it out and get it done! Deliver promises no matter what!”. These managers and leaders are good for a couple of years, but they don’t know who to sustain.
The second wave of management and staffing are the people that know how to make a workflow run properly. They take what exists, they typically disappoint a lot of customers- They start saying “no” to people that the first wave would have never said no to.
They develop documentation. They develop QC processes. They develop a proper workflow.
They hold each other accountable to doing things right, and they caution against overpromising and underdelivering.
It’s clear that a company like Rivian is probably still in this first phase. They are, ipso facto, a multi-billion dollar company. But the fact that this issue happened means they do not have measures in place to prevent a single point failure, and somebody on the team still thinks “they can just push the update- they know it will work” at the expense of the proper workflow and using the proper channels.
Shame on them.
I suspect that within the next 4 months we will see brand new leadership within the company.