The Power Law Curve and People Performance - The few outperforming the many

People claim that great software engineers are 10x as productive as the average engineer. This notion has driven the industry transformation efforts for decades. Agile and other efforts are all about enabling high-performing teams. Studies show that performance follows the power law curve and not the bell curve. This radically changes the way we think about above and below average.

I have another talk that discusses layoffs and IP that felt incomplete because it didn't address the phases that lead to layoffs. The reality is that some significant percentage of people or programs do not materially contribute to the company's success. I worked at a home lender where I was convinced that the department could shut down for a month without materially impacting the business. This eventually leads to layoffs. 

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Images used in the talk


Speaker's Notes to Follow

Speaker's Notes to Follow

Speaker's Notes to Follow

Speaker's Notes to Follow

Speaker's Notes to Follow

Speaker's Notes to Follow

Video

same as the link above

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Created 2023 03

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