People have been asking me for my opinion on the #Google layoffs. My sense from the outside is that there may have been a relatively minor trimming largely across the board, but that more "speculative" projects lost the most headcount, with seniority not necessarily a key factor in many cases. That's just my take right now.
@lauren I'm concerned with my perception that they cut from unsuccessful projects.
That's not Google's MO and when you couple it with a workforce encouraged to be self-managing, it's harmful to Google's previously-successful strategy of letting engineers try wild things to see if some of them are successful. Engineers who see "everyone who put time into that project got fired" learn quickly to keep their heads down and only select conservative, obvious-revenue-positive bids (like buggy whips before cars).
Good way to build a calcified organization that gets outflanked by the next generation of startup though.
@mtomczak The next billion dollar project probably won't be autonomous buggy whips.
@mtomczak Though they might have a niche market, come to think of it.
@mtomczak The devil is in the details but yes, the risks are real.