On a warm autumn morning in the heart of Moscow, near the entrance to a gray skyscraper, a well-dressed man was nervously pacing. He wore a flawless suit, an expensive tie, and impeccable red Italian shoes.
He was the CEO, waiting for a delegation of inspectors for the IT company under his management. His stature, short hair with a touch of gray, and a steel-like gaze complemented his image well.
The delegation was late, and the CEO was looking impatiently at his companion. The latter had a slippery gaze, a gray appearance that seemed to blend into the air, and responded to the address 'Colonel', preferably 'Mr. Colonel'. For he came from a place where colonels remain forever.
The Colonel was inquiring through the radio about the posts along the possible route.
Finally, he blinked: Maybachs were spotted two minutes from the office.
The CEO had something to show the delegation.
As is customary in a theater – he started at the coat check. From the changing room.
Gray, waist-high lockers held the outerwear of developers, testers, and systems analysts...
There was a separate stand with boxes for staff mobile phones and other electronics. Opposite the stand sat a focused guard with accounting notebooks. He had a serious task: to restrict staff access to the mobile network to no more than twice a day and for no more than 5 minutes, or more often – upon presenting a specially arranged request.
The delegation proceeded further – into a vast open space.
Even rows of tables stretching into the distance, neat lines of monitors, a hundred people at clean desks, making only the sound of typing keyboards and mouse clicks.
It was a magnificent sight: a hundred employees in gray or blue suits, with neat haircuts, focused intently on their screens. All monitors faced the aisle, the panoramic windows covered with blinds – nothing distracted them: neither the rising sun nor the coming night.
The delegation was impressed: in this vast backdrop, where it seemed everyone inhaled and exhaled in unison, a unique innovative IT solution was being born right before their eyes...
But suddenly! one spot was vacant: there was a desk, but no one was sitting at it! The CEO chewed his lips and cast a glance at the Colonel — he briefly spoke into the radio: 'seat 72, code 15'.
The delegation passed by the pen where the small number of female staff were located: white tops, black bottoms, natural makeup, and low heels – everything was precise in this company. The CEO felt pleased to sense such clear satisfaction from the esteemed guests.
The delegation walked past the offices with signs that read "Polygraph," "First Department," "Contact Control Bureau."
— What is this? — they inquired.
— They are collecting files: who knows who might meet in the evening, and what might be passed along — replied the CEO as he entered his office.
It immediately became clear that its owner was used to keeping everything under control.
It resembled a trader’s workstation or a flight control center: a massive monitor covering half the wall displayed images from all one hundred employee screens at once. Some of them were highlighted in pink – those who had slowed down their coding pace or other important tasks. A second huge monitor showed footage from surveillance cameras.
On the neat five-meter desk of the director sat full trays of papers: "daily reports," "memorandums," and something else.
In the center of the desk lay a colorful A3 printout: "Layoff Schedule."
It was obvious that the owner had spent a long time thoughtfully working on this document.
The inspectors were satisfied, but there was only one thing that confused them: the MVP of a radical, innovative, new, systemic solution was still not ready….
— …60-hour work weeks, conversations with relatives, improving the KPI system… — the CEO reported on new initiatives.
At that moment, the monitor displaying surveillance camera footage showed guards pulling a person from behind the desk, dragging him to the gate and laying him on the pavement, adjusting his tie with care.
— What is this? — asked the rosy-cheeked inspector.
— Don’t worry! He signed everything long ago. And now… well, perhaps, his heart… We don’t want any accidents at work, do we?
The visit was nearing its logical conclusion, the CEO moving toward approval from the management.
If only the MVP…. Well, somehow it wasn’t coming together…. Temporarily, perhaps.
PS. From the author.
Of course, this is a compilation from three companies.
Setting: Moscow (City, Skolkovo(!)) and Kaluga region.
Time period: summer 2018 – spring 2019.
Dmitry Volodin, htg.ru
Source: habr.com
