Ask HN: Do you plan work goals, etc. that take 1 yrs to bear fruit? Why/why not? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do you plan work goals, etc. that take 1 yrs to bear fruit? Why/why not?

19 pointsauslegung10 comments

(Anyone can answer of course, but I'm primarily interested in fellow software engineers' answer.)

In my former career I was a manager of a program whose goal it was to "safely reduce the number of children in foster care from X to Y by 20zz". While there, it felt natural and easy for me to create programs and plans that would take years to come to fruition. Today it occurred to me that since switching careers to software, I don't think I've ever thought about anything further in the future than "finishing the current epic" (which usually takes weeks or months, definitely not years).

I think this is for two reasons 1) I've mostly been a junior and mid-level IC where my focus was on what was in front of me (and arguably I wasn't a top-notch software engineer, but that's another discussion) 2) I don't think I care about any company's goals, initiatives, whatever nearly as much as I cared about "safely reducing the number of children in foster care". That actually meant something. But "making more money for CURRENT_COMPANY by MAKING_THEIR_WIDGET_BETTER"... I just don't care other than the fact that "CURRENT_COMPANY does well" translates to me not having to find another job.

So I'm curious. Do you plan work goals, initiatives, etc that take 1+ years to come to fruition? Why or why not?

At a smaller company, definitely not. The focus changed at least yearly so planning that far out was fruitless. The one year plan was see what is making money and do more of that, keep the lights on, and try a couple quarter long experiments.

At the last big company, yes I was part of a multi year initiative. Part of that is probably mythical man month, we just couldn’t execute quickly. There were many teams and layers and dependencies that needed coordination, scheduling, headcount. Part was there’s enough legacy stuff that is core and can never break that every step had to be derisked a ton.

Yes, and i write notes about. Things may happen and change, some may be fruitful and not, but the best part is i get to look back at that notes and fill in the gaps if i tend to want to work on them now

Yes. I work on systems that involve both physical and software components. Their design life is 7 years before replacement, which means in reality they may still need to be operational in 10. I can't predict the future any more than anyone else, but it's a enjoyable exercise to explore what branches it may take so that the physical components are adaptable to possible needs they may need to serve within that window.

When I'm working on a side project, I sometimes only have a few hours a week to invest in it. It can take years for the project to be completed. If I want to have any hope of completing the project, I need to be able to plan for multiple years of slow and steady work.

This has gotten easier for me as I've aged (I turned 40 this summer). I'm not sure I could have sustained that level of focus in my early 20s.

Do you mean the "long term"-ness has gotten easier? Or just focusing up in general?

I am 39, and I feel like I have 20% of the (mental) focus I had at 20. What's your secret?

I don’t have kids (yet). That’s probably a big part of it.

Yes, I do plan. And I try to do things better, more efficient, or nicer. I do not think of making investors richer, but just as putting a little bit to make a better world.

I often start projects in the silent, and when they are mature enough, I present them. This helps to the carrier (yourself) and because I choose what to work in, it is very enjoyable.

I think you’re confusing mission / vision (long term) with work / goals (short term in nature).

Buy into the mission / vision of the organization/ what you do and the void will be filled and work becomes part of it.

How do you translate mission / vision to goals ? Why we need vision / mission in company what about situation that change every years

I work on my own 'side projects' as a job and I definitely do have a plan how every product could look like in a year from now.

Never had that in a company tho.

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