Don't be smarter than a dinosaur

There's a line from Jurassic Park that stuck with me. Something about how dinosaurs remember where they touched an electric fence and never touch the same spot again. They don't make the same mistake twice.

I always thought dinosaurs were really dumb. Some smarter than others, sure, but overall pretty stupid. Turns out that's not a bad survival tactic. Go outside in winter without gloves, get cold, remember gloves next time. Simple. Effective.

I wish I could be like a dinosaur.

I've had team members who weren't working. Happened maybe 2 or 3 times across different projects. They'd say they were refactoring something, or finishing a feature that looked done to me. The number of code lines didn't match the effort they claimed it took. Progress was slower compared to others on the team.

I'd notice it. Then I'd notice it more. It would bubble in my head. Instead of just talking to them about it, I'd install a monitoring tool in their code editor that tracked how much they were writing and when they were working.

The good team members didn't like it. But they installed it anyway. The person I suspected? They'd eventually leave. And I'd realize I hadn't just lost time managing that one person. I'd also distanced myself from the entire team by sending a clear signal: "I don't trust you."

All because I had doubts about 1 or 2 people.

It cost me more than time. It cost energy. I'd carry that monitoring in my head, check the data, worry about it. It blocked my own work. And when that person finally left, I'd have to rebuild trust with everyone else who had done nothing wrong.

Today, if I feel someone isn't working, I tell them straight. "Hey, the last 14 days haven't been moving much. Everything okay? Need help with something?" I give them 1 or 2 clear chances. If there's no improvement, we part ways.

The dinosaurs figured it out. Touch the electric fence once, learn the lesson, don't do it again. I touched that fence 2 or 3 times before I finally learned.

Don't be smarter than a dinosaur.