First law of Bad Management: If something isn't working, do more of it. — Tom DeMarco Copy Share Image
“More important than any gimmick you introduce is a change in attitude. People must learn that it’s okay sometimes not to answer their phones,… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“We have become so obsessed with getting rid of people who are burdened with the characterization overhead that we have ended up with organizations… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
The more you focus on control, the more likely you're working on a project that's striving to deliver something of relatively minor value. — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“Internal competition has the direct effect of making coaching difficult or impossible.” — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“The most obvious defensive management ploys are prescriptive Methodologies (“My people are too dumb to build systems without them” ) and technical interference by… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“The need for uniformity is a sign of insecurity on the part of management. Strong managers don’t care when team members cut their hair… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“If you’ve got decent people under you, there is probably nothing you can do to improve their chances of success more dramatically than to… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“While this [10 to 1] productivity differential among programmers is understandable, there is also a 10 to 1 difference in productivity among software organizations” — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
Training is practice doing a new task much more slowly than an expert would do it. — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
If you find yourself concentrating on the technology rather than the sociology, you're like the vaudeville character who loses his keys on a dark… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“in the best organizations, the short term is not the only thing that matters. What matters more is being best. And that’s a long-term… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
“Although your staff may be exposed to the message “work longer and harder” while they’re at the office, they’re getting a very different message… — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success. — Tom DeMarco Copy Share
