Management Quote by Gerald M. Weinberg
““Why is it that we reward programmers who work all night to remove the errors they put into their programs, or managers who make drastic organizational changes to resolve the crises their poor management has created? Why not reward the programmers who design so well that they don’t have dramatic errors, and managers whose organizations stay out of crisis mode? Organizing””
About This Quote
Source Book: “The Psychology of Computer Programming” by Gerald M. Weinberg, 1971
He critiques rewarding reactive fixes over proactive design in programming and management.
In simple terms: Reward prevention design, not just fixes.
Key Takeaway
Prioritize preventive quality.
Themes
software development
management
quality
reward systems
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
professional
technical
When to use this quote
- software projects
- team leadership
- process improvement
- crisis management
Key Concepts
preventive design
organizational health
error reduction
Questions to Reflect On
- How can organizations incentivize preventive work?
- What metrics capture design quality?
A Different Perspective
Proactive design may be harder to measure.
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