Something I’ve noticed in some conversations is when a person tells me something is complex and difficult to explain it has become a red flag for me. I try to go by the napkin rule. If I can’t draw it out on a diner napkin over lunch with someone then it’s possible I don’t really understand the first principles of the subject.
To be clear, there are some things that truly are complex. Any discrete structures and algorithms class will teach you that is true. Even so, that same subject can be broken down to foundational elements that can be explained.
W2 multiple is a great example of this. I’ve seen very odd calculations of this. Things where someone looked at all the time a person was putting that was billable and non-billable, etc. The measures i’ve seen this way and their use case made sense because the term was being used as a descriptor of how hard someone was working. The thing is, that is not a W2 multiple.
Simply put W2 multiple is how much revenue you get per W2 payout. e.g. if you earn $120,000 and you pay out $60,000 then your W2 multiple is 2 because $120,000/$60,000=2. If you use any other calculation and call it W2 multiple then you’re saying the wrong thing and there is a high potential that others are hearing the wrong thing.
I’m using W2 multiple as the example, but we can say the same thing about many areas like this. When you say EBITDA, don’t say “community adjusted EBITDA” because that’s not a thing <cough>WeWork</cough>. If you’re “full stack”, please understand hardware too. Containerization is needed but it’s not the full stack.
With industry standard terms it helps to use the industry standard definition. If you don’t know how to define some of those things then it’s possible you don’t know your job as well as you think you do. I’m still there many times. What’s the goal then? Not to not discuss, the goal is to be aware, curious, and questioning. As questions and approach as a learner not as a learned. For me this has to stay true. My current thing i’m learning is containerization so I can increase my BS meter when talking to devs. Let’s all stay curious.
What about you? Please comment, what are you learning?
Thoughts on Data, Culture, and Organizational Development
