Thread by @swardley

Me : You should focus on serverless.
X : I understand. We can get rid of the systems team. Real question is where do we find the skills for serverless?
Me : By retraining the systems team. The skills are emerging. That's your opportunity, it'll help overcome inertia.

X : So, don't get rid of the systems team?
Me : Not unless you're a Fool of a Took and like having an entire crowd of people fighting the change you want to introduce whilst trying to discover mythical talent that doesn't exist. Better to retrain. Build the talent you'll require.

X : Shouldn't that talent be pioneers as in pioneers - settler - town planners.
Me : Forget it. PST is an advanced topic. You don't know what you've got in the systems team, you're unlikely to be ready to create an adaptive cell based structure. So don't. Retrain them all.

X : But won't they go and work elsewhere?
Me : If you're concerned with skilled people leaving then ask why and tackle the causes of them leaving. It's far worse to not train people because only the unskilled will stay with you. You're in dire straits if that's the case.

X : But can't we just hire what we need and fire what we don't.
Me : Are you deliberately trying to kill the future of the organisation? Do you have any idea of what damage that does to culture? Key to people management is to find capabilities and use them, not discard them.

... gosh, we've known this for over 1500 years since the era of Tang Taizong. What sort of management school did you go to? Mystic Muppet's alma Mater of Mastodons? Get a grip.
X : There's no need to be rude.
Me : Try engaging brain before announcing policy.

X : You're just rude.
Me : Well, try thinking. The main causes of inertia and resistance exist because you haven't given people a path to the future. That's part of what leadership is about whether it's within a corporation or political fortunes of a nation. You're responsible.

... every single time I hear some executive grumbling about inertia in the organisation and unwillingness to change then I know I'm dealing with someone who has fundamentally failed to provide people with a path to the future. It's the executive's fault. No-one else.

... the classic example is when someone claims "we need new blood".
X : What's wrong with that? We often need new talents.
Me : That's true but that phrase normally signals a complete failure of leadership. A desperate plea to cover up an inability to create a sustainable path.

the primary responsibility of leadership is to lead. That means finding a path forward for the organisation and for its people. Good leadership is about forging a path to a sustainable future and bringing everyone with you. It's not about misty eyed visions and barking orders.

X : I suppose you're going to say that a map is essential?
Me : No, I'm down with the cool kids - gut feel, magic frameworks, secrets of success, 2x2s and a good chorus of Kumbaya.

Path, Lead, Navigate ... of course I'm going to say a map is essential.

X : But won't the systems team try to build their own serverless?
Me : Not if you train them to use it, to understand the changing landscape and to look forward. Yes some vendors will try to convince them that serverless will put them out of a job, those vendors want to sell tin.

... you must give your own people a path and be aware of how others will try to lead them astray. Some of the most ardent supporters of serverless I know are former systems / ops people. None of them want to build a serverless environment. They're focused on building the future.

X : Risk averse organisations will wait and hire experienced teams before making the change.
Me : They are going to be waiting a long time and when those teams do appear then they probably won't be able to afford them. Every other waiting organisation will want to hire.

... chances are the organisations will have to settle for a team that claims to have experience and then fleeces the organisation for huge sums by delivering some half baked home grown effort.
X : There's a thing called references.
Me : There's a thing called private cloud.

... anyone in the business knows "experienced" teams that went from one "successful" massive scale private cloud effort to another leaving nothing but a trail of destruction. Train your staff in serverless, you'll thank me later.