[ryandrake]

> Others in the company can't tell whether you're acting like a spoiled brat or doing your job. To them, it's literally indistinguishable. And that's why it's very important to not vest anyone with this amount of authority unless you're very sure that they're going to use it well.

I agree with the rest of your comment, but I don't think you're giving non-engineers enough credit here. Sure, in lots of companies, the managers/executives are non-technical, and might as well be managing a packaged goods company. They think software development is wizardry and have no idea what you do. In most tech companies, non-engineer roles are somewhere on a spectrum of technical knowledge that might surprise you. Maybe they've been through dozens more software release cycles than you. Maybe they are currently practicing software engineers trying out a new role. Maybe they co-wrote the standard that you're now implementing. I've seen all of the above in actual companies. Careful about jumping to incorrect conclusions based on someone's title or the actions their role demands.

[rbalicki]

Ah, fair enough. I should've said "in many cases, the non-engineers will have trouble distinguishing between and engineer contributing to the business in a hidden way and over-engineering things."