[HN Gopher] A squeaky nail, or the wheel that sticks out
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       A squeaky nail, or the wheel that sticks out
        
       Author : mangoman
       Score  : 15 points
       Date   : 2025-11-11 18:34 UTC (7 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (prashanth.world)
 (TXT) w3m dump (prashanth.world)
        
       | sema4hacker wrote:
       | The quacking duck gets shot.
        
         | Ccecil wrote:
         | The squeaking wheel gets replaced.
        
       | buellerbueller wrote:
       | The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the
       | cheese.
        
         | throwaway889900 wrote:
         | The late bird gets the second mouse.
        
       | tyre wrote:
       | In my experience, these are often leadership failures. Many
       | people can generally understand competing priorities and
       | prioritization, even if they might disagree with them. They often
       | lack the context.
       | 
       | It's good to understand when to push and how much. It's also
       | necessary for leaders to walk through why some things have to
       | burn for a while because of resourcing trade-offs.
       | 
       | And I say this as a manager. This is part of my responsibility. I
       | should be able to explain to everyone why we're saying no to what
       | we are or, if there's new information from people who are
       | squeaking, incorporating that and adjust direction.
        
       | zahlman wrote:
       | I always understood the "nail that sticks up" as analogous to a
       | "tall poppy" rather than a "squeaking wheel". I.e. someone who is
       | too visibly doing well in an environment where everyone is
       | supposed to be oppressed by staying buried in the wood.
        
         | tokai wrote:
         | I never head that understanding of _the squeaky wheel gets the
         | grease_. I thought it was about the loudest /most obvious
         | issues gets attention.
        
           | zahlman wrote:
           | It is. The second sentence is describing a "tall poppy". My
           | point is that I think the author is comparing metaphors that
           | don't make sense to compare.
        
       | Andrew-Tate wrote:
       | The squeaky nail always gets attention--sometimes it pays to
       | stand out, sometimes to stay quiet.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2025-11-18 23:01 UTC)