[HN Gopher] The Alignment Game (2023)
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The Alignment Game (2023)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BYh9ZtEv4k7xoSXmtf1q...
Author : dmvaldman
Score : 48 points
Date : 2026-01-15 23:56 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (dmvaldman.github.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (dmvaldman.github.io)
| kayo_20211030 wrote:
| Maybe. It could be true. But, in the interest of folks who just
| want a summary with an opportunity to dig in deeper, this piece
| would have benefited from the addition of a worked example in the
| text; simply as an explanation and a teaser. I spend enough time
| with spreadsheets.
| nonethewiser wrote:
| Took me about 5 seconds to grok it looking at the google sheet.
| Didn't really read the article.
| Nevermark wrote:
| My takeaway: get people to independently create an artifact
| representing their priorities, share the results, discuss the
| differences, come to a consensus informed by everyone's insights.
|
| Whatever artifact makes sense. Maybe a spreadsheet list. Maybe a
| one page, or half page, serious coherent characterization from
| each person.
|
| How people independently see priorities before collective
| discussion, being as important as how they rate them, I would go
| with one page thoughtful summaries.
|
| Having experienced partially-aligned organizations, I would want
| key contributors to a discussion like this to come from every
| major part of an organization. Emphasis on very different roles,
| especially important leaf roles, not just top leaders. Otherwise
| you get high bubble-at-the-top alignment. Top-only strong
| alignment is like concrete, perniciously inflexible. Which is
| what I experienced. End-to-end insight and discovery of alignment
| is needed to get adaptable, in-touch, actually effective
| alignment.
|
| And as is hammered so well in "Creativity, Inc" by Ed Catmull,
| alignment isn't just about coordinating efforts. It is about
| continuously identifying and removing friction, of any kind,
| anywhere, for anyone, as individuals make their very different
| contributions in service to the common direction.
| teeray wrote:
| > get people to independently create an artifact representing
| their priorities
|
| Except trying to get most stakeholders to be alone with their
| thoughts to be condensed upon a blank document before them
| causes them to violently open outlook and schedule a meeting
| with everyone instead.
| Nevermark wrote:
| Pre-alignment-meeting alignment! A good thing to explicitly
| exclude.
|
| Definitely need a healthy culture when asking for honesty and
| openness about what people think, including they see as
| unclear, unknown, inconsistent with others, and/or outside
| the existing box.
| thedudeabides5 wrote:
| what happens when you have three players, and three options that
| do not have a stable equilibrium?
|
| aka Arrow's impossibility theorem?
| Goofy_Coyote wrote:
| Interesting question.
|
| Maybe we can break out of it by giving who ever is taking
| accountability if that thing goes wrong a tie breaker vote, or
| have their votes weigh a bit more?
| thedudeabides5 wrote:
| yes, the classic solution to a hung democracy...appoint a
| dictator!
|
| (kidding)
| funkyfiddler69 wrote:
| find a 4th player or create a game to find/build/grow an
| independent one within the constraints of the system. make sure
| it's 'fair enough' as in "no sabotage".
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(page generated 2026-01-20 23:01 UTC)