“Easier than it seems” is a business novel about what programmers are still capable of.
four
- Did you do the accounting task? Report. You promised to finish today.
- Today and finish, all day ahead. No need to worry about it, Galina.
- What did you want to talk about?
- About the salary.
- Well, speak, I listen.
- You have been working in the company for two years, you probably know - what is the algorithm for salary increase here? What needs to be done specifically to get more? Is the project serious? Or just perform tasks on time? Training to pass, qualification increase?
- I ... I ... Sergey, I am shocked by your arrogance.
- In terms of? I'm not asking you to raise my salary, I just want to find out how this is done in general.
- You are in the company for half a year, what kind of promotion can there be? You can’t withstand the terms, you are arguing with everyone, I, my immediate superior, do not obey. Why do you need to raise salaries?
- Gal, you do not listen. I do not argue that it is worth raising. I ask how to become worthy. What do you need to do?
- I unconditionally obey. - Galina laughed.
- Will your salary increase for this? When? How much?
- Do not bother me, please. I do not know who and for what you can raise a salary. I have no such authority. I don’t know how to increase my salary.
- Clear, sorry. And who else can talk about it, do you think?
- I do not know, probably with Evgeny Viktorovich. Only the owner decides such questions, it seems to me.
- Clearly, it means - everything is like at all. Thank you, Galya.
- If you talk to Evgeny Viktorovich, then tell me about your own algorithm. - Galina laughed after the outgoing Sergey.
In the office of Sergei waited, impatiently, Stas.
- Well, again, the brain endured? Because of the accounting?
- No, they were talking about something else.
- About what?
- Yes, so, on abstract topics.
“Tell me what you are, how ...”
- Have you been raising your salary for the last time?
“Hmm ... never raised here.” Why? Have you been promoted?
- If ... And you asked someone about the promotion?
- No, what to ask something. They want - they will increase, they will not want - they will not.
- With such approaches will not increase.
- Why? What is wrong again?
- If you are silent, then everything suits you. Why raise?
- Well, why? They understand that everyone needs money, inflation again, and I work well.
- Yeah, they sit straight from morning till night and understand that Stas needs money. Imagine yourself in the place of the owner of such a business as "Cube", with its income. Would you understand the problems of a small programmer? He does not even understand what you can buy for your salary and what is not. He does not know this at all - you cannot buy, there is not enough money. For him, you're just a figure in the cost structure. He knows that he pays you a market average, and that’s enough - you won’t run away, and in which case there are plenty of candidates for a replacement. So forget that someone somewhere cares about your salary.
- Well, okay, what do you suggest? Another job to look for where they pay more?
- This is a good way. For some - the only one, because only at the interview have the courage to discuss salary. But there is also a limit - the market. No, you have to think up how to get a raise here, in “Cuba”.
- Did you talk about this with Galina?
- Yes. He asked if there was any enhancement algorithm, rules or something like that.
- There is?
- Not. Only the owner and his opinion. As an everywhere.
- We don’t communicate with the owner, he probably doesn’t know about us. Although, in the corridor, if you meet - hello.
- We need to think of something ... - Sergey muttered in thought.
- What to think of? How to talk with the owner?
- No, how do we get more money, without dismissal, humiliation in front of the heads, of any political games ...
- Yes, this is all nonsense. If you want more money, go to the bosses or open your own business. Do not pay programmers in the factories a lot of money. If only to leave the programmers, the sellers, or something ... I do not know.
- Something is wrong here, in this system ... Will you help to think?
- Of course, it's me forever. - smiled Stas. - suddenly we will think up something and the truth will increase the salary.
five
Sergey walked a bit from corner to corner, wondering where to start.
- What do they pay money for at work?
- Hmm ... For work. You work and get paid for it.
- Why do different money pay for different work? Are sellers getting more than suppliers or manufacturers?
- Sellers bring money to the company.
- Ie the point is, who brings how much money?
Sergey was silent for a while.
- No, this does not explain the difference in the salary of a programmer and an accountant - neither one nor the other brings money.
- Then, probably, depends on qualification and complexity? An ordinary accountant studies 2 years at a technical school, and a programmer - 5 years at an institute. Well, our work is highly qualified and intellectual.
- Many sellers in general anywhere, except for school, did not study, but receive more.
- Sellers bring money, we decided. They are evaluated on a separate scale.
- Well, so be it. Why does Galina get more than you or me?
- She's the boss.
- Also a separate scale?
- Well, yes ... Her responsibility is higher, she controls us.
- Is there any sense from her management? You and I, without her, seemed to be doing a good job, don't you think so?
- I do not know ... - Stas thoughtfully rubbed his forehead. - Perhaps you are right, I did not think about it. But the head is needed, simply, maybe, Galina was not yet in the rut.
- And Galina brings money?
- Not. And we do not bring.
- Damn ... No one, except the sellers, does not bring money or what? The equipment they sell, who creates?
- Production, supply, designers who design it.
- But they have the same salary lower than the sellers? Let's look in the program.
- Will it not violate any privacy?
- Why is that? We are programmers, we decided to check the payroll. Suddenly there is a mistake?
- No errors are so carefully checked, as in the payroll. - laughed Stas.
The programmers settled behind Sergey's computer and began to carefully study the charges figures. For simplicity, we took the average values by department, excluding managers.
- Well, that was required to prove. The seller receives twice as much as the designer, three times - than the supplier and the master in the shop.
- What did you want to prove?
- That the sellers are paid more for one simple reason - they bring in money. No, not that ... They bring the obvious money ... No, not really ... They obviously bring the obvious money.
- Tautology - to enhance the effect?
- No, it's just that everything is evident in their work. Remember, recently automated, so that for each incoming payment it was clear, for whose order the money came? This is the double evidence - the sums and their movement are understandable. All the work of the seller can be measured in income money, it is obvious to the director and owner.
Sergey stopped talking, went to the window and stared at the falling snow. Stas watched him with interest, because I knew this moment in Sergey's strange thought process - now there will be a conclusion. Far from always clear and bearing at least some benefit, but usually funny.
- The owner does not pay salaries to sellers.
- I expected something like that. - laughed Stas.
- No you did not understand. He pays the salary to us, and also to cleaners, accountants, cashiers, rate setters, etc. Sellers, he does not pay the salary, he shares with them money. Because he knows exactly how much money they bring to him.
Sergey sustained a theatrical pause, sincerely thinking that he had discovered a new secret of the universe.
- Take a look yourself. Sellers receive a percentage of sales - this is the share, their contribution to the arrival of money in a bank account, the owner pays this share to them. This is a completely different category of calculations, or a principle ... I do not know what to call it. But this is not a salary, and definitely not pay.
- Probably, I agree ... Wait, the workers in the workshop, too, receive a share? They have piecework payment for each part produced.
- Yes, it means that the role of workers in the money for the owner is also more or less clear!
- And it is clear that it is not as significant as the role of sellers.
- The difference is quite big between them. The seller makes money, and the worker - the details. Details still need to be converted into money.
- Magic ...
- Stas, don't be stupid. Turning parts into money - this is the sale, the work of sellers. Sellers - this is the last repartition in the chain of production of money. And the owner is the customer of the money. This product is the money that he ordered from his own business. And he pays money for money, because money is what he needs from us!
- Hmm ... Money is a commodity, sellers are a technological process operation, money for money ...
- Well, why not? I came, I said - I want a million, conditionally. I pay to the one who will bring me a million, one hundred thousand. Here you have the production, supply, programmers in the end - make me a million.
“One hundred thousand are sellers?” And who else, for what and how much pays?
- Well, who and how much - we know, just looked. It remains to understand why.
- Damn, so we started this conversation, and slipped into a discussion of the motivation of sellers.
- Wait, let's see to the end. There is a feeling that the answer is already close.
Silence again. Sergey appeared, and with every minute the feeling increased that he became interested in demagogy, lost the goal of the conversation and came to a dead end. This often happened, but it was unbearable to give up the started conversation - it hit on pride, especially in the presence of listeners.
“So what are the others paying for?” - Stas wanted to help the conversation get off the ground.
- For help in the production of money ... Yes! All of us, except sellers, help generate money! Some produce products, others design it, others buy materials, and fourth ones deal with documents. But all this activity is needed for one thing - to help make money, the rest is lyrics.
- If you ask people, they will not agree with you.
- Who will not agree?
- Well, I do not know ... The storekeeper will not agree. Go tell him that he helps make money. And even better - ask what he does, why he came here at all. What will he answer?
- Yes, he mumbles something like “I load cars, unload materials from suppliers, I keep order”.
- That's right, he does not know about any production of money, and even more so - about his role in this process.
- And no one knows. Do you know your role in making money?
- Well yes. I support the software, add new features to it that help all employees make money more efficiently.
- Well, you are crap ... - Sergey was taken aback. - We just came up with a model for understanding business, and you have already found a place for yourself in it ...
- And I am the first! And, no, the second, the first were sellers. I am the first person to help generate money!
- The first help ... - Sergey laughed.
After a short laugh, the discussion continued.
- And now we return to the main issue. - Sergey continued. - You help make money. And sellers help make money. But sellers get a fair share of the money brought, and you - a permanent salary. You work a lot, or little, good or bad - you get the same. No matter how hard you try, you will never get twice as much again. Why? If you have one role, generate money for the owner.
- The role is one, but the seller, as you said, has double evidence - his entire result in money is clear to the owner.
- Exactly! Stas, you are a genius!
- Thanks, of course ... Did I say something clever?
- The seller is paid more, and with a clear dependence on the result, because his contribution to the generation of money is obvious!
- And my, respectively, is not obvious? Well, yes, in general ...
- No one is obvious. Not at all clear. And not only yours - almost nobody. Who does what - it seems clear. Official duties, processes, schedules, rules of interaction - everything is known. It is not known just how, to what extent, to what extent, to what proportion all this activity helps in generating money!
- So, pay more to those whose contribution is obvious?
- It seems so, and it turns out. Well, the one who managed to sell himself at a higher price, without realizing his role in generating money.
- How are we with you?
- By the way. Our participation in the money is not clear, but we pay well, in general. Although not higher than the market average.
- And our salary is determined by the market ...
- It turns out that way. The market said how much a programmer costs. Reality told the owner that he needed a programmer. I went to the market, I learned how much it cost, I bought it. Why - I do not know for sure. Neither he nor the programmer himself. Pay less can not - will go back to the market. It makes no sense to pay more - there are programmers on the market.
- Sadly somehow. It turns out that we are hostages of the market. He gives us bread and butter, and does not make money for caviar.
- A strange situation turns out. The owner earns money by building a system - a business, but he is constantly forced to add elements to this system whose influence on making money is not known.
- So maybe not a problem for the owner? Well, he does not know the contribution of programmers and accountants, but he knows the share of their wages in costs. If it is small, then you can not worry.
- If you talk like that, then yes, you're right. Perhaps that is why I never heard the owner or director worry and ask what he pays for programmers.
“But we are worried about this because we want to earn more, but we stick in this fork of the market like damned.”
- So, you need to change something.
- In the market? Or in us? Or in the owner?
- In us and our personal market. We have to figure out how to switch to another scale of assessment - so that our income, like that of sellers, depends on participation in the generation of money by the company. Then we will leave the market of ordinary programmers ...
- Yeah, let's be unusual programmers. - laughed Stas. - So let's write in the resume - “unusual programmers”.
- No, it will bring more questions to our adequacy than good. Need something simple and understandable ...
- Money-bringing programmers? Helping to generate income? Lower costs?
- This is too specific wording. In general, we are strange - you have not said a word about what we are going to do, and we are already coming up with a big name for ourselves.
“As you call a ship, so it will sail ...”
- Oh, I have these sample quotes ... Well, what other options?
- I ran out. Programmers for business purposes?
- Already better, but a bit long. Programmers for business, maybe?
- Business programmers!
- And what sounds good! It is not clear, however, if you just hear, you have to decipher, but oh well ... Stas, and you have a kettle in your hands, and not only in programming.
- Yes, I generally lovely, just no one appreciates.
- I appreciate if this is important.
“Okay, that's enough, otherwise I'm melting like a Snow Maiden ...”
- Yes, let's get down to business. We have to figure out how we can make an obvious contribution to making money. Any ideas?
- So right away - no, I have to think. May be…
The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the open door of the office, and Galina, who had flown into it in a whirlwind.
- Sergey, quickly, to the meeting.
- What? Where?
- Let's go, you will find out on the way.