Schadenfreude

There are many reasons I left my last job for my current gig. Somewhere near the very tiptop of that list would be the d-bag of a manager we hired after the company unceremoniously axed the man who hired me. After a drawn out search and interview process we selected an excellent candidate...who then used the offer as leverage to get a raise from his employer. A little later on we found a seemingly adequate candidate who accepted.

He wasn't really all that adequate.

Turned out he was completely incapable of managing a team, particularly one with three very senior engineers on it. So he began a slow process of rebuilding the team in his image. An image that seemed to consist of a lot of unseasoned maroons who think themselves wise and experienced. To clarify: when my friend and I were still there, we made or beat all our deadlines. Since we've been gone...they haven't shipped anything, they've changed operating systems for no reason, tried to change the build system, tried to incorporate new technologies, and generally failed.

This morning, my long-suffering friend who remains over there sent me a message. Names changed to protect the incompetent:

Zod: So they fired J yesterday.

CoyoteSqrl: Woohoo!!! About goddamn time.

Z: Yeah, we'll see what happens from here. Stepchild is in charge for awhile.

CS: What's the take from the team?

Z: Team isn't all here yet, but I think everyone's upset.

CS: Anyone else looking like they're getting axed? Wait. Upset? Why?

Z: A is. He and M went over to J's last night after work.

CS: Funny. Their incompetence, combined with his misplaced confidence *in* their competence, is what got him fired.

Z: A is competent, but needs to be 'herded' a bit. He's too headstrong for that, though. I predict he and M leave within a month.

CS: I've seen his code; he's not that competent.

Z: He's more competent than M...at least that's my impression.

CS: I've seen tapeworms more competent than M.

Z: M knows enough to be a little dangerous. And has enough pride to make him twice as much.

CS: Hell, I took a dump yesterday that'd make a better engineer than M. I had bean soup on Sunday.

Z: His ego is his undoing--

CS: --that, and that pea brain rattling around in his cranium.

Z: I wouldn't miss him. I'd miss A. I'll miss J.

CS: Nice guy. Terrible manager.

Z: Agreed.