Google First, Then Ask

At lunch yesterday, a friend mentioned that his rarely seen uncle had just called to ask him to come over and fix his computer. His favorite Facebook game is not working. Anyone with a technical background gets those requests and puts up with them smiling since they are friends and family.

The same problem can exist among engineers. There are certain engineers that pester other engineers asking for solutions rather than spending the energy to figure things out themselves.

Those are productivity drains. It’s so common that this post quickly rose in Hacker News yesterday.

Of course there needs to be a balance between pestering and spinning wheels. But before bothering someone, try Google!

What are ways you improve efficiency among your team?