Why I Hate Company Hack-a-Thons
It’s what they imply about the company itself
As luck would have it, I am currently not managing any engineers. This break in management duties provides me with a window to talk about what — I assume — is a very unpopular opinion that I hold.
It involves company hack-a-thons. You know, those two- or three-day stretches that companies set aside to let their engineers work on something they find interesting. Sometimes the engineers have to work on a company-specific project. Sometimes they are free to build whatever they want to. As long as they finish it within a small, arbitrary time slot.
So here’s the thing. I’ve worked at lots of companies that have sponsored their own hack-a-thons. And I’ve participated in many of them. I’ve given up nights and weekends, eschewed sleep, and frantically churned out code, so that I’d have something to demo by the deadline. My co-workers seemed to enjoy these hack-a-thons. Maybe I seemed to enjoy them too.
But as I said, here’s the thing… I hate hack-a-thons. I really, really do.
I haven’t really admitted this before. After all, it’s a pretty heretical view to hold. Most engineering organizations make a point to hold hack-a-thons, at least once or twice (or even three to four times) per year. Heck, many companies tout…