> What possible solutions are safe and fun for engineering, and give the sales director more independence and support?
Not sure how realistic an example it was meant to be but if e.g. an app needs a new feature like a billing system that isn't fun for the engineer to implement, how are you meant to resolve this? I can't imagine many cases where an important engineering dilemma gets resolved this way. A lot of the time people are being paid more because the work they're doing has parts that aren't fun and because there's bad consequences when mistakes are made.
The classic 'engineer wants to have fun' example also irks me. Most engineers want challenges (i.e. complex problems to solve), and the space to apply their knowledge and skills for mutual benefit (i.e. doing things right), they just happen to have fun while doing it. I imagine this is true for almost every technical profession.
Not sure how realistic an example it was meant to be but if e.g. an app needs a new feature like a billing system that isn't fun for the engineer to implement, how are you meant to resolve this? I can't imagine many cases where an important engineering dilemma gets resolved this way. A lot of the time people are being paid more because the work they're doing has parts that aren't fun and because there's bad consequences when mistakes are made.