"When the boss man comes in and says "can you implement this feature" and it is about getting user analystics, you will say "yes sir/ma'am" and do it with a smile."
However, this not the behaviour of someone who is seeking to be promoted. There are those who of "us" who have taken or are taking the initiative to go beyond what the boss asks them to do in hopes of being promoted. To be persuasive as evidence for promotion, this "extra work" must support the bottom line of the company the same as "the boss's orders".
Hence "us" includes more than only the employees who "show up to collect a paycheck" and dutifully follow instructions, but are otherwise opposed supporting to the bottom line of the company.
Going further, is it safe to say some of "us" have already been promoted for supporting the company's bottom line and some of "us" are in fact managers. "We" are effectively the "boss man".
This line is intriguing: "The only way it stops is if engineers ..."
This seems to imply a underlying belief that "no one/nothing can stop us". As such, only "self-regulation" will work. Am I reading this wrong.
I think you bring up some good concepts here with working above and beyond for promotion. That sometimes we do voluntary build these tools in hope of some reward even if it is not specifically asked for. And maybe not even directly as a job but for a resume project. I think quiet a few here would probably agree twitter to some degree has had a negative impact on society or conversation. Yet, many of us build something to scrape data and utilize for something, put it on github not thinking how that tool could be misused.
Also bringing into scope of "us" being moved into management. While I do meant boss man to be interpreted more liberally. "Boss man" can be a direct manager/supervisor (who may be an MBA or a prior engineer him/herself), it can be the CEO or shareholders. But yes, in some case those of us become the "boss man" and ask for these features or do not get in the way when someone higher asks for them.
To answer the last line, it surely is not the "only thing" that can stop us. Regulation can work also as has been brought up. But I fail to see where years of screaming for regulation has materialized in anything meaningful, at least in the US. The quickest way would be self-regulation. Adhering to a code of ethics or principles voluntarily.
However, this not the behaviour of someone who is seeking to be promoted. There are those who of "us" who have taken or are taking the initiative to go beyond what the boss asks them to do in hopes of being promoted. To be persuasive as evidence for promotion, this "extra work" must support the bottom line of the company the same as "the boss's orders". Hence "us" includes more than only the employees who "show up to collect a paycheck" and dutifully follow instructions, but are otherwise opposed supporting to the bottom line of the company.
Going further, is it safe to say some of "us" have already been promoted for supporting the company's bottom line and some of "us" are in fact managers. "We" are effectively the "boss man".
This line is intriguing: "The only way it stops is if engineers ..."
This seems to imply a underlying belief that "no one/nothing can stop us". As such, only "self-regulation" will work. Am I reading this wrong.