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Employee 1: Yahoo

themacro.com

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Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#11

Post by overcast »

jshen wrote: post #10
overcast wrote: post #8

"I went there with a positive attitude. The work was interesting. It was rewarding and intellectually challenging. But after a few months, I remember looking at my boss and my boss’ boss, and my boss’ boss’ boss, and saying to myself, “You know what? I don’t want any of their jobs.” I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding. They spent their time managing meetings and office pol…

I think it's fine to decide you don't want their jobs, but it's a mistake to frame it as "bullshit" which he does after the section you quote. Human nature isn't bullshit, and any endeavor which requires a large number of people to accomplish requires the management of human nature.

No, sitting in meetings all day, essentially accomplishing nothing really is bullshit. Granted, there are some super productive management teams out there, but the majority of time is spent dealing with nonsense politics, and having meetings to schedule meetings. Stereotypes have basis in reality.

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#12

Post by hbhakhra »

"On one hand, I guess it could be seen as a lack of confidence to not do your own thing. But on the other hand, it could be seen as not letting your ego get in the way of recognizing a good idea. I can see both sides and honestly, I don’t know where the truth lies."

Thats an interesting distinction he makes between the type of person it takes to be an early employee vs a founder. Both take on huge risks but as described here its a very different profile.

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#13

Post by sgk284 »

bluedino wrote: post #7

>> Come out to Silicon Valley and get a regular 9 to 5 at a place like at SGI [Silicon Graphics], and then you can moonlight with us. And we’ll see where it goes. That sounds so absurd. Today that would be like, "hey come out here and get a job at Instagram, and them after-hours we'll work on our own thing"

I'm curious what do you think is absurd about working at Instagram and moonlighting at the same time?

(Note: Many Facebook employees do exactly this.)

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#14

Post by pound »

overcast wrote: post #8

"I went there with a positive attitude. The work was interesting. It was rewarding and intellectually challenging. But after a few months, I remember looking at my boss and my boss’ boss, and my boss’ boss’ boss, and saying to myself, “You know what? I don’t want any of their jobs.” I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding. They spent their time managing meetings and office pol…

"I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding." it may not be interesting but I'm sure it's quite rewarding (as in money/wealth)

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#15

Post by overcast »

pound wrote: post #14
overcast wrote: post #8

"I went there with a positive attitude. The work was interesting. It was rewarding and intellectually challenging. But after a few months, I remember looking at my boss and my boss’ boss, and my boss’ boss’ boss, and saying to myself, “You know what? I don’t want any of their jobs.” I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding. They spent their time managing meetings and office pol…

"I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding." it may not be interesting but I'm sure it's quite rewarding (as in money/wealth)

In my thirties now, after spending my twenties in pursuit of wealth. I can tell you unequivocally, as cliche as it is, accumulating money/wealth is not rewarding. Of course one needs a certain amount to be comfortable, but obtaining more has absolutely not made me a happier person.

Relationships, interesting purposeful work, and travel has been what I have found to be the most rewarding. Basically experiences over things.

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#16

Post by emorse »

pound wrote: post #14
overcast wrote: post #8

"I went there with a positive attitude. The work was interesting. It was rewarding and intellectually challenging. But after a few months, I remember looking at my boss and my boss’ boss, and my boss’ boss’ boss, and saying to myself, “You know what? I don’t want any of their jobs.” I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding. They spent their time managing meetings and office pol…

"I saw how they spent their time and didn’t find it interesting or very rewarding." it may not be interesting but I'm sure it's quite rewarding (as in money/wealth)

He's talking about how he personally found it.

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#17

Post by davidw »

JoachimSchipper wrote: post #2

This is cool, but beware of enormous success becoming too salient - most employee #1's will have a less successful ride...

I was thinking the same thing. Some statistics about early employees vs founders might be interesting too.

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#18

Post by mathattack »

I like how he closes. That there are important roles for non-founders who jump in after seeing that an idea is a good thing.

On one hand, I guess it could be seen as a lack of confidence to not do your own thing. But on the other hand, it could be seen as not letting your ego get in the way of recognizing a good idea. I can see both sides and honestly, I don’t know where the truth lies.

For me, my sweet spot is when I can say, “That’s a great idea. It’s just getting started. Count me in.”

Re: Employee 1: Yahoo

#19

Post by sverige »

overcast wrote: post #11
jshen wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's fine to decide you don't want their jobs, but it's a mistake to frame it as "bullshit" which he does after the section you quote. Human nature isn't bullshit, and any endeavor which requires a large number of people to accomplish requires the management of human nature.

No, sitting in meetings all day, essentially accomplishing nothing really is bullshit. Granted, there are some super productive management teams out there, but the majority of time is spent dealing with nonsense politics, and having meetings to schedule meetings. Stereotypes have basis in reality.

Having held a few of those jobs, I understand the sentiment, but that doesn't mean those positions are unnecessary, especially as organizations get beyond a certain size. I understood his take on it to be that it just wasn't for him since he likes to be able to see something he has built in a fairly short timeframe, and at a place like Motorola in the '90s, middle management and probably many of the executives wouldn't get that kind of feedback.

From my experience managing managers in big corporations, a lot of the bullshit is created by people who want their own way after a decision has been made. They tend to be the reason meetings are called in the first place, since someone has to make the effort to get everyone moving in the same direction. They are also the most likely to walk around calling bullshit on everything that's happening in the place.

There's no need to denigrate the work of the people who spend more of their time than they'd like in meetings trying to get a big company of individuals to cooperate on goals that are set by executives.

As an aside, there are people who enjoy the kind of work that doesn't necessarily provide instant feedback. Teachers come to mind. Sure, there are little victories and defeats every day, but at the end of the year, there are times when they sigh and wonder what good it did. Try going to a good teacher's retirement party or funeral sometime and mingle with those who come to pay their respects. You'll often hear things like, "He changed my life" or "I'd probably be in prison now if she hadn't been so patient with me." Similarly, the people who make big organizations actually work have an impact on many lives and on the direction of companies, the effects of which are not always visible for years or decades.

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