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A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

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Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#191
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a PhD, and I enjoyed the quote. Hats off to the guy. The PhD isn't a title of nobility.

There's an old joke (which you probably know!) that it stands for Permanent Head Damage.

I heard "Pile it Higher and Deeper"

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On HN you cannot downvote someone who responds to you, so uh, that's not what is happening.

I apologize for the wrong assumption, it's just confusing why anyone else would downvote me for asking a genuine question that was also just informing the writer of the medium post about a mistake that may have confused other readers too.

Informing the author about a mistake is usually OK. But the "I had to stop reading here" line sounds dismissive and somewhat rude.

But I may also be wrong about why people downvoted you; sometimes it just seem random, so you shouldn't take it too seriously.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#193

My takeaway: there are huge potential markets in people who are not like me. The execs were probably completely unaware of this market, and it took an outsider to hold their hand and bring it to them. I love flaming hot cheetos and know tons of people who do, but there is no way I would have thought of taking the hot pepper / other spices from a traditional Mexican food (elotes, which I had in LA) and adapting them i…

The problem with being an engineer is, in general, you do not think like normal people. Case in point, Facebook. I know I've often discussed with other engineers how simple it would have been to implement with off the shelf technology in the '00s, but none of us would have ever wanted it. Often when I encounter problems I try to route around them, instead of developing productized solutions and marketing them to others.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why diversity is so important! Not only in business, but in general — everyone has huge blind spots, no matter what background they have. Life is much larger and more diverse than people usually imagine. Interacting and learning from people with different backgrounds than yours is a fundamentally rewarding experience, although it can be hard at times.

I think the cultural ideal of meritocracy needs to be addressed, and this is conflating two separate issues: 1) People of certain backgrounds want to and need to prove they CAN compete. 2) People of certain backgrounds should be helping make decisions even without credentials. so there are both competent and less competent people that need to be included. "wait what why? I wasted way too much of my life to accept why…

The idea that a push for diversity is somehow in conflict with a meritocracy is deeply flawed because it relies on the idea that people with diverse backgrounds either haven't shown they are capable or that there are no people with diverse backgrounds that are capable. A good diversity program does two things:

1. It identifies and removes certain unnecessary credentials that might rule out people with diverse backgrounds. Requiring a college degree for applicants when a degree provides no benefit on the job is one example.

2. It makes an active effort to find and pursue diverse candidates. Odds are there are plenty of people who are competent enough to do the job. Let's imagine you are hiring 5 engineers from a pool of 100 qualified people. If there are only 10 diverse candidates in that pool and you just hired the first random qualified candidate you find, there is roughly a 60% chance that you end up with zero diversity on the team. If you actively work to get diverse candidates to apply and maybe get 10 additional diverse candidates added to the previous pool, you can still hire the first random qualified person but your odds drop to roughly 35% of having a team with zero diversity.

TL;DR - You don't have to hire less qualified people to have diversity, it just takes a little more thought and effort to make diversity a priority.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#195

My takeaway: there are huge potential markets in people who are not like me. The execs were probably completely unaware of this market, and it took an outsider to hold their hand and bring it to them. I love flaming hot cheetos and know tons of people who do, but there is no way I would have thought of taking the hot pepper / other spices from a traditional Mexican food (elotes, which I had in LA) and adapting them i…

Went to the east coast, couldn't find spicy chips/snacks of any kind in the grocery stores.

Finally found Takis at... Home Depot.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#196

My takeaway: there are huge potential markets in people who are not like me. The execs were probably completely unaware of this market, and it took an outsider to hold their hand and bring it to them. I love flaming hot cheetos and know tons of people who do, but there is no way I would have thought of taking the hot pepper / other spices from a traditional Mexican food (elotes, which I had in LA) and adapting them i…

This is why diversity is so important! Not only in business, but in general — everyone has huge blind spots, no matter what background they have. Life is much larger and more diverse than people usually imagine. Interacting and learning from people with different backgrounds than yours is a fundamentally rewarding experience, although it can be hard at times.

I mean, it's a nice side effect of diversity, I really don't think Flaming Cheetohs, or finding Takis in every supermarket near me, are why diversity is so important.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#197
post #171

> “How much market share do you think you can get?” "I opened my arms and I said, ‘This much market share!’" Brilliant answer for a stupid question that was probably meant to put him down. > Frito-Lay began testing Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in small Latino markets in East Los Angeles. If it performed well, the company would move forward with the product; if it didn’t, they’d scratch it So Montañez assembled a small team of…

This was the same CEO who took a call from a janitor. It wasn't a put down. This was an interview, and the question was open ended on purpose to see how he responded.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#198

I just wish they'd make them hotter. Takis are kicking their ass in the spicy snack aisle.

I have never found any flavor of takis to actually be “hot”

Not "capsicum hot" per se, but very flavorful. More salty and acidic I guess. But it's a very bold and complex flavor, a top tier snack imho.

Re: A janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (2017)

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for this interesting data point. Would you/they prefer to just be called latino? Is this common sentiment among Mexicans outside of your family? I can see latinx only being preferred by non-gender-conforming individuals to whom it applies, as opposed to when referring to individuals rather than to communities (families, neighborhoods, food, etc).

I think more specific is always better. I’m of Mexican descent, I prefer to keep that identity. I’ve actually noticed people in the US sometimes struggle to say that as if being “Mexican” is a bad thing; it’s not, don’t be afraid of the term. Latino and Latina are also fine. Hispanic as well although that has a slightly different meaning. I think it’s best to call people by the terms that they use themselves. Foistin…

It's funny because I have been ridiculed for calling myself Swedish or Swedish-American instead of white. Somehow some people have even thought that's racist.

But it is a strong identity in my family, and, for example, I really don't want to be lumped in with the people of Bavarian descent who made up about half of the town I grew up in. I'm nothing like them culturally.

Honestly, "white" isn't an ethnicity and it is borderline insulting to think others can know all about me by my skin color, but I've given up on the idea that my opinion on this will make a difference. It is nice to say it out loud for the first time in years, though.

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