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My Time at Snap

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Re: My Time at Snap

#181

Post by nilkn »

throwaway713 wrote: post #159

I find it interesting how split the HN comments on this story are. Half seem to think this guy is an entitled low performer chasing high compensation, and the other half relate to him and feel that he was treated unfairly by Snap. I’m not sure what that means.

I suspect this is a story of two low performers colliding and causing problems for each other. "John", the director of engineering, was fired, probably for some of the reasons the author points out. But there are also many signs here that the author wasn't performing up to standards, was difficult to manage, and had very high expectations and wanted special treatment.

Re: My Time at Snap

#182

Post by groby_b »

kgwgk wrote: post #15
librish wrote: post #10

There seems to be a valuable lesson for OP about the cost of not playing ball here. Assuming OPs side of things is mostly true it sounds like: - OP was working for a bad director, one so bad that they eventually got fired - Instead of placating this director and pretending to take their concerns into consideration, OP fights back more than other teammates (reading between the lines of the quote "However, given that I…

The philosopher Diogenes was sitting on a curbstone, eating bread and lentils for his supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. Said Aristippus, "If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils." Said Diogenes, "Learn to live on lentils, and you will not have to cultivate the king."

Except our intrepid hero didn't want to live on lentils, did he?

He signed up specifically for a large amount of money in form of stock - live-changing, in fact. At that point, you have to accept that never compromising is not your winning strategy - because the people handing out the money want something in return, and it's not your charming personality.

Re: My Time at Snap

#183

Post by noego »

thiscatis wrote: post #178
noego wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> equity without commitment The guy was perfectly willing to stay for the long-haul. > weeks of remote work without formal agreement Taking people at their word is "entitled"? > a quick cash out over adding value to the company The guy was faithfully performing all the duties assigned to him. Is he drinking the company kool-aid and devoting his life to his company? Thankfully no. Your employer is not your family, nor…

> Maybe I could get a high equity offer, and if the stock turned around I’d stand to make a large sum of money. If it didn’t, I could quit in a year or two and go somewhere more stable. If this is the intention of any of my candidates coming in and they call this "real commitment" to work for my company they would not pass the phone interview. Seriously?

> If this is the intention of any of my candidates coming in and they call this "real commitment" to work for my company they would not pass the phone interview

There is a very easy way to filter out candidates who want to leave in 1-2 years. Structure your equity vesting so that there's minimal vesting for the first 2-3 years, with a sizable severance package to protect against involuntary termination. I don't understand why you would give someone 30% equity after 2 years, if you're then going to begrudge them leaving.

Re: My Time at Snap

#184

Post by dilyevsky »

saalweachter wrote: post #163
andy_boot wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I agree with your summary of the Fountainhead. If you choose to read Atlas Shrugged, however, her opinions start to get more extreme and unsettling.

I actually managed to read _The Fountainhead_, and found it enjoyable enough, without realizing it was supposed to be a libertarian manifesto. I usually bring this up to give people a baseline in explaining how loud the preaching eventually got in the _Sword of Truth_ series. _Atlas Shrugged_ is one of the few books I couldn't finish once started; the characters were just too obnoxiously stupid.

I read fountainhead years ago (and I couldn’t finish atlas shrugged also) but I recall reading about architects was way more enjoyable than about some railroad tycoons.

Re: My Time at Snap

#185

Post by KKKKkkkk1 »

radlad wrote: post #151
ordinaryperson wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We have all worked for a "John" in the industry. Agreed. But since so many middle managers are twits isn't it incumbent on the employee to learn a set of skills to deal with Johns? Managing people is hard. Being a good manager is really hard, which is why there are so few of them. Rather than rail against how terrible Person X is as a manager I feel like it's more productive to say, "Unless I start my own company t…

> Agreed. But since so many middle managers are twits isn't it incumbent on the employee to learn a set of skills to deal with Johns? It's much easier to simply find a better job without a John, or where you're shielded from John. (My name breaks this analogy a bit.)

I don't think it's easier, because:

a) It's hard to identify a good manager ahead of time.

b) People change; circumstances change.

c) Your team and manager will change sooner than you expect, especially if they are a good team or manager.

Re: My Time at Snap

#186

Post by mellosouls »

isoskeles wrote: post #175
mellosouls wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I purposely didn't put that in - I was trying to convey the righteous outrage that would be felt. The point is you think about this up front. The reason you would require the functioning facility to be closed is to make it clear to the business and all others there are consequences for this incompetence and lack of care.

May as well burn down whole building and start over as a consequence for these injustices. Why aren’t you proposing that? Also, the example is absurd because urinals wouldn’t satisfy all restroom needs. Men don’t defecate in the urinal. It’s even in the name.

You are perhaps poring too much over the detail.

I've no idea how you get to burning the whole building down, my rationale for conveying the importance of respecting standards, legislation and plain human decency was pretty clear I think.

Re: My Time at Snap

#189

Post by Touche »

vemv wrote: post #157
Touche wrote: post #135

There are many types of "John"s out there. I worked for a John who was a highly accomplished engineer. It doesn't make it any better to have someone constantly micromanage you knowing that they are technical, it only makes it worse because you have to think to yourself "he might be right". But the thing about micromanagement is that it doesn't matter if the micromanager is right or not, it simply kills employee motiv…

> it only makes it worse because you have to think to yourself "he might be right" Seems a self-defeating statement. Thinking isn't wrong. Neither it is that someone else is right.

I didn't say either of those things.

Re: My Time at Snap

#190

Post by slaunchwise »

thiscatis wrote: post #100

On the one hand I recognise a lot of the teams and work issues this developer had. But reading between the lines it seems like this dev wanted it all, equity without commitment, weeks of remote work without formal agreement, a quick cash out over adding value to the company...Seems very entitled to me. It looks very one-sided as well. Everything had to come from the company and its management, nothing from his side.

He had a gig where he could come early, leave early, and work remotely instead of taking vacation. With the potential for life-changing money. He left because they made him follow the same rules as everyone else. He thought oddball office space management was worthy of hundreds and hundreds of words in an essay. He said more about himself in this piece than I dare say he meant to.

That said, the short stories might have worked in an unreliable-narrator way.

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