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A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

blog.coinbase.com

151–160 of 774 posts

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#151
post #72

I'm curious to know how many of these exits were in engineering – those with the privilege to know another engineering job is immediately available somewhere else – versus other roles in the company.

Quite possible this could blacklist you from many other companies.

The army of recruiters they have in their inboxes would turn them away now that they are available?

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#152
post #82

I feel like this is the start of a rising tide. I think Brian's stance is great, companies have missions, they should focus on those missions. Everything has become so political that your work, which occupies a large portion of your life, should not be divisive.

> ...your work, which occupies a large portion of your life, should not be divisive.

I get that desire, I really do, but I think it's so important to recognize that your work is not apolitical. It doesn't matter what you're building. What you build does not exist in a vacuum, and the decisions you make around politics at work are themselves political decisions.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Coinbase is using their business as a political platform[1]. [1] https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?...

This is very interesting. The CEO said in his initial letter that Coinbase should only engage in politics that are relevant to their "core mission", but it's kind of interesting to reduce a candidate to "What can this candidate or party do specifically for our business?" and ignore other policies that a candidate or party may seek to enact. Pretending that you're unaware of or completely ambivalent about the conseque…

Or just "the board and CEO will decide what political activism is relevant to the core business of the company, and the political positions the company should take". Which seems exactly within the remit of the board and CEO.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#155
post #72

I'm curious to know how many of these exits were in engineering – those with the privilege to know another engineering job is immediately available somewhere else – versus other roles in the company.

Quite possible this could blacklist you from many other companies.

How? Maybe a short list of fintech or cryptotech companies but outside of that?

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#156
post #82

I feel like this is the start of a rising tide. I think Brian's stance is great, companies have missions, they should focus on those missions. Everything has become so political that your work, which occupies a large portion of your life, should not be divisive.

I hope so. I enjoy talking about politics and social issues and think the discussion is important, but not at work. It's a distraction and it is alienating to employees who do not share the majority opinion.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#157
post #92

The policy seems pretty reasonable to me. Surprising that 60 people would quit because the company wants to make money instead of virtue signal.

It's the same as saying "Don't discuss religion at work." A religious fundamentalist would take issue with the mere fact that they are being told not to discuss their religion. That's what we have with virtue signalling types. They are religious fundamentalists, and their religion is Statism.

And not even “don’t discuss it at work” (although that would also be a fine rule). More just that the company itself isn’t going to be in the business of lobbying for any particular politics.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#158
post #81

Companies aren't generally supposed to be political. Is the story here that Coinbase is offering a severance for employees that feel the company should be doing more? Seems like an incentivized quit.

This is incredibly naive. Companies hire lobbyists, make political donations, give seats on the board to former politicians, setup fake grass-roots campaign groups, play states off against each other for tax-breaks. It happens all the time.

I'm guessing now they're apolitical Coinbase wont be doing any of that.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why? typically RSUs/signing bonus vest over 4 years period

My longest stay at one job as been 2.5 years. By changing jobs, I get a lot more experience in a lot of different things. I've worked in five different markets: https://battlepenguin.com/tech/tech-culture-shock-from-ameri... I know people who've been at the same job for 6~7 years and they are totally getting paid way under market. A company might give you a 2~3% cost of living increase, or a $5k promotion every few y…

I think an optimal time within a project in between 3 to 5 years, and the reason is to get deeper understanding of problems rather than surface. My YoY compensation growth is between 20% and 30% compounded.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#160

One thought: If you see a resume with Coinbase until October 2020, that's probably someone who prefers political activism in the workplace. That might be seen in a positive or negative light, depending on your stance. I personally am afraid to associate myself too publicly with a political stance, lest I be wrong and/or the environment changes.

Alternatively, if you see a resume with Coinbase through 2020-2021, that person probably prefers the opposite, which may also be seen in a positive or negative light, depending on your stance.

And so the sorting into apolitical and leftist companies can begin!

It's probably for the best.

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