At my previous company (where I stayed for 7 years), I remember seeing our CTO doing the dishes in the kitchen/break room once. This wasn't just in the first year, but about 5 years in. It didn't surprise me, it was more of a confirmation of what I already knew about him. The company is pretty successful today.
You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
51–60 of 146 posts
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll share a story an interaction with a company that I worked heavily with while we were launching (this is a startup in a fairly niche, non-technical space. A smallish company with around 200 employees): The "CEO": This guy had a large stake in the company. It was his baby, and while the "CEO" title (which I think gets way over applied) fits him, his official title is "managing partner". While we were in the proces…
how do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of…
Richard Bransons Virgin group does this, although their groups are smaller. Around 20 people if I remember correctly.
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll share a story an interaction with a company that I worked heavily with while we were launching (this is a startup in a fairly niche, non-technical space. A smallish company with around 200 employees): The "CEO": This guy had a large stake in the company. It was his baby, and while the "CEO" title (which I think gets way over applied) fits him, his official title is "managing partner". While we were in the proces…
how do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of…
It's called the Dunbar number, and it varies:
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
how do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of…
Richard Bransons Virgin group does this, although their groups are smaller. Around 20 people if I remember correctly.
Iirc, according to "The Tipping Point", the company that makes kevlar does exactly what I suggested. Their method: They build a building and put 150 parking spaces out front. When people start parking on the grass, time to build a new building.
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Edit:I'm an idiot and wrote an argument to something you didn't say, but I'll leave it here cause it took me 5 minutes to write on the phone keyboard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_th... EDIT: In other words, it's even more idiotic to leave it here after you've determined it was a mu post.
Hey I'm happy to live in a world of honest assholes.
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Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll share a story an interaction with a company that I worked heavily with while we were launching (this is a startup in a fairly niche, non-technical space. A smallish company with around 200 employees): The "CEO": This guy had a large stake in the company. It was his baby, and while the "CEO" title (which I think gets way over applied) fits him, his official title is "managing partner". While we were in the proces…
how do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of…
[deleted]
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
how do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of…
It's called the Dunbar number, and it varies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbars_number
Thank you. That is why I said things like typical human brain and about 150.
As I understand it, Napoleon inspired such loyalty in spite of how he treated his people because he could greet everyone by name and ask how their wife Elaine was doing, etc. It made everyone feel he caredabout them personally. I had similar talents when I was younger but never really knew what to do with it as I was a homemaker, but I am familiar firsthand with the types of emotional responses it inspires from people.
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#58Seriously, does anyone take anyone seriously who calls themselves CEO, CTO or CFO of a 5 man company? How about owner or founder. Maybe it's a cultural thing but here in the UK we'd definitely laugh at someone calling themselves that unless it was a company of a considerable size.
I don't understand this phenomenon either. The 5-man company of all C-level executives. Or the software shop with only "Senior" developers. I suspect it might be peacocking in an attempt to make the company appear bigger than it really is, or to have structure in place when the company grows (see: premature optimization). In the case of the "senior developers", I imagine it might be to instill a kind of trust with the company's clients that their business is being handled by 'senior' employees. Either way, I think it's silly.
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#59It's important to remember that the CEO/founder role is where the buck stops. You're ultimately responsible for every mistake and fixing it. He's right that it's not glamorous. I think that if you're a sole founder you figure this out pretty quickly though. And as a rule of thumb: Always ignore Silicon Valley hype. By the way: writing words in ALL CAPS, italicizing lots of things , and saying 'fucking' a lot made it…
I don't mind seeing The F Word from time to time in blog posts. It just expresses the frustration. It adds some kind of personal touch. Adds some... Naturalism? Obviously, using 'fuck' in every post (or especially post title) would not be appropriate or if you are some kind of role model/super-star who's posts are quoted in the press and etc.
Oh well maybe the fact that English is not my native language changes something.
Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor
#60Seems appropriate to quote an old HN comment ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3905794 ): "After the first night of the 2008 SciFoo conference at Google, @gnat Torkington's twitter stream contained a gem: 'At SciFoo opening session. 300 people standing around networking. Meanwhile, Larry Page is quietly unpacking chairs at the back of the room.' (from memory, not exact)" The CEO (or any leader)'s job is to make s…
Another similar story that went around HN a year ago: http://thesash.me/wash-the-dishes-when-nobody-else-will and http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2193330
The meat of the post (very similar to this article actually):
One day, I walked by the kitchen and saw Cary washing the
dishes. “Huh” I thought, “The CEO is pitching in. Cool.”
I figured it must have been his turn or something, and
sort of forgot about it.
A week or so passed, and then it happened again. The
kitchen became a ginormous mess, and then one day,
there’s Cary, washing dishes. Then it happened again, and
again. Each time, he’d look up, and nod, then go back to
scrubbing dishes. One day, I walked by the kitchen and
noticed it was a huge mess. So I washed the dishes.
Being the CEO of the company isn’t about power,
authority, or glamour, it’s about washing the dishes when
nobody else will.
Be the CEO of the company. Take responsibility for things
that other people ignore. That’s the definition of
leadership, and if you make a habit of it, pretty soon
you'll be inspiring the people around you to do the same.