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“Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

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Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#41

Post by mseebach »

pekk wrote: post #2

A culture where everyone has to be in the perfect 1%, or where everyone is informing on everyone, or where people are very actively competing for status and territory, is also one where nobody will show vulnerability or speak up or tell the truth, except as it seems strategic to do so.

That's a quite uncharitable reading of the Netflix slide (I assumes that's what you're referring to).

Your "A-game" is your best, not the best in the world. Your "B-game", by extension, is something less. The way I read it, is that as long as you're doing the best work you can, it doesn't matter when you work. If you're doing less than your best work, well, you should stop.

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#42

Post by Lagged2Death »

It's a bad idea to put a photograph of keys on-line, particularly in such a way that they can be matched up with a real-world identity. And the higher-profile you are, the worse an idea it is, I imagine.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/07/duplicating_ph...

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/killer-escaped-prison-a...

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#43

Post by Kluny »

Lagged2Death wrote: post #42

It's a bad idea to put a photograph of keys on-line, particularly in such a way that they can be matched up with a real-world identity. And the higher-profile you are, the worse an idea it is, I imagine. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/07/duplicating_ph... http://www.news.com.au/national-news/killer-escaped-prison-a...

For god's sake, have an opinion that wasn't on the front page of HN last week.

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#44

Post by tekromancr »

rdl wrote: post #18
rmrfrmrf wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're working for a new company, this might be true. However, many established companies (like the one I work for now) have fewer benefits for hourly employees, not to mention the pay ceilings are much lower than salary. Paying hourly also has a lot of annoying caveats to it. Should I be clocked in for work-related functions? What about ones where I'm expected to be there but it's from 6pm-8pm at a restaurant (an…

There are some hourly people who make more than salaries employers ("consultants" vs. "contractors", i.e. people hired for particular skill or experience vs. to fill a role, generally). There are some places where pretty much everyone but the very top management is some kind of hourly-billed contractor or consultant, which seems weird. In practice there are usually client and contracting firm cultural solutions to th…

I am hourly, and I often find myself shaving my hours if I am unhappy with my output, and other times I can't help myself and I end up working for sixty hours and not put down the overtime. I don't think that this is unusual, it's how you keep a job in a down economy.

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#45

Post by tekromancr »

Kluny wrote: post #43
Lagged2Death wrote: post #42

It's a bad idea to put a photograph of keys on-line, particularly in such a way that they can be matched up with a real-world identity. And the higher-profile you are, the worse an idea it is, I imagine. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/07/duplicating_ph... http://www.news.com.au/national-news/killer-escaped-prison-a...

For god's sake, have an opinion that wasn't on the front page of HN last week.

Yikes. Is the hostility needed?

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#47

Post by itsybitsycoder »

BoredAstronaut wrote: post #23

I refer you to Celine's Laws, #2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celines_laws "Communication is only possible between equals". Equality is a perception, but the one with the power to punish inevitably decides who is equal, and who isn't. The safe bet if you're in the inferior position is to assume that rocking the boat will get you in trouble. That's why everyone hates when bosses make jokes about firing them. It's onl…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celine%27s_laws

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#48

Post by rdl »

tekromancr wrote: post #44
rdl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some hourly people who make more than salaries employers ("consultants" vs. "contractors", i.e. people hired for particular skill or experience vs. to fill a role, generally). There are some places where pretty much everyone but the very top management is some kind of hourly-billed contractor or consultant, which seems weird. In practice there are usually client and contracting firm cultural solutions to th…

I am hourly, and I often find myself shaving my hours if I am unhappy with my output, and other times I can't help myself and I end up working for sixty hours and not put down the overtime. I don't think that this is unusual, it's how you keep a job in a down economy.

As a consultant, it's better to say "I worked 60h but am giving you a 50% discount", I think. Maybe it's different if you're hourly staff.

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#49

Post by InclinedPlane »

Values and culture are defined by actions. If a company has to spend a lot of time telling its employees that they are valued, that usually indicates that the message is trying to counteract some stronger implicit message based on actions. It's like hearing "we value your business" while you're on hold for support. If they actually valued your business they would take the effort to provide better support. When I file a ticket with my VPS provider there is communication going on almost instantly and typically the issue is resolved within a matter of minutes, they don't have to tell me that they value my business, they show it. And I spend less money with them than I do with my mobile provider or my ISP.

Re: “Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”

#50

Post by rhizome »

btilly wrote: post #33
VLM wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think HR would have a huge headache separating the self-satisfaction people who coincidentally have huge talent from pathological control freaks, and fame seekers, and pathological types who just want to see the world burn, and probably other weirdos. If HR fails then the nuts might wreak havoc on the normal workers and the rest of the world. I don't think NFLX will make it to that historical era. And appearing som…

It is worth noting that that presentation was from a few years ago. According to someone I knew that worked there at the time but doesn't now, the culture went downhill after.

"Welp, I guess that means everybody who currently works here is an A-player, great going everybody! Let's go get some beers for the next couple of years."
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