Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up • Hacker News Board

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#161

Post by askafriend » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:28 PM UTC

sonnyblarney wrote: post #46

askafriend wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t have to eat it. They serve dinner every day where I work. I simply go home earlier than that. Nothing happens. It’s quite simple really. On days where I happen to need to stay late, it’s a really nice convenience. For people who go to the gym after work and come back to eat, they save money by grabbing a quick dinner meal at work.

"You don’t have to eat it." Yes, but there's an inherent, almost clear expectation in this treatise that you do in fact, 'eat it' or at least stay those hours. If you're staying >10 hours at the office the least they can do is get you dinner, but when it starts to be a cultural expectation it's going to be a long term problem. The way most equity is shared - if you are working 10-12 hours a day and the company is not…

Speaking from personal experience, no there simply isn't this weird expectation you seem to want to impose.

Every place I've worked at has had free food. People take it when it's convenient for them. They leave it when they want to do something else.

Most parents never stay for dinner. And guess what, everything is fine. There's no cultural crisis...

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#162

Post by taneq » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:29 PM UTC

EGreg wrote: post #126

Nokinside wrote: post #93

Requiring proposals and updates written down is a good idea. If you allow people to bring up an issue or proposal that they have not already written up in the meeting, someone always comes up with idea on the spot, and tries argue it as something well thought. If they are clever people they can throw the whole meeting off. For the loudest voice in the room problem, speaking order that starts from the most junior and…

The Jewish Sanhedrin used it 2000-3000 years ago, starting from the most junior people.

Some good psychology in that. If you start with the most senior people, then the couple of people who are clearly officially leaders will talk and then everyone else thinks they're next in the pecking order and will trainwreck it.

If the only way to talk is to admit that you're more junior than everyone else who hasn't spoken, then you won't stick your two bob in unless you actually have something important to say.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#163

Post by memonkey » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:29 PM UTC

I just want to say that I really love that they're using the pronoun "she" in the beginning. It is refreshing to hear when most business books are directed using male pronouns.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#164

Post by taneq » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:31 PM UTC

ddalex wrote: post #125

Mtinie wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I’ve heard very similar anecdotes from friends and coworkers all around the world, I’m going to offer an alternative phrasing: > Modern work culture, always trying to please the boss.

I think you can skip the bits about work, and modern: > Culture: always trying to please the boss.

> Humans: Always trying to fool the boss.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#165

Post by warent » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:34 PM UTC

Teeer wrote: post #40

foobaw wrote: post #16

This is incredibly insightful and well-written.

> In addition, if people are working less than 8-10 productive hours per day, then they are clearly not being as productive as they could be. Yep, very insightful. I hope I never work for this guy

8 productive hours per day is normal and expected. Are you working part-time or getting paid to browse Reddit?

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#166

Post by GrumpyNl » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:36 PM UTC

austenallred wrote: post #110

throwawayqdhd wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I track my productivity very assiduously. For some tasks, such as writing, it is next to impossible to be productive for more than 5-6 hours/day. Your brain gives up after a while.

The problem here is assuming only hours in deep mode are “productive hours.” If you’re an engineer not all of your productive hours are writing code.

That's why i also charge clients for my "thinking" hours.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#167

Post by GrumpyNl » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

rft34g4e3t wrote: post #160

cncrnd wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is everyone disliking this statement about 8-10 hours a day? Excluding weekends, this is 40-50 hours a week, nothing outrageous. You're not that special folks, you have to work to get paid like everyone else.

I believe requiring 10 hour work days are 1. unnecessary and 2. immoral. 10 hour work days IS outrageous. Maybe it's common in this industry, but that doesn't make it any less wrong. And considering that most tech jobs are exempt, this is just a way of getting you to work more hours for the same amount of pay. During the last century, we all agreed that a 40 hour work week was the standard. Let's keep it that way. I…

If the job is interesting, i don't care 8-14 hours a day. Its all about focus and dedication, well for me it is.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#168

Post by corry » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:53 PM UTC

ganeshkrishnan wrote: post #13

> YCombinator has a near-blanket policy of only accepting co-founder teams (ie- no solo founders), because the data shows that solo founders rarely succeed. The emotional burden is just too high. But YC application FAQ states that this is not true. Although practically speaking from speaking to other startups, I have noticed that only startups with co-founders made it to the final round. This is just based off my exp…

IMO the bar should be much higher for solo founders. If you have 2 people, then it's twice as many resources to check all the various boxes you need (sales, design, technical, etc) - otherwise the solo person has to credibly be an amazing all-rounder (which is rare).

That's the core dynamic IMO... then add on the emotional burden part to that and it makes even more sense.

But then again a bad cofounder fit could actually lead to MORE emotional burden too... so obviously it all comes down to specifics.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#169

Post by SketchySeaBeast » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:54 PM UTC

GrumpyNl wrote: post #167

rft34g4e3t wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe requiring 10 hour work days are 1. unnecessary and 2. immoral. 10 hour work days IS outrageous. Maybe it's common in this industry, but that doesn't make it any less wrong. And considering that most tech jobs are exempt, this is just a way of getting you to work more hours for the same amount of pay. During the last century, we all agreed that a 40 hour work week was the standard. Let's keep it that way. I…

If the job is interesting, i don't care 8-14 hours a day. Its all about focus and dedication, well for me it is.

Do your relationships not suffer? My wife would be unhappy with me (and I would be as well) if I only came home to eat and sleep.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#170

Post by barrkel » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 4:55 PM UTC

taneq wrote: post #164

ddalex wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can skip the bits about work, and modern: > Culture: always trying to please the boss.

> Humans: Always trying to fool the boss.

More like humouring the delusions of people who don't know how to measure productivity.