Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Resign Gracefully

cforcoding.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 49 posts

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#21

Post by sage_joch »

chime wrote: post #15
cletus wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fact is, Yahoo is a directionless arguably dying company and very much a large company rather than a startup with all that entails, probably meaning many meetings before you can ever change anything and so on. And Jason said something in the heat of the moment? So what? They just promoted the guy and he can't even sit down and have a conversation? I'd be horribly disappointed too. Remember "disappointed" means you ac…

> Fact is, Yahoo is a directionless arguably dying company and very much a large company rather than a startup with all that entails, probably meaning many meetings before you can ever change anything and so on. Does not matter. The boss has absolutely no right to judge the next company. Everyone moves around in the tech world. MS employees joined Google, then Facebook, then Amazon, and so on. Bosses are supposed to…

I read your version as someone who is starting to examine new opportunities, and that "high hopes" part would definitely sting me. I'm not disagreeing with you at all, but at least in Evan's case, the email helped confirm he made the right choice.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#22

Post by danbmil99 »

hmm... I wonder if Jason would/has ever fired someone in as 'shitty' a way as this kid quit? If his business was in trouble and he had to do it, I guarantee he would; notice would be minimal; and the process would be formal (otherwise he's not doing his fiduciary duty to his investors).

Having fired > 100 people, I think 'at will' is in force in startups just as it is in the real world, and it cuts both ways. If someone was willing to email 2 week notice, they probably didn't drink the kool-aid, or felt like they weren't appreciated. Or maybe they're just an unsocialized 20-something who didn't want to deal with the drama. Either way, the pay-it-forward karma would be to take him into the office and say "hey, next time keep in mind the company is comprised of people who give a shit; man up and quit in person, with reasons". That should have been the end of it.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#23

Post by cletus »

cglee wrote: post #10
cletus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expecting to be in a job where there's never any conflict is a lot like expecting to be in a relationship without ever fighting.

He didn't say that.

Actually that's exactly what he said:

> Seriously, if you're my boss and you yell at me, my resume is being updated that night and I'm going to shop it around.

Yell at him once and he's gone. Note: I didn't say you will get yelled at a lot or even often but it will happen.

If you pack your bags the first time you get yelled at well that's a pretty good argument that you should be yelled at sooner rather than later to see what you're made of.

Consider it a filter.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#24

Post by [deleted] »

btilly wrote: post #7

You Will Get Yelled At A lot of comments on TechCrunch revolved around being treated badly. If you’re lucky you have a boss that’s passionate about what they’re doing. If so, such bosses will get heated and yell because they care. Yeah, right. I don't work well while being yelled at. I don't want to deal with that. And so I refuse to work in environments where I get yelled at. Seriously, if you're my boss and you yel…

[deleted]

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#25

Post by jarek »

cletus wrote: post #19
chime wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fact is, Yahoo is a directionless arguably dying company and very much a large company rather than a startup with all that entails, probably meaning many meetings before you can ever change anything and so on. Does not matter. The boss has absolutely no right to judge the next company. Everyone moves around in the tech world. MS employees joined Google, then Facebook, then Amazon, and so on. Bosses are supposed to…

> > They just promoted the guy and he can't even sit down and have a conversation? > Irrelevant to the discussion. It's entirely relevant. If you accept a promotion, you are making some kind of commitment. To turn around and quit 2 weeks later just goes to show your actions were, at best, disingenuous. > As a boss, you need to be a good leader and say positive things even when someone wants to quit. The chance to do…

Correct me if I have the chronology wrong, but I believe negative things were said before any emails were made public.

Do you really think Jason Calacanis would have actually apologized the next day if stuff didn't go public? Told him he's not really disappointed? Wished him luck? After disabling the guy's email account?

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#26

Post by prodigal_erik »

cletus wrote: post #23
cglee wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He didn't say that.

Actually that's exactly what he said: > Seriously, if you're my boss and you yell at me, my resume is being updated that night and I'm going to shop it around. Yell at him once and he's gone. Note: I didn't say you will get yelled at a lot or even often but it will happen. If you pack your bags the first time you get yelled at well that's a pretty good argument that you should be yelled at sooner rather than later to…

He's not talking about conflict. He's talking about yelling, which is a monkey dominance game for someone who has lost interest in finding the right answer. It's just a hair below shoving on the "cannot control himself, belongs in a cage" scale of warning signs.

What am I made of? I'm a human being, not a slave, so I demand zero tolerance for this in any workplace.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#27

Post by ericd »

cletus wrote: post #19
chime wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fact is, Yahoo is a directionless arguably dying company and very much a large company rather than a startup with all that entails, probably meaning many meetings before you can ever change anything and so on. Does not matter. The boss has absolutely no right to judge the next company. Everyone moves around in the tech world. MS employees joined Google, then Facebook, then Amazon, and so on. Bosses are supposed to…

> > They just promoted the guy and he can't even sit down and have a conversation? > Irrelevant to the discussion. It's entirely relevant. If you accept a promotion, you are making some kind of commitment. To turn around and quit 2 weeks later just goes to show your actions were, at best, disingenuous. > As a boss, you need to be a good leader and say positive things even when someone wants to quit. The chance to do…

If it didn't involve some sort of rearrangement or big announcement, I would say that the promotion acceptance being a commitment argument is weak. It's not that big of an investment by the promoter.

WRT the second, as a boss, you should not be petulant. If you're not someone who your subordinates can look up to and admire, morale suffers badly. He doesn't deserve a chance to issue an email redaction any more than I deserve the chance to redact insults I make to someone at a bar. Sure, it would be nice to be able to apologize before it has any negative impact, but it is by no means one's right.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#28

Post by davidedicillo »

btilly wrote: post #7

You Will Get Yelled At A lot of comments on TechCrunch revolved around being treated badly. If you’re lucky you have a boss that’s passionate about what they’re doing. If so, such bosses will get heated and yell because they care. Yeah, right. I don't work well while being yelled at. I don't want to deal with that. And so I refuse to work in environments where I get yelled at. Seriously, if you're my boss and you yel…

Once I resigned from one ad agency to go work for another agency, my boss started screaming that I was a traitor and that the other CEO (they were on the same board of an association) was stealing his employees. The guy didn't talk to me for an entire week... in a 8 people company.

Now we are still in contact, he periodically call me or chat to me to see how I am doing and how is life, he still call me meatball just like when I was working there and everything is good.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#29

Post by ericd »

elblanco wrote: post #5

Early on in my career, I learned a lesson from a retiring colleague -- a former Army Colonel, "never be loyal to a company because the company won't be loyal to you." You can be loyal to individuals, and people can be loyal to you. But the company? Nah. Lots of people get burnt really early in their careers thinking that showing intense loyalty to an organization will be rewarded when no such thing happens -- an "org…

Your post is probably accurate for most megacorps, but I should hope that employees at a startup or company of less than 10 people don't feel this way about the company. At that level, it's very much a personal relationship rather than a company-employee relationship where loyalty only goes one way. Not all companies are about the creation of profit at any cost... some actually like creating an environment that is pleasant to work in, with free food, etc. for no reason other than making life a bit more enjoyable.

Re: How to Resign Gracefully

#30

Post by cletus »

prodigal_erik wrote: post #26
cletus wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually that's exactly what he said: > Seriously, if you're my boss and you yell at me, my resume is being updated that night and I'm going to shop it around. Yell at him once and he's gone. Note: I didn't say you will get yelled at a lot or even often but it will happen. If you pack your bags the first time you get yelled at well that's a pretty good argument that you should be yelled at sooner rather than later to…

He's not talking about conflict. He's talking about yelling, which is a monkey dominance game for someone who has lost interest in finding the right answer. It's just a hair below shoving on the "cannot control himself, belongs in a cage" scale of warning signs. What am I made of? I'm a human being, not a slave, so I demand zero tolerance for this in any workplace.

And the relationship analogy still applies: sure most (hopefully) conflict isn't settled more amicably but tempers do blow up and things get said in the heat of the moment. Expecting that to never happen makes you look thin-skinned, naive or both.
Post reply on HN