301–310 of 343 posts
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I worked for someone who liked that, too, and after leaving Netflix, he carried it over into a new startup. It was not as great of an experience for any of us (including that founder) as it may sound. Years later, and we still talk amongst ourselves about how weird of an environment it created. Basically, that outlook sounds great on paper, but is not so great to actually live.
I lived it for four years and loved every second of it, but I will be the first to tell you that it's not for everyone. I can also see how it would be hard to carry over into a startup, because the entire culture rests on the idea that you can pay people top of market to be there, that they don't have to worry a lot about budgets, and that you can afford to give people big checks when they leave.
I have seen reports of how things go in "old money" families. It doesn't look at all like the idea we make of families. They have access to vast amounts of resources, but family members don't have free access, far from it. There is council that decides how the funds are allocated, and when family members need some, they need to pitch how they are going to use it, and the expected returns. And if some family members a…
When I was young I worked at a company that said things like "we are family" and kind of meant it. It wasn't really a good thing unless you were a low performer. We had some people who were hired into jobs they couldn't do well, but they got to keep those jobs because it was like their role in the family. People basically never got fired, including the couple guys in the corner who barely did any work but had been th…
When I was young, I worked at a company that said things like "we are family" - and knew exactly how to manipulate with it. I'd had a pretty rough year, my last year there - a recent breakup, a deteriorating domestic situation, and a death march at work. Management was aware of all three. In the end, I decided to leave the company. The attempt to retain me was not more money, or really anything around comp - it was s…
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They usually do. Even if you don't realize it, you're being sized up in an interview and common feedback is "I can't see myself wanting to grab a beer with him". I actually had a conversation yesterday about it with someone I interviewed and the hiring manager that reports to me. I like the person, he said the comment about not sure about getting beers with the candidate. I told him to focus on the other 90 days a qu…
> common feedback is "I can't see myself wanting to grab a beer with him". Wow. I've been part of interviewing teams for tons of people, at a number of companies, over decades. I have never once heard anyone express anything like this about an applicant. The discussions are more about whether or not they can do the job and whether or not they'd be a good fit on the team, not whether or not anyone wants to socialize w…
When I was young I worked at a company that said things like "we are family" and kind of meant it. It wasn't really a good thing unless you were a low performer. We had some people who were hired into jobs they couldn't do well, but they got to keep those jobs because it was like their role in the family. People basically never got fired, including the couple guys in the corner who barely did any work but had been th…
I contracted at a company once which operated like a family. Once you got hired, it was really difficult to get fired. So much so, most people there hadn't heard about anyone ever getting fired. Eventually, someone heard through the grapevine what a firing offense was: Getting caught having sex on the company campus with a coworker. But! The first time was a warning. That company had soooo much money to burn. Lots of…
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Netflix can do that because they pay as well as sports teams do. If you offer me a typical tech job at 1/20th of what a netflix engineer makes, don't expect me to perform like Michael Jordan. Sports team dedicate their entire life to performance. 80 hour weeks are nothing to them. Their diet, sleep, and personal lives are part of their jobs. I don't want a typical tech shop to have that sort of control over me unless…
Netflix is paying much closer to 2x on the cash side than 10x, let alone 20x. https://www.levels.fyi/companies/netflix/salaries/software-e...
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If it's voluntary then there is no problem. "Voluntary" means that there will be no adverse effect on your employment if you decline to participate. Your characterization of the activity strongly implies that not participating will come with consequences to your job.
The opposite. Participating benefits your career. Curious what you think about this: Say there's no company sponsorship or involvement. You get invited to happy hour or a round of golf with the higher-ups completely on your own dime. Its obviously beneficial to pal around with your superiors. Is that a problem?