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The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

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Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#51

Post by richev »

melling wrote: post #9
davemel37 wrote: post #5

Some financial firms have forced paid time off (atleast 5 consecutive days) to make sure they are never fully dependent on any one employee, and to fix it if they ever find themselves in that situation. (They also do it to make sure no one is covering up fraud by always working.)

In banking aren't you required to take off 5 consecutive days so they can avoid any financial misconduct? It's hard to cover up most issues after 5 days.

At the bank I worked for they mandated 10 days consecutive holiday once per year...

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#52

Post by krschultz »

natepollack wrote: post #49
vinceguidry wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing you need to realize is that the company is bigger than you are. If you can't work out a way to get along with others in your company, then you are the problem and not the people you perceive to be doing things wrong. You should go find a place that better fits your way of doing things. I bounced out of a big company for that and other reasons. I just could not deal with the culture. I work at a smaller comp…

Problem is: it was my company, my idea. I just trusted the wrong co-founder, who started hiring his lazy friends. When I confronted him about this he said that I should just work on the tech beause he knows how to run a successful company. Eventually he fired me, because they couldn't work with me. Now they spend they time on buying Twitter/Reddit followers/likes, which I'd have never agreed on, because the company i…

Don't worry, this whole saga sounds like it won't make much money at all.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#53

Post by nradov »

shade23 wrote: post #23
chris_wot wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone who never takes leave is often a person you need to monitor.

Any reasons for you to say this? Like examples or scenarios in a start up environment?

One common technique is for an accountant or bookkeeper who handles accounts receivable to prematurely write off overdue customer invoices as uncollectible bad debts. Then when the customer eventually pays the crook keeps the money.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#54

Post by alexashka »

speeder wrote: post #2

Question: What a person that IS the exceptionally skilled person but that drags down the team, should do to not drag down the team?

If you're dragging the team down, you are either oblivious to how you're being difficult or you know you are and you think you're in the right.

Thinking you're in the right - that's when you need to eat some humble pie and recognize aggravating people is almost never a good idea. If you are in a do or die situation, sure, hurt some feelings. Otherwise, it is not going to work out for you or them long term. Long term, people want to be happy. If you're preventing that, you're the biggest problem in their life :)

If you're oblivious - then... There is no answer, you'll simply learn through the hard knocks of life.

I was being difficult once - in hindsight, people do the best they can and if the circumstances you're in can only result in a shitty product getting shipped unless you put in heroic efforts, opt for the shitty product. It's like 'the wire' (great hbo show) - when the system is broken, the one trying to do the right thing is going to get squashed.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#56

Post by [deleted] »

dozzie wrote: post #33
danjoc wrote: post #17

Here's his point (I think): "The founder and I made the most classic of mistakes: putting up with someone because we were afraid to lose their ability. I’ve since come to learn over and over again, it’s almost never worth it." Perhaps just me, but I don't like this style of writing. It takes pages of reading to arrive at a fairly simple point. Authors, please make your point first. Elaborate all you like with long wi…

I think this is not the most important point. The most important is this: > [...] you are actually holding back everyone else at the expense of this person.

[deleted]

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#57

Post by erichocean »

Instead of calling them "assholes", I wish people like the OP would just be honest and say they don't want to work with people on the spectrum. There's no shame in that, it's perfectly fine to prefer neurotypicals at your workplace; the vast majority of people do.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#58

Post by erichocean »

speeder wrote: post #2

Question: What a person that IS the exceptionally skilled person but that drags down the team, should do to not drag down the team?

Switch teams.

Seriously, that's what you should do. People in this category (as everyone realizes) are "assholes", or more accurately, on the spectrum.

A team full of average neurotypicals is not a good situation for someone on the spectrum, nor is it a good situation for the neurotypicals. It's best to leave and find another early stage startup where the primary problem isn't "teamwork"; you'll be a lot happier at your new job and so will everyone else at your old workplace.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#59

Post by decisiveness »

erichocean wrote: post #57

Instead of calling them "assholes", I wish people like the OP would just be honest and say they don't want to work with people on the spectrum. There's no shame in that, it's perfectly fine to prefer neurotypicals at your workplace; the vast majority of people do.

Do you know something we don't, or do you mean to imply that anytime someone refers to another as an asshole the asshole must have a neurological condition as their excuse? I didn't see an indication from the OP that the person in question is on the autism spectrum.

Re: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

#60

Post by jasoncwarner »

erichocean wrote: post #57

Instead of calling them "assholes", I wish people like the OP would just be honest and say they don't want to work with people on the spectrum. There's no shame in that, it's perfectly fine to prefer neurotypicals at your workplace; the vast majority of people do.

I don't typically comment on things like this, though in this case I very, very much want to.

My son is autistic. He's 8. We had him tested when he was 5. He also has ADHD. If ever anyone cares about working with non-NT folks and those on the spectrum it's me. We moved to where we live specifically so we could get early intervention for him.

My five year old daughter might be on the spectrum, we are having her tested. She does have expressive/receptive language disorder.

Our youngest daughter, now 2, seems NT so far.

For the record on the original material. There's a chance the person was non-NT, as you suggest. However, that same percentage chance exists for at least three, maybe four, of his co-workers as well, the ones that were effected by this person.

I'm not dismissing your original statement. I do think it is harder for non-NT folks, even in tech. It's why my style is the way it is. If anything, I'm likely overly sympathetic to the non-NT folks given my situation.

I've written two other things that I often reference when talking about these topics that might be interesting. I hope you can appreciate my side knowing more about my personal situation and how that influenced and shaped my current views.

https://medium.com/@jasonwarner/no-one-is-the-villain-in-the...

https://medium.com/@jasonwarner/just-one-weird-trick-95fe7b5...

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