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Most people won't

bryce.vc

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Re: Most people won't

#61

Post by eshvk »

pkulak wrote: post #32

I hate this self empowerment bullshit. Do people have any idea what this sounds like to people with actual, real problems? Your life can't be solved by positive thinking and being impulsive. In fact, I can make a very good case that that kind of attitude will create far more problems than it solves. Hell, I'm sure I could come up with _two_ anecdotes, which is already twice the evidence given by this blog post.

Erm. OK. So what do you want to do? Sit and whine about your real world problems? Cause I have done that tons and tons of times; it is useless as shit. The "self empowerment bullshit" is simple: figure out what you can do to solve your real world problem. Say for example getting fit. Then go solve it. If you can't, STFU and go on with your life.

P.S: You come off as patronizing as fuck to point that someone getting a job is not an actual real world problem.

Re: Most people won't

#62

Post by bowlofpetunias »

spodek wrote: post #17

Everybody so far is commenting on the woman who approached the CEO. Let's not forget the CEO, who committed and risked resources on a hunch or instinct or who-knows-what. If I had to pick one of the two to ask how they had the nerve to act and to learn from, I'd pick him. (Of course I'd prefer both and not to belittle her gumption and skills to back it up). - What did he see to suggest risking those resources? ... To…

I have some doubts about the CEO.

It's very common in these kind of scenarios that either a) the same criticism / suggestions have been made regularly over a long time by people inside the company which have gone ignored, or b) the company has a culture in which that information never reaches the CEO, either out of fear or because of middle management layers.

In both those cases, the CEO is actually mismanaging the company and completely undermining the motivation and loyalty of his employees.

I've seen this happen time and time again. CEO's and managers don't accept internal criticism or suggestions, don't give their people the freedom to take action themselves, but some outsider swoops in with an impressive Powerpoint presentation (or dress) and suddenly they see the light.

It's the opposite of taking risks (you can blame the outsiders if it fails), it's actually cowardice.

Re: Most people won't

#63

Post by raverbashing »

batiudrami wrote: post #59
spodek wrote: post #17

Everybody so far is commenting on the woman who approached the CEO. Let's not forget the CEO, who committed and risked resources on a hunch or instinct or who-knows-what. If I had to pick one of the two to ask how they had the nerve to act and to learn from, I'd pick him. (Of course I'd prefer both and not to belittle her gumption and skills to back it up). - What did he see to suggest risking those resources? ... To…

The 'three things' she suggested aren't exactly ones that inspire confidence in her abilities either. "What are three things you'd fix?" "Oh...the logo and, uh, all of it, really. And the ratings system".

I agree

That could have killed the thing. "Logo, All the app and ratings" is not three things. Still, some alcohol may have been involved so this could have made sense at the time.

It was more probably the nerve and familiarity with the product that convinced him.

Re: Most people won't

#64

Post by raverbashing »

md224 wrote: post #15
WalterBright wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The failure rate for those who don't try is 100%.

But what if the failure rate for those who do try is 99%? Trying isn't always zero-risk... I wonder if ambition could be subject to a cost/benefit analysis, haha. At some point I suppose you just have to let go of the numbers.

A failure rate of 99% is a great value

So, if you try 10 times, your chance of never succeeding is around 90%. Or, saying it another way, the chance of succeeding, at least once, is 10%

Re: Most people won't

#65

Post by charlieirish »

Most people won't and most people don't [1]

Is this lack of willpower or the lack of challenging the status quo innate or learned? Is it possible to go from somebody who doesn't to somebody who does? All the great doers that I have ever met don't follow the same routines. They don't have a magic formula that will work for you. The echo chamber of self-help books works for some people because it gives them the kick they need. For others they 'feel' better but they don't actually change their behaviour. What seems to work is to understand yourself and to understand when you are productive or creative. Then, encourage this time and cultivate it so that it becomes a regular part of your routine.

[1] http://www.startupclarity.com/blog/people-dont/

Re: Most people won't

#66

Post by gjm11 »

sitkack wrote: post #50
namank wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. She qualified herself by saying: 1. she uses it all the time. 2. she hates it. As a founder, I am always looking for that combination in my users. The bonus was offering herself as the solution. I'll venture that his decision was made even before she finished the sentence.

But I don't want to fix Air BnB's problems, I want to see them die in fire. I use it all the time, but I can't resist the urge to work there and burn the place to ground.

It appears that so far you have, in fact, resisted that urge.

(Or maybe you haven't, but they wouldn't hire you. That would have been an interesting interview. "So, Mr X, where do you see yourself in this business in five years time?" "In a prison cell nearby, looking out through the bars at the smoking ruins and laughing.")

Re: Most people won't

#68

Post by imd23 »

bowlofpetunias wrote: post #62
spodek wrote: post #17

Everybody so far is commenting on the woman who approached the CEO. Let's not forget the CEO, who committed and risked resources on a hunch or instinct or who-knows-what. If I had to pick one of the two to ask how they had the nerve to act and to learn from, I'd pick him. (Of course I'd prefer both and not to belittle her gumption and skills to back it up). - What did he see to suggest risking those resources? ... To…

I have some doubts about the CEO. It's very common in these kind of scenarios that either a) the same criticism / suggestions have been made regularly over a long time by people inside the company which have gone ignored, or b) the company has a culture in which that information never reaches the CEO, either out of fear or because of middle management layers. In both those cases, the CEO is actually mismanaging the c…

There may be a big amount of variables playing here that we might no be taking in consideration so I wouldn't say that.

Even if that's the case, I think sometimes this is what needs to happen that makes you realize the change/s that has to be done to be better. (be more transparent, fire some managers or key people, etc.)

Re: Most people won't

#69

Post by Xixi »

md224 wrote: post #3

I've been kind of struggling lately with this sort of inspirational attitude. It seems like a good attitude, but it also comes with this hidden assumption: if you try hard and keep at it, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Is this actually true? I mean I want it to be true. I'd like to live in a world where it's true. But I don't actually have any hard evidence besides the testimonials of people who have found suc…

When you hear that an entrepreneur should not be afraid of failure, I think you are misunderstanding it. It doesn't mean that failure is unlikely, it means that failure is not a big deal.

Corollary: whatever bold move you want to try, make sure that failing is not going to be a problem, especially a financial one. Note that in this context it is assumed that embarrassing yourself is most definitely not a big deal, which is way easier to say than to act upon.

In the story linked, what was the worst thing that could happen to this lady? The CEO taking the remark the wrong way and being pissed? Or laughing at her, maybe? Who cares?

You quit your job and start a company? Depending on the kind of company, your chance of success will vary considerably. After you failed, you just get a new job/go back to your previous job and that's it. You lost a couple months of incomes, some savings, and you can laugh at your epic failure with your friends.

The dirty secret is that your friends will probably love you more after you failed, because truth being told, they are unlikely to want you to be more successful than themselves...

Re: Most people won't

#70

Post by nisa »

mindcrime wrote: post #45
pkulak wrote: post #32

I hate this self empowerment bullshit. Do people have any idea what this sounds like to people with actual, real problems? Your life can't be solved by positive thinking and being impulsive. In fact, I can make a very good case that that kind of attitude will create far more problems than it solves. Hell, I'm sure I could come up with _two_ anecdotes, which is already twice the evidence given by this blog post.

I hate this self empowerment bullshit. Yeah, same here. I mean, it's absurd to think that we have any control whatsoever over our fate. We clearly don't have agency or free will when you get right down to it. We are just particles in motion, deterministically following a path that was laid down by forces outside of our control, far before we were even born. It would be the height of hubris to think that we can wrest…

You are only able to make a conscious choice about things in your control. There are also a lot of things outside of your control.

Blaming the victims of poverty and disease for their lack of success and positive thinking is a real downside of this empowerment movement. It's also used to exploit people and make them act against their own interests. All this american dream stuff and poor people protesting against public healthcare.

It's the perfect excuse to individualize all kind of problems. You just did not work enough and put not effort into it. It just does not help to actually solve these problems.

Empowerment is great and courage and confidence are great to have. But there _is_ a lot of bullshit in this space.

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