Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
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Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
1–10 of 31 posts
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#2Zero attempt to find data to prove or nullify his hypothesis. Curious how the data from co-working spaces pan out...
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#3The weekend work = success is hardly a new item, there was a reference to it in Microserfs... Written in 1992. The VC/money guy said he'd invest in biotechnology but staff didn't work weekends. And as soon as he finds one that did he could bet the farm and retire.
As for the rest of it, same tired tropes from the author. I already knew what he was gonna say when I realized who it was.
As.for Marissa... She's kinda right. And every current Googler is thankful they can reap the rewards.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#4Zero attempt to find data to prove or nullify his hypothesis. Curious how the data from co-working spaces pan out...
Isn't this inverting the burden of proof here?
She made the extraordinary claim that she didn't even need to know who or what people were working on, just that they were there on weekends. She provided zero data.
It's just as likely that the weekend working startups are the one that will fail. Obviously by burning out, but also by losing sight of the big picture. This seems stereotypical of hackers coding the latest greatest features with zero customers. They could be seriously misusing their available time.
Companies (startups or not) should be able to set their own pace. People should learn to use their time well and save their energy for when they absolutely need to burn the midnight oil. Besides, getting burned out or sick doesn't help anyone.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#5I kinda get what she is saying. It takes a certain amount of passion and dedication for someone to show up on weekends. They must truly believe in the company or the idea to put in that type of effort.
This dedication and passion will also reflect itself in the product. Many people can make a mediocre product by putting in the minimum amount required, but for something outstanding it usually takes more. Much more. What she has said is nothing outlandish.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#6It has nothing to do with being there on Saturday. It has everything else to do with the kind of people and their ability to invest themselves in their goal, and showing up on Saturday is a great indicator of that.
I interview a lot of programmers, and I can tell you with about 95% precision whether they will work out and be great based on the single question 'tell me about the programming projects you work on for fun'. If they have some project they work on for fun, even one, that isn't for a class at school or for their job, then they are very very likely to be a great hire. If they don't they are very very unlikely to be a good hire. Side projects don't magically make you smart and capable and good at problem solving and getting things done, but it sure seems to be fundamentally related.
And from personal experience, I've worked for 2 startups, one where people worked all weekend and one where they didn't, and interestingly they were doing almost the exact same thing. One had an $80MM exit, the other just slowly went away. Small sample size, for sure.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#7Zero attempt to find data to prove or nullify his hypothesis. Curious how the data from co-working spaces pan out...
Isn't this inverting the burden of proof here? She made the extraordinary claim that she didn't even need to know who or what people were working on, just that they were there on weekends. She provided zero data. It's just as likely that the weekend working startups are the one that will fail. Obviously by burning out, but also by losing sight of the big picture. This seems stereotypical of hackers coding the latest…
If you want to go 'slow and steady' and have great 'work/life balance' (and work with a lot of mediocre people and play a lot of political games..) go get a job at a big company.
Startups are not for that mentality, no startup has ever won by playing it safe and making sure people get plenty of sleep.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't this inverting the burden of proof here? She made the extraordinary claim that she didn't even need to know who or what people were working on, just that they were there on weekends. She provided zero data. It's just as likely that the weekend working startups are the one that will fail. Obviously by burning out, but also by losing sight of the big picture. This seems stereotypical of hackers coding the latest…
If you want to go 'slow and steady' and have great 'work/life balance' (and work with a lot of mediocre people and play a lot of political games..) go get a job at a big company. Startups are not for that mentality, no startup has ever won by playing it safe and making sure people get plenty of sleep.
> Startups are not for that mentality, no startup has ever won by playing it safe and making sure people get plenty of sleep.
Who's saying anything about playing it safe? It's all about strategically using your resources, not squandering them. Be it time, money or sleep. It's about engaging your afterburners when you actually need them, not when you are flying in circles.
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#9It has nothing to do with being there on Saturday. It has everything else to do with the kind of people and their ability to invest themselves in their goal, and showing up on Saturday is a great indicator of that. I interview a lot of programmers, and I can tell you with about 95% precision whether they will work out and be great based on the single question 'tell me about the programming projects you work on for fu…
How do you know? I mean, how do you test for false negatives in the hiring process? Perhaps you're rejecting lots of people without side projects, but they go on to be successful anyway?
Re: Here's what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that really made me angry
#10It has nothing to do with being there on Saturday. It has everything else to do with the kind of people and their ability to invest themselves in their goal, and showing up on Saturday is a great indicator of that. I interview a lot of programmers, and I can tell you with about 95% precision whether they will work out and be great based on the single question 'tell me about the programming projects you work on for fu…
How do you know? I mean, how do you test for false negatives in the hiring process? Perhaps you're rejecting lots of people without side projects, but they go on to be successful anyway?
You can never truly get rid of false negatives efficiently. However, false negatives are orders of magnitude better than false positives. So just try to minimize false positives and try not to lose sleep on the false negatives.