4 ms·

Surely you can succeed without working like an animal? You probably can't take it easy like with a larger established company, but it doesn't mean you have to r

Surely you can succeed without working like an animal? You probably can't take it easy like with a larger established company, but it doesn't mean you have to run yourself to into the ground in order to be successful.

seibelj 9y ago
Normal employees should work hard but not ridiculous amounts. Executives, whose compensation is highly tied to stock value, should be animals, at least in the early pre-revenue stages. That is my opinion.
- dbcurtis 9y ago
  Well, it's a marathon, not a sprint. A CEO that isn't taking care of him/herself isn't taking the long view. Sacrificing your health and not making time for thinking big thoughts is a bad way to lead a company.
  - seibelj 9y ago
    There's a big difference between working super hard and working so hard that your health fails. If you aren't pushing 60 hours a week, you aren't even trying. At a startup, so many things are out of your control, but one thing you can control is working hard. All that time and effort, and failing because some other company out-hustled you is the worst reason to fail of all.
    - dbcurtis 9y ago
      Burn-out is a thing. A CEO that isn't making time for focussed reflection can very easily get stuck in 24x7 fire-fighting mode. A tired, burnt-out CEO won't be finding creative solutions to problems.
  - taway_1212 9y ago
    There is a small subset of people who are able to work 80+ hours weeks without end (and are also intelligent, conscientious etc.). I think a significant portion of highly successful people belong to this group.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
LoSboccacc 9y ago
Most ideas don't exist in a vacuum and until you get your name associated with your market you're running the risk of someone faster stealing the buyers' hearts.
sabalaba 9y ago
The game of international capitalism is one where if you aren't working both smart and hard then somebody else is going to eat your lunch and leave your company's corpse on the side of the road.

seibelj 9y ago

Normal employees should work hard but not ridiculous amounts. Executives, whose compensation is highly tied to stock value, should be animals, at least in the early pre-revenue stages. That is my opinion.

dbcurtis 9y ago
Well, it's a marathon, not a sprint. A CEO that isn't taking care of him/herself isn't taking the long view. Sacrificing your health and not making time for thinking big thoughts is a bad way to lead a company.
- seibelj 9y ago
  There's a big difference between working super hard and working so hard that your health fails. If you aren't pushing 60 hours a week, you aren't even trying. At a startup, so many things are out of your control, but one thing you can control is working hard. All that time and effort, and failing because some other company out-hustled you is the worst reason to fail of all.
  - dbcurtis 9y ago
    Burn-out is a thing. A CEO that isn't making time for focussed reflection can very easily get stuck in 24x7 fire-fighting mode. A tired, burnt-out CEO won't be finding creative solutions to problems.
- taway_1212 9y ago
  There is a small subset of people who are able to work 80+ hours weeks without end (and are also intelligent, conscientious etc.). I think a significant portion of highly successful people belong to this group.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

LoSboccacc 9y ago

Most ideas don't exist in a vacuum and until you get your name associated with your market you're running the risk of someone faster stealing the buyers' hearts.

sabalaba 9y ago

The game of international capitalism is one where if you aren't working both smart and hard then somebody else is going to eat your lunch and leave your company's corpse on the side of the road.