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I have no problem working with jerks, as long as they're brilliant. Culture fit also means not hiring people who are going to scream bloody murder at a disagree

I have no problem working with jerks, as long as they're brilliant. Culture fit also means not hiring people who are going to scream bloody murder at a disagreement, if your team is full of disagreeables.

geofft 9y ago
I don't want to work with brilliant people. I want to work with productive people. I've worked with people who are great at solving hard problems that don't need to be solved (and I've been that person myself). In my experience, people are productive when they're on a team that encourages everyone to be productive and keeps them all aligned in the right direction. That's hard to do with jerks on the team, brilliant or otherwise. (To be clear, I think it's totally fine for different teams to have different priorities; I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all. I just have strong preferences for what teams I myself am on.)
ZoFreX 9y ago
Being a jerk and disagreeing are orthogonal. You can be a jerk while agreeing with someone, and be a not-jerk while disagreeing. I'm curious, in reference to the post, how you would have no problem working with a "Bob"? Is there really no behaviour there that would bother you in a coworker?
- microcolonel 9y ago
  Well, if there truly is a Bob then sure, I probably wouldn't want him on a team, but I don't even know why they are being addressed simultaneously. Bob is clearly a sociopath. I might not be personally all that bothered, since people tend not to get the better of me, but it probably wouldn't be productive to have such a person in a team, and there's a good chance they don't care enough to be productive, and most people wouldn't work with them (as this thread shows). There's probably only one way you could employ Bob, and that's as an external solo contractor.
- bjt2n3904 9y ago
  > Being a jerk and disagreeing are orthogonal In theory. In practice, it's much more difficult.
  - s73ver_ 9y ago
    Not really. It's quite possible to do. The problem is that many in tech haven't really tried to develop the skill. Part of that whole, "Soft skills are useless in STEM; raw engineering prowess is all that matters!" mindset.
Gargoyle 9y ago
I'd be completely fine working with Alice. Bob would be a net negative to the team, though.
- microcolonel 9y ago
  Yeah, Bob is definitely no team player, and unless kept on a tight leash, probably a serious liability. Alice is a liability on some teams.

geofft 9y ago

I don't want to work with brilliant people. I want to work with productive people. I've worked with people who are great at solving hard problems that don't need to be solved (and I've been that person myself). In my experience, people are productive when they're on a team that encourages everyone to be productive and keeps them all aligned in the right direction. That's hard to do with jerks on the team, brilliant or otherwise. (To be clear, I think it's totally fine for different teams to have different priorities; I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all. I just have strong preferences for what teams I myself am on.)

ZoFreX 9y ago

Being a jerk and disagreeing are orthogonal. You can be a jerk while agreeing with someone, and be a not-jerk while disagreeing. I'm curious, in reference to the post, how you would have no problem working with a "Bob"? Is there really no behaviour there that would bother you in a coworker?

microcolonel 9y ago
Well, if there truly is a Bob then sure, I probably wouldn't want him on a team, but I don't even know why they are being addressed simultaneously. Bob is clearly a sociopath. I might not be personally all that bothered, since people tend not to get the better of me, but it probably wouldn't be productive to have such a person in a team, and there's a good chance they don't care enough to be productive, and most people wouldn't work with them (as this thread shows). There's probably only one way you could employ Bob, and that's as an external solo contractor.
bjt2n3904 9y ago
> Being a jerk and disagreeing are orthogonal In theory. In practice, it's much more difficult.
- s73ver_ 9y ago
  Not really. It's quite possible to do. The problem is that many in tech haven't really tried to develop the skill. Part of that whole, "Soft skills are useless in STEM; raw engineering prowess is all that matters!" mindset.

Gargoyle 9y ago

I'd be completely fine working with Alice. Bob would be a net negative to the team, though.

microcolonel 9y ago
Yeah, Bob is definitely no team player, and unless kept on a tight leash, probably a serious liability. Alice is a liability on some teams.