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> Optimize for Learning An idealist, for sure... > Prioritize learning over profitability. ... but that doesn't sound very pragmatic. I love learning. My bo

> Optimize for Learning An idealist, for sure... > Prioritize learning over profitability. ... but that doesn't sound very pragmatic. I love learning. My boss loves making the company profitable. Coming to a happy medium is where a lot of learning can happen if both of you let it. If one party's not on board, then it's going to end up being a problem.

whistlerbrk 9y ago
I really liked this post, and I'm again saddened to see 'take downs' in the comments (not solely addressing you). The author said "prioritize" not to sacrifice profitability in order to learn. By prioritizing learning you may very well increase profitability over the long term. See the recent Google Maps is a moat post.
- brucephillips 9y ago
  Challenging an idea is not a "take down".
  - whistlerbrk 9y ago
    At the time I posted there were 3 top level comments, all negative on the post.
crispyambulance 9y ago
> ... If one party's not on board, then it's going to end up being a problem. Yep, that's why he says prominently: "Change jobs if you have to." Idealism, IMHO, acts as a motivator and helps folks get through the obstacles that inevitably block progress.
romanovcode 9y ago
> Prioritize learning over profitability. This is idiotic advice. You can learn in big "boring" corps just like you can in hot startups but at the end of the day a job is about money.
- snoman 9y ago
  > ... at the end of the day a job is about money. This is short-sighted. A job is what you make of it - you can get lots of different things out of it. Otherwise pro-bono work, internships, etc. couldn't exist. If all you're in it for is the paycheque in 2 weeks time, then that's all you're likely to get out of it. When you look at a career as a whole - from both sides of the relationship - then it is beneficial for both you, and your employer, for you to increase the value that you provide to your employer. That can mean learning more so that you can be more efficient, do more (volume), do more (variety), do higher valued things (ie. via promotion). Also, you're not wrong that you can learn in a big 'boring' corp but the conditions have to be right for it to happen, and those conditions are often more prevalent in companies that have knowledge or skills gaps - which is more often the case in smaller organizations (doesn't have to be a startup, could be a historically-under-funded/under-recruited IT group in a well-established corp).
- brucephillips 9y ago
  Please don't insult.

whistlerbrk 9y ago

I really liked this post, and I'm again saddened to see 'take downs' in the comments (not solely addressing you). The author said "prioritize" not to sacrifice profitability in order to learn. By prioritizing learning you may very well increase profitability over the long term. See the recent Google Maps is a moat post.

brucephillips 9y ago
Challenging an idea is not a "take down".
- whistlerbrk 9y ago
  At the time I posted there were 3 top level comments, all negative on the post.

crispyambulance 9y ago

> ... If one party's not on board, then it's going to end up being a problem. Yep, that's why he says prominently: "Change jobs if you have to." Idealism, IMHO, acts as a motivator and helps folks get through the obstacles that inevitably block progress.

romanovcode 9y ago

> Prioritize learning over profitability. This is idiotic advice. You can learn in big "boring" corps just like you can in hot startups but at the end of the day a job is about money.

snoman 9y ago
> ... at the end of the day a job is about money. This is short-sighted. A job is what you make of it - you can get lots of different things out of it. Otherwise pro-bono work, internships, etc. couldn't exist. If all you're in it for is the paycheque in 2 weeks time, then that's all you're likely to get out of it. When you look at a career as a whole - from both sides of the relationship - then it is beneficial for both you, and your employer, for you to increase the value that you provide to your employer. That can mean learning more so that you can be more efficient, do more (volume), do more (variety), do higher valued things (ie. via promotion). Also, you're not wrong that you can learn in a big 'boring' corp but the conditions have to be right for it to happen, and those conditions are often more prevalent in companies that have knowledge or skills gaps - which is more often the case in smaller organizations (doesn't have to be a startup, could be a historically-under-funded/under-recruited IT group in a well-established corp).
brucephillips 9y ago
Please don't insult.