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Yes I think everyone understands that’s the point he’s trying to make, it’s just that he’s doing it in such a vague and generalized way and trying to pass it of
by tempsy 7y ago
Yes I think everyone understands that’s the point he’s trying to make, it’s just that he’s doing it in such a vague and generalized way and trying to pass it off as actionable advice that it becomes almost comical.
There’s nothing revelatory about telling someone to “face your fears” but a pseudo-philosopher VC is trying to pass this off like it’s this sage piece of advice no one has heard before.
- Hongwei 7y agoFacing your fears is much easier said than done. Ben has done it. His experience, and the way he describes them, speaks to me. His first book, the Hard Thing About Hard Things, is therapy for founders. I don't think he's trying to prescribe anything new. To paraphrase something that stuck with me: "the mechanics of starting a business are easy and can be taught to anyone. the emotions involved are very difficult and it's [Ben's] job at A16Z to help founders deal with them." I really appreciate what Ben is doing.
- mbesto 7y ago> it’s just that he’s doing it in such a vague and generalized way and trying to pass it off as actionable advice that it becomes almost comical. Totally. 1) Vague advice is much easier to sell and elevate ones position (look at Tony Robbins). There's no negatively correlative impact to the advice so its hard to argue if someone is wrong. 2) Providing concrete advice is impossible to "scale" (e.g. books, podcasts, video, etc) as it requires context.
- unlinked_dll 7y ago> Providing concrete advice is impossible to "scale" (e.g. books, podcasts, video, etc) as it requires context. Wouldn't that make it easier to scale, since there's more context you can provide?
- bpt3 7y agoThe context is specific to the recipient of the advice, making it effectively impossible to scale.
- unlinked_dll 7y agothe scale is you're reaching a different audience and can provide different context for the same message on top of a different medium.
- bpt3 7y agoYou're describing the type of impersonal advice that the parent poster said was generally unhelpful for the recipient. Everything you said sounds great for the person selling advice, but not great for the consumer, which was the point of the original comment.
- geomark 7y agoYou said what I meant much better than I did in a sibling commment.