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"The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have." This quote really, deeply bothered me. One of
by hapless 16y ago
"The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have."
This quote really, deeply bothered me. One of the major differences between alpha males and the rest of the population is that they will always assume they'll end up in the top spot. Your prototypical alpha male won't even consider the odds of being on the bottom in that lottery.
To push it further, those same aggressive types will have the passion and voice to draw support for their views, no matter the substance. A "flat" structure overvalues the opinions of the loud and aggressive, with little room for more pensive contributors, especially women.
In other words, if you leave the authorship of the social contract to the loudest people, you may end up with a rather oppressive outcome. This is a universal rule, often overlooked by the alpha males who spend their time talking to Inc. Magazine.
- Wolf_Larsen 16y agoYou aren't making a very clear point. Are you saying that : "Alpha males will always assume they'll end up in the top spot, so when they choose rules for a situation regarding two competing agents, their choices will favor the agent in with the most authority"? If so, then you are assuming a context in which the agents of the situation can change the roles in which they are assigned permanently. That is not the case in this context, because the agents (Jason Fried's support team) are rotated between management and worker, and no one is getting promoted vertically.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- jdp23 16y agoI thought hapless' point was very clear: "A "flat" structure overvalues the opinions of the loud and aggressive, with little room for more pensive contributors, especially women." Coincidentally enough, Jason leads off the article with an anecdote about a talented woman leaving the company because of their flat structure.
- Wolf_Larsen 16y agoHe was referencing a quote, not the structure of 37 Signals.
- aangjie 16y ago//are rotated between management and worker, and no one is getting promoted vertically. While that's true, i think his original point was that the alpha males will choose decisions that favour themselves....Introspective motivational awareness is hardly a profitable trait in our current society* (*-whatever i have seen is constrained to indian IT)