3 ms·

I think this can be boiled down to "have self confidence, don't flake, be nice". Reputations are built over a lifetime.

tomjen3 15y ago
Be careful with that reasoning. You may find something which takes a lifetime to build but only seconds to destroy isn't worth your time to worry about. Go out there, build a great company and let the PR people worry about your reputation when you drink margaritas on a nice beach in Thailand. That doesn't mean that you should do things that you consider wrong or immoral. Just don't give a hoot what people say about you.
- jjmaxwell4 15y ago
  > Just don't give a hoot what people say about you. I think that is a very good trait that nearly no one possesses.
- ohashi 15y ago
  I think very few people can get away with not caring what others say about them. What people think of you DOES matter. We don't live in an isolated bubble and interactions matter. You seem to be proposing that PR people can handle things once you're successful, however, my impression is (and odds are) this advice is for startup founders before they are fuck you rich. If you're Bill Gates already, sure, do whatever the hell you want (Mind you I think he's doing amazing things for humanity at this point instead of being a dick on a beach in thailand). But if not, this attitude just won't help you or your company.
  - jjmaxwell4 15y ago
    > What people think of you DOES matter. If you believe that what you are doing is good for the world, should it matter what people think of you? I bet a lot of people think that Gregory Maxwell or Aaron Swartz are criminals. I think that having strong beliefs/goals is much more important then bowing to the general social pressures of the day. If you have strong beliefs, and you think what you are doing is good/right for the world, then it should't matter what people think. The world might not agree with you, and your ideas might fail miserably. Fortunately, we are lucky enough to be part of a community and where failure is looked upon favourably.

Be careful with that reasoning. You may find something which takes a lifetime to build but only seconds to destroy isn't worth your time to worry about. Go out there, build a great company and let the PR people worry about your reputation when you drink margaritas on a nice beach in Thailand. That doesn't mean that you should do things that you consider wrong or immoral. Just don't give a hoot what people say about you.

jjmaxwell4 15y ago
> Just don't give a hoot what people say about you. I think that is a very good trait that nearly no one possesses.
ohashi 15y ago
I think very few people can get away with not caring what others say about them. What people think of you DOES matter. We don't live in an isolated bubble and interactions matter. You seem to be proposing that PR people can handle things once you're successful, however, my impression is (and odds are) this advice is for startup founders before they are fuck you rich. If you're Bill Gates already, sure, do whatever the hell you want (Mind you I think he's doing amazing things for humanity at this point instead of being a dick on a beach in thailand). But if not, this attitude just won't help you or your company.
- jjmaxwell4 15y ago
  > What people think of you DOES matter. If you believe that what you are doing is good for the world, should it matter what people think of you? I bet a lot of people think that Gregory Maxwell or Aaron Swartz are criminals. I think that having strong beliefs/goals is much more important then bowing to the general social pressures of the day. If you have strong beliefs, and you think what you are doing is good/right for the world, then it should't matter what people think. The world might not agree with you, and your ideas might fail miserably. Fortunately, we are lucky enough to be part of a community and where failure is looked upon favourably.