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> "Can someone who behaves in the way described in these articles really be that important to your organization?" You might ask Steve Jobs (probably the bigges

> "Can someone who behaves in the way described in these articles really be that important to your organization?" You might ask Steve Jobs (probably the biggest poster child for successful technology industry jerks), Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds (before mellowing out later in life), Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, Scott McNealy, Jeff Bezos, etc. about that. In short, yes, they quite obviously can and anybody who is amazed by that hasn't been paying attention to how the real world works. Much as some on HN would like to think otherwise, decency has nothing to do with intelligence; some of the worst human beings I have ever personally met were also quite smart and capable engineers. And businesses are willing to overlook quite a lot for the geese who are laying golden eggs.

bmitc 4y ago
I honestly dispute that. Those people are useful not necessarily because of their skills but because of the authority that they and others grant to them. And even though I said the answer doesn't matter in the context, imagine thinking one person is important enough to piss off, sexually harass, make puppets of, berate, fire, etc. the rest of the organization. That's lunacy. > hasn't been paying attention to how the real world works Maybe you haven't been paying attention to the way the real world works. People do not rise to the top by mere virtue of combined empathy and intelligence. Every single person you listed is a narcissistic egomaniac. Somehow adults (supposedly) teach kids that just because someone is rich, smart, athletic, or whatever, that doesn't give them reason to behave poorly. But when it comes to adults, apparently that's all thrown out because some people make "great products" or "great plays". In my opinion, being nice and empathetic matters much, much, much more than someone coming up with some great idea or technology. Technology does not make this world a better place, despite the mantra, and lack of empathy makes this world a rather terrible place.
- jjtheblunt 4y ago
  McNealy a narcissistic egomaniac? And having been around Jobs in person, that's not the impression at that time, more like headstrong focus primarily, with interpretations thereof all over the place, evidently.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    McNealy is the one I knew the least about, but when just another billionaire describes themselves as a "raging libertarian" (big surprise that is) and does things like say "you have no privacy. get over it." and openly supports Donald Trump, one has to wonder where their empathy is.

bmitc 4y ago

I honestly dispute that. Those people are useful not necessarily because of their skills but because of the authority that they and others grant to them. And even though I said the answer doesn't matter in the context, imagine thinking one person is important enough to piss off, sexually harass, make puppets of, berate, fire, etc. the rest of the organization. That's lunacy. > hasn't been paying attention to how the real world works Maybe you haven't been paying attention to the way the real world works. People do not rise to the top by mere virtue of combined empathy and intelligence. Every single person you listed is a narcissistic egomaniac. Somehow adults (supposedly) teach kids that just because someone is rich, smart, athletic, or whatever, that doesn't give them reason to behave poorly. But when it comes to adults, apparently that's all thrown out because some people make "great products" or "great plays". In my opinion, being nice and empathetic matters much, much, much more than someone coming up with some great idea or technology. Technology does not make this world a better place, despite the mantra, and lack of empathy makes this world a rather terrible place.

jjtheblunt 4y ago
McNealy a narcissistic egomaniac? And having been around Jobs in person, that's not the impression at that time, more like headstrong focus primarily, with interpretations thereof all over the place, evidently.
- bmitc 4y ago
  McNealy is the one I knew the least about, but when just another billionaire describes themselves as a "raging libertarian" (big surprise that is) and does things like say "you have no privacy. get over it." and openly supports Donald Trump, one has to wonder where their empathy is.