9 ms·
If you want to get rich, stop being a fucking joker
- ianterrell 15y agoStop being a joker! Don't make excuses! Everyone has reasons! Fuck reasons! Also, I can't do it, because I'm otherwise engaged.
- raheemm 15y agoIf he was sipping margarita on a beach, your words would be right. But he is putting in 17 hr days on another project, so I dont see why he cant ask his partner/employees for greater commitment.
- kevinalexbrown 15y agoBecause his other employees are working other jobs or, as "Sebastian" points out, in classes. That's why. He's not willing to sacrifice his other project, but he's asking them to sacrifice theirs. If you're asking people you're leading to make sacrifices you're not willing to make, you're a bad leader. Period.
- raheemm 15y agoOk, that's the context you picked up on. I did not. What I got was that he set a timeline for project A. But that timeline did not work out. Now Sebastian is busy with project B. To empower the team on project A, he gives them a cc and the decision-making authority to get the project going. He also throws in some hannibal and "joker" stuff to rally the troops and make a point about sticking to commitments, forging thru obstacles. This does not make for a bad leader.
- anjc 15y agoAll that stuff specifically does make for a bad leader.
- nickand 15y agoDo they get paid more if the company does better? Yes, this is the only reason to do more than asked from your job description. Otherwise you are putting money and decision making power into the hands of people who did not earn it. Only bad things come from uncompensated work; A bitter employee, angry co-workers, and a misunderstanding of where profit is coming from by the business analysts can ultimately hurt business. If someone is making the company more successful pay them more otherwise tell them to slow down. If you are of the later mindset then YOU are not benefiting the company.
- Raphael 15y agoIf he wants to overwork, then he may, but he cannot expect it of others. If others are expecting him to overwork, he doesn't have to comply.
- ervvynlwwe 15y agoWhat did I just read?
- jeffreymcmanus 15y agoYou know who's a joker? The guy who "got a top creative designer in there working for a fraction of his normal cost by being very fucking cool with him, and also working out a deal where we refer him business". That's who.
- MichaelApproved 15y agoYou're missing the point of the email. He's asking his team to stop sweating the small stuff and just get it done. He's pointing out that others are busting their ass (the designer) while the team is trying to figure out something basic like email providers. Just pick something and go with it.
- drivebyacct2 15y ago> He's asking his team to stop sweating the small stuff and just get it done. He's pointing out that others are busting their ass (the designer) while the team is trying to figure out something basic like email providers. If that's all he was asking, he could have written a far less self absorbed paragraph and most of us would have said "duh". Instead, I don't know what the hell I just read, or why I read it for as long as I did.
- jeffreymcmanus 15y agoI got the point of the email, thanks.
- megablast 15y agoBut it is a stupid statement. There are good reasons why things can't get done sometimes, and no amount of shouting or motivational posters is going to change that. Eventually when you are running towards a goal and not planning, you realize you can't just continue, you have made a mistake and are heading in the wrong direction. This get it done attitude ignores this face.
- jodrellblank 15y agoThis get it done attitude ignores this face. Except it doesn't. The post clearly and repeatedly says "if you can get a goal done, do so. If you can get a good enough substitute, you don't need to ask me, I trust your judgment. If you could do it but you need money, here are my card details, I trust you to spend money carefully. And if you are doing the above and get stuck tell me and we'll fix it together.
- tikhonj 15y agoI can't help feeling that that was written by a cross between a motivational speaker and a mafia don. The letter had an interesting voice and was well written; however, it immediately set off unconscious alarms in my mind. It was trying to influence the reader too coarsely on too emotional a level; I do not like that sort of thing very much.
- Joakal 15y agoI agree, some people are shy, unsure, etc, and will get defensive when presented with an angry person barking orders. It's not the military. They may find these people won't even talk about their work because they don't want to offend the barker. That said, it really depends on the culture of the employees on which motivational techniques to use.
- tikhonj 15y agoFor me it didn't feel like something from the army as much as a car salesman trying much too hard. Also, as a college student, I would be really suspicious of somebody telling me not to go to class--I'm perfectly happy to do that of my own violation, but anybody suggesting it immediately comes out as against my best interests.
- Joakal 15y agoIt's more of an analogy like this: You're a group leader for a group assignment due Tuesday morning. You think it's great, they're the top 1% in the class. They promise to do their sections of the topic by Monday meeting so you can work together to compile it. Monday comes around, they said they tried and didn't finish their sections. Now you're stuck all night fixing their sections and compiling it together. That's simplified analogy, and the author would angrily call them "jokers".
- tikhonj 15y agoExcept for the bit where you're doing other schoolwork instead, I presume? Besides, I wasn't talking as much about the content of the letter as the tone--that's what I found off-putting.
- spydum 15y agoI certainly don't understand the context of the email or the people involved, but that seems extraordinarily douchey. Perhaps I'm the exception, but when your primary focus is on being a multi-millionare, you are missing something from your life.
- raheemm 15y agoI don't think that's the main focus of the post - its more about sticking to commitments and making stuff happen in spite of obstacles. Obviously money is a financial reward but that's not what I picked from the post.
- gcb 15y agoSo you've never been part of a startup where people were dragged by the promises of easy money alone and not by sharing the same vision. don't ask...
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- rakkhi 15y agoCan't help but wonder if this is going to start all the pro vs cons for swearing in posts again. It would be great if everyone did everything they said they would to the deadline but in reality the unexpected happens and if you get this draconian people just will not commit to anything
- chubs 15y agoReminds me of the story of steve jobs, when he dropped the original ipod prototype into a fishtank to force the engineers to make it smaller: 'See? Bubbles? That means there's air in there. Make it smaller.'
- enigmabomb 15y agoSo let me get this straight. This guy is fronting the money on his credit cards, can't do any of the work, and gets people to do things for him by "Being very fucking cool with" them? Yeah. Keep your money. Fuck your business cards. You sound like sales guys scum trying to leverage the real makers in this project.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- raheemm 15y agoHaters will hate! :)
- commieneko 15y agoSpend whatever you need to get it done, but I'm not willing to pay a top designer his normal rates even though I'm having him do a rush job at 2am. But that's okay, I'm being very cool with him and I promised him I'd recommend him to other big shots. Well, the "top designer" is an adult, we assume, and can make his/her own decisions, but I stopped falling for that kind of bull shit 25 years ago. A good designer is worth paying good rates. Despite lavish praise as they walked out the door with "my miracle", I never once had any of those "big shots" ever show up again, much less provide me with any kind of value in return. (Now on a side note, I've done spec work and/or above the call of duty rush jobs for customers who've done well by me _in the past_. Or on very rare occasions, I've pulled rabbits out of hat for new customers who were _refered_ to me by very good customers. Maybe that's what's inexpertly being alluded to here. But I doubt it.)
- raheemm 15y agoI loved it!
- bprater 15y agoWhere does the "forces of hell" reference come from?
- mh- 15y agoThe middle of the letter.. The Romans thought Hannibal had the FORCES OF HELL ON HIS SIDE. Why? Because of that quote: “We will find a way. Or make one.”
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- coryl 15y agoI can sympathize and understand with what he's writing. I know it seems douchey and shallow to a lot of you, but when you work remote with a team of friends, things tend to get far too casual and eventually everything falls apart altogether. Suddenly everyone has an opinion on design decisions, or a meeting needs to be held on whether we should use Mongo or MySQL, and we should just think about it on our own time and get back together next week for more discussion. Complacency is really the biggest enemy of the side project / remote team. And so making excuses becomes easier and easier as time progresses. Someone has to step up and lead, so maybe a motivational speech is just what the team needs. The points about partying and making money might matter to his team, maybe its why they're working on the project in the first place. (And none of us can say that the excitement of making money doesn't motivate us). So the man makes it clear where he stands; step up and get shit done, or leave and be a joker. Do you want to sell sugared-water for the rest of your life? Or do you want a chance to change the world?
- hugh3 15y agoSomeone has to step up and lead, so maybe a motivational speech is just what the team needs. The points about partying and making money might matter to his team, maybe its why they're working on the project in the first place. (And none of us can say that the excitement of making money doesn't motivate us). Maybe, but if this was intended as a motivational speech (and motivational speeches work a lot better than motivational emails) then it's a terrible one.
- CoffeeDregs 15y agoThis post represents subpop-management nonsense. People are complicated but there are, in fact, things we can do to work with each other. "Commitments" can be considered real things and we can hold each other to them. You either fulfill on a commitment or you don't. If you don't, then fuck you and you're RIFed. If you do, then you're part of the team. (An aside: why is fulfilling on commitments part of being excellent?! Shouldn't it be a criterion?!) If you don't consider "commitments" to be real things, then you run round and round the what-are-we-doing-and-why-didn't-you-do-it circle... And then you write a blog post. Update: freeloaders/non-fulfillers are a real thing. I'm one of them. Generally, I perform at a very high level, but I'll dial it back if I'm under the gun and a client unintentionally indicates that they're not one to assess slippages accurately. Unlike most freeloaders, I wake up at 3AM and think about how to fulfill against a late commitment.
- kevinalexbrown 15y ago"Find a way. Or make one." V "I’d do it myself, but I can’t, because I’m doing something else that takes all my time."
- sdoering 15y agoI read this guy relatively often. I even could understand his latest post. but, after some closer inspection -> you just nailed a point. On the other hand: Maybe this posting is his understanding of making a way. Could that be possible?
- treetrouble 15y agoThe term is slacker, not joker.
- nirvana 15y agoI can identify with what sebastian is experiencing here. Its easy to work with friends, or be friendly with your employees. Its easy for things to get casual. Its easy for people to start running everything by you. Its VERY easy for the sense of urgency to just go away. Its very hard to get people highly motivated about time. It's easy to kill an entire day with BS, and let things just stretch out. Especially when you're an employee, and you're working for options. Options are so intangible. You're theoretically motivated, but on a day to day basis, do stock options get you doing 6 things in an hour instead of 3 or 4? Especially if your boss isn't there? (And if your boss is there then you're likely to be inhibited.) It's really easy to kill time by running everything thru your boss too... it lets you cover your butt, and you can read HN while you wait for him to make a decision. I don't know how you teach initiative... but this is a good attempt. Find a way or make one. Good advice. Its a shame most of the comments on this seem to be reddit quality. Almost as if the people making them have never been in this situation. (and this was the situation I found myself in at my very first startup-- when we all felt we had no clue what we were doing, and tended to wait for direction, rather than take initiative.)
- sammcd 15y agoI was a huge fan of the thesis, but as I kept reading the situation seemed very familiar. Very familiar to the multiple times I have worked for a non technical guy that really just doesn't have a clue. I was really not a fan of the part where he told his guys not to make excuses, but then made a very large excuse for himself. If I would have read only the first few paragraphs I would have been a huge fan of this article.
- suivix 15y agoWhy does there have to be a sense of urgency? I don't think we are meant to have stressful lives.
- klbarry 15y agoIf you read Sebastian's blog, he wants to have the power to change the world, essentially, when the world needs changing. He believes his path is the most pragmatic way to do so. I think I agree.
- jen_h 15y agoCoffee is for closers or something. We like to think that having money fixes things and we can just throw cash wildly into the air while making definitive exhortations and all will be well. We will be Gods or something! But unfortunately, it doesn't, not usually. What's pretty broke without cash doesn't typically get fixed when you shove its gullet full of coinage. Every once in awhile, throwing money into a whirlpool works, and when it does, you should totally record that shit. Put it on YouTube. But not what preceded it, no way.
- nickand 15y agoHe never mentions how much money he's will to pay to 'get stuff done.' In fact it sounds like he's not willing to pay anything other than satisfaction. I don't have these mommy and daddy issues anymore. Sincerely, The guy who's work ethic is directly proportional to how much money you throw at me.
- cellis 15y agoAu contraire, he makes the incentives quite clear: in the short term, parties at beach houses in Asia; in the long term, being rich and "RISE IN THE WORLD FAST".
- softbuilder 15y agoHow does this guy have time to blog about it?
- klbarry 15y agoHe just posted an email, with ctrl+f replace of names. So probably not too long :)
- softbuilder 15y agoEven "simple" posts like that took a lot longer than you'd think. At least if you take the time to make them read well and look good, which he did.
- raheemm 15y agoNow that's a great point!
- kevinalexbrown 15y agoThis guy kind of seems not necessary to the whole project, aside from small amounts of funding. If he's spending 12-17 hours a day on something else entirely, what is he personally doing to advance the project? Did he just have an "idea" and hire a bunch of engineers "find a way or make one?"
- rkon 15y agoAt first I thought this was posted by one of the email's recipients as a form of revenge on its douchebag author. Then, I realized it was posted by the author on his own blog... how embarrassing. The whole letter/blog simultaneously reeks of desperation, egotism, conceit and condescension. He clearly craves validation and doesn't hesitate to dole it out to himself. "I picked you guys because you're the best! Now quit sucking and start being awesome like me! Money money money!" Sad.
- tsunamifury 15y agoHe's the joker.
- sbraford 15y agoThey say most successful CEOs score highly on tests for being a sociopath. I think this guy could be on his way to the Fortune 400!
- dschobel 15y agoNot sociopaths, psychopaths. Sociopaths tend to be introvert / loner types.
- aiscott 15y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy#Psychopathy_vs._sociopathy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy#Psychopathy_vs._soc...
- kahawe 15y agoContrary to popular belief, (certain) psychological deficiencies can be absolutely beneficial or enabling for being successful in business and other area.
- vacri 15y agoI find it hard to take someone seriously about not being a joker when they keep reverting to capitals to emphasise things. If someone was telling me that my social skills were the top 1% while frequently using 'capital emphasis', I would not hold that evaluation in high regard.
- drawkbox 15y agoI know when I finish a project I call up the 'forces of hell' on my side. It's needed for that last 10%=90%.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- funkah 15y agoThis sounds terrible. I would be very unhappy with my life if my job involved regularly receiving emails like this.
- hugh3 15y agoIf your job involves regularly receiving emails like this, you need to run, not walk, away from that relationship. This guy seems like one of those poisonous people who will inevitably screw things up (through some combination of ego and ignorance of the way the world works) and then blame you for it.
- anjc 15y agoStop. Think about what you're saying for 20 minutes before you reply. No web browsing, just think. This reminds me of an old koan about an unhappy guy...long story short, he was middle class and never fucking got stuff done...
- brerrabbit 15y agoYou know, Sebastian is a really smart, driven, creative individual and his blog has managed to occupy a spot in my RSS reader for some time because I've always felt his perspective lied outside the echo chamber of the tech media I tend to consume. However, between this post and the one he posted today: http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and-schuester-ceo-carolyn-reidy http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and... I kind of wonder if he isn't experiencing some kind of extreme bi-polar swing or side effects from the nootropics he uses and advocates. The article posted today is so rambling, incoherent and rabid and so far removed from the realm of "professionalism" that I believe he has not only burned his bridge with his publisher, he has done so with all publishers everywhere. This doesn't seem to be characteristic of him and if it is, he's certainly a less admirable individual than I had surmised.
- BenoitEssiambre 15y agooutch, this reads like the author is about to breakdown 'bi-winning' style.
- farms 15y agoFreaking ace, guy's a legend! Having said that, I'd rather get myself strung up in a Judas cradle than work for or with him :D
- hristov 15y agoThis should be a very good read for those of you that think that formal education is not necessary for start-up success. I am not sure who the author of this is and whether he went to college or not, but he clearly needs to take a good writing class. He may actually have a good point about keeping commitments but the whole thing is written so badly, in such a meandering and repetitive way that it is a joke. And I doubt any of the recipients of that email will take him seriously and will stop going to their classes to work on his project as he requests. The saddest part is that he most likely thinks he is working very hard and being very productive. He is writing all these pages upon pages of stuff repeating the same mantra, relating to his favorite history channel shows, etc. But of course he is wasting his time and the time of the people that will have to read the thing. Although I am sure the readers get some entertainment as a side benefit. If he knew how to write he could have written a tight passage of several paragraphs or so that properly conveys the need for dependability and the urgency of the situation without making a fool of himself or insulting his readers. Writing is a skill and it matters. This is especially true for people in leadership positions.
- cop359 15y agoThe repetition is obviously intentional (I'm surprised this wasn't evident to you). It's written more as a speech rather then a pamphlet. Have you listened to for instance Obama, or any other politician? Usually they have very little to say(you could probably summarize in 5 sentences), but to get the point across they use repetition. It's an effective communication tool.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- DanBC 15y ago> It's an effective communication tool. ...used really badly in this example.
- kahawe 15y ago> It's an effective communication tool. He is using email, of all means of communication... far from effective and one of the narrowest communication channels. We are far from "effective" here - he was just venting his anger.
- mbreese 15y agoWhat was that? Does anyone have any sort of context to this? Who are these people? Why do I feel like I'm missing a punch line?
- artursapek 15y agoIt's meant as a glimpse into someone else's project. I like it because it lets me compare it to my own with no preconceptions.
- suivix 15y agoI think it has something to do with #winning, but I'm not sure yet.
- artursapek 15y agoThis reminds me of "Stop doing stupid shit," [1] one of my favorite articles of all time. This was a great read. The intensity and the trust he projects onto his friends is a good role-model for anyone working with their friends on something and making less progress than they'd like. [1] http://jinfiesto.posterous.com/how-to-seem-good-at-everything-stop-doing-stu http://jinfiesto.posterous.com/how-to-seem-good-at-everythin...
- xarien 15y agoReminds me of this quote: "For a rough approximation of your valuation, circa 2004, you can also use Kawasaki's Law of Pre-Money Valuation: for every full-time engineer, add $500,000; for every full-time M.B.A., subtract $250,000. "
- tsunamifury 15y agohttp://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about The guy seems to be a bit of a self styled guru selling his lifestyle brand which is abstractly focused on 'victory'.
- meric 15y ago"I’ll work to make this an excellent use of your time." Followed by his life story.
- dasil003 15y agoMaybe this is what people need. I don't know because I don't know the people involved. I can say that what he's saying resonates and the words have poignancy because I remember times where I wasn't clearly enough focused on the end goal and such a speech might have been the right motivator. On the other hand when I'm really procrastinating it's usually because something is not right on a deeper level, either the goals, or the people, or something else is rubbing me the wrong way. It's not easy. Sometimes deep introspection is necessary. When you're talking about others it's even harder, but that's where the art of management comes in.
- trout 15y agoFor what it's worth, this attitude is valuable in certain positions. Many of the sales reps I work with have this attitude and it works for them. Basically - they will go to hell and back to get something done for a customer. They will dictate engineering schedules, beg and steal equipment, relentlessly war-dial, and make generally unreasonable requests. What happens with their requests? People find it easier to bend to the will of the determined than convince them otherwise. It gets stuff done. It also wrecks havoc on the 'balance of things' which may or may not have an inflated importance. This is why people hate sales reps. Conversely - customers generally love this. Customers love making demands, feeling like they're the only customer, and having faith they'll get the best they can get. The balance is burning those cycles, because there are limits; hell or no hell. If business cards are worth destroying your sleep and weekend to have them by Monday, so be it.
- stevewilhelm 15y agoIn the long run, the best and the brightest won't work in that kind of environment and the customer will ultimately get a substandard product. Good sales reps set achievable stretch goals and customers reap the long term benefits.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- GotToStartup 15y agoI had a different take on the article than most of the comments I've read. It's about keeping your word. If You say you're going to do something then DO IT. If you don't want to be seen as a joker then you just have to keep your word. I see it like this. If you make a timeline yourself and find you won't be able to keep it then you have 2 options. 1) Let the person you promised know right away or 2) "find a way. Or make one" - do what you got to do to get it done. Sebastian is highlighting the second option because it's already passed deadlines and shit sounds like it's getting serious. If you want to be respected, loved and an effective leader. Keep your promises. Every single one of them. (Or, in true Machiavellian form, at least make sure it's perceived that way.)
- joshu 15y agoi would like to slap the author.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- laurent-LB 15y agoIf this guy was my friend I would look for a therapist for him. This is the second time I come across this blog and the tone sounds more and more delusional and manic.
- forensic 15y agoYeah he's definitely manic and probably co-morbid with other issues. Manic people often develop inflated self-images to compensate for their repressed feelings of inferiority. Just an all around neurotic. Generally miserable to be around and incapable of enjoying life. He doesn't need non-jokers he needs a therapist. What is sad is that guys like this have NO CONCEPT of how other people view the world. They do not realize that we can all sit calmly and enjoy life, that we can enjoy smalltalk, that we can relax with our family and not stress over the fact that we're "not wealthy". He takes his business so seriously because he is mentally ill and he must excel at business (not just excel, but conquer) to appease his neuroticism.
- brerrabbit 15y agoHe seems like he is in the middle of a meltdown. Read the next consecutive post. It's shocking. http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and-schuester-ceo-carolyn-reidy#comments http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and...
- jarin 15y agoI actually think this is brilliant. I'm just going to pretend this email was written to me and act accordingly.
- vacri 15y agoMake sure you're responsible with his credit card.
- onan_barbarian 15y agoCan someone provide me some concise explanation as to what Sebastian Marshall has actually done - outside of lots of blog posts, Hacker news posts, and travel?
- mistermann 15y agoI'd like to know this also. I still like reading his stuff now and then though. :)
- onan_barbarian 15y agoLinkedIn has a stub page saying "I don't really use linkedin". His 'About' page has this: "I worked as an entrepreneur from 2004 to 2008". That's it. From 2009 onwards, there appears to be a lot of stuff about travel, and sleeping less, and "purifying my diet". I have some friends with bios/resumes like this; these also happen to be my "rich kid" friends.
- thaumaturgy 15y agoI really dislike seeing comments like this on HN. I've clawed my way from poverty to lower middle class, helped out as many people along the way as I could, done some amazing things, written a lot of brilliant code that's running the guts of a couple businesses and maybe even an East Bay school district still. But, I've never written about any of it, I don't talk about it much, and honestly, I'd rather do just about anything other than write or talk much about it. I have some really fantastic clients that are the same way, too. There are a lot of incredible people in the world whose name you don't know. Just because they don't do PR for themselves the way that, presumably, you do, doesn't mean they should be dismissed out-of-hand.
- kitsune_ 15y agoYou've just written about it. And so has this Sebastian, in fact, if anything, volume is certainly not the problem when it comes to his writing. I'm similar to you. As in I don't write blogs or do much formal "PR" or online networking with my real name. I don't have a linkedin account, I don't use google+ and I don't have a website with my real name. I however write comments on reddit, hn and a ton of other lists and forums. By the way, whenever somebody describes their own work as "brilliant", my alarm bells go off.
- skurry 15y agoMaybe this says more about me than about the author of that blog post, but if I got an email like this from my "friend and boss", I'd be thinking hard about my future with this "company".
- malloreon 15y agoThe insightful part is this: "What’s a joker? A joker is someone who says they’re going to do something, and then doesn’t. A joker always has excuses. “Oh well, I tried…” -> No, I don’t give a fuck that you tried. Did you do it or not? DID YOU DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU’D DO OR NOT? If not, you’re a fucking joker and we’ve got problems." To summarize: don't talk about it, be about it.
- Skillset 15y agoTrue, though I'm not sure that's the generally accepted definition of "joker." I think this screed could be better summarized by the catchphrase "Git 'r done!" Ironically, said catchphrase was created by one Larry the Cable Guy — a noted comedian, or professional "joker."
- Tichy 15y agoA problem might be that "it" in the mind of the manager is a clear cut, black and white thing, whereas in reality it might turn out to have more facettes and nuances. With a bulldozer manager (get it done or get out) it might be difficult to adapt to reality. I also dislike that kind of speeches because it sets up a power hierarchy from the start. Not a good basis for cooperation.
- jodrellblank 15y agoHe doesn't say "get it done or get out", he says "get it done or tell me". As distinct from "think about it, then ask me, then try it, then ask me, then get stuck"
- mhewett 15y agoMakes some good points, but finishes badly. The best part is where he is going to reward his best employee with an all-expenses paid vacation with....Sebastian Marshall!
- gavanwoolery 15y agoI don't mind swearing, but the persistent f-bomb really adds nothing here...
- newston 15y agoExactly. I think the primitive language contrasts with his high expectations.
- trotsky 15y agoTelling someone not to go to their university classes so that they can crunch on your $generic_web_app should be a jailable offense.
- jodrellblank 15y agoTo say that is to miss the point completely. He's not telling someone not to go to their classes, he's illustrating the sort of behaviour change necessary between "I tried" and "I did it". He doesn't "want a cookie" for working 20 hours on a Sunday night, he's illustrating the attitude shift between "I tried" and "I said I'd do it, so I did it".
- anjc 15y agoThis is such Americanized bullshit. There's no difference between the two.
- jodrellblank 15y agoThat's like saying there's no difference between manslaughter and murder. The outcome may appear no different - success or failure - but the mental state is different, and the path to the outcome may be.
- rwhitman 15y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disord...
- danneu 15y agoHe's self-admittedly bipolar. >I’m cyclothymic too. Like Nieztsche and Byron and those guys. Albeit, much less talented; I’m just saying I got the same affliction. [...] What’s a cyclothymic? It appears that we feel emotions more strongly than other people, and cycle through them. I’m fucking awesome when I’m manic, I can rapidly invent, experiment, implement, advance science, build systems, recruit and hire people, and just massively do unhumanly large amounts of stuff. Cyclothymic mania is when the SPIRIT OF GOD is within you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressured_speech http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressured_speech
- mcav 15y agoWrite these kinds of rants. Get your anger and frustration on paper. Then, throw it out. Revisit your thoughts later. Repeat until your thoughts are coherent and your course of action is clear.
- ryan-allen 15y agoI agree. I read somewhere years ago (in my early 20s) about how Abe Lincoln wrote a disappointed letter to a General when he failed to continue fighting to win a battle (they had been fighting for days on end and were exhausted). That may or may not be accurate but the point of it was he was upset, took it out on someone and then did not send the letter, and the advice was to take things like this and put them in your drafts and sleep on it. This may have been in the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People". Effective immediately, I started refraining from sending annoyed or angry emails. I'd file them in drafts and sleep on it. I can't recall ever sending an email of this sort since. In hindsight there was always a better and more effective way to deal with the situation. I think some people just love the sound of their own voice (and the sight of their own words) that they feel compelled to 'ship' after they've produced something like this. Some things just shouldn't ever be sent. I think he'll regret doing this this in time. I certainly would.
- rglover 15y agoI dig the anti-joker sentiment, but this is a bit much. It's good to keep a team motivated, focused, and dedicated to their work but this reads like the author got a sign from god that he and his team were inventing the "next Facebook." The big problem here, though, as others have pointed out: there's a glaring desire for money. Money is the keyword throughout the entire email. "I'll foot the bill," "I want to make us rich," "we can rent a beach house." What happened to "this idea is really cool and even if we don't get rich, I want to make sure it sees the light of day." Joker...
- dschobel 15y agoGood for him for getting shit done and empowering his troops but unless their financial incentives are as strong as his, he's just another psychopathic manager for asking them to sacrifice for him ("skip your classes", etc).
- vacri 15y agoThat's the point where I was irrevocably lost. Skip my classes for a possible trip in asia if we happen to do really, really well? Made me think of the 'Screw you, pay me' guy.
- tezmc 15y agoThat's not really a good analogy. The 'F you, pay me' guy was talking about being assertive and sticking up for yourself in the face of clients who are trying to get you to do work for free/not pay their bills etc. (that's if we're talking about the same person) A better analogy would be that the OP is more like the client of the 'f you, pay me' guy.
- ditojim 15y agoi predict the credit card maxes out in 2 weeks.
- prawn 15y agoI predict the other guys bail and ignore the credit card.
- pnathan 15y agoI work my arse off for my company/manager when the heat is on. I know that when I commit to get something important done by a time X, I get it done or have put in all the time I could on it. So do other people on the team. My manager doesn't ask me or other members of the team to stay late unless it's important. We keep the pressure on and keep working away every weekday all day. My manager never written anything like this to the team while I've been there. And for that, I am pretty glad.
- circuitbreaker 15y agoAm I the only one here that actually liked the article? Regardless of this guy's resume, or the grammar, or the presentation, he has a point! This... "You’re all highly highly skilled, top 1% at your craft. You’re all highly highly intelligent, top 1% of the population. You’ve all got excellent social skills, top 1% communication skills. And yet, you’re middle class. Have you reflected on that? You’re the top 1% IN EVERY CATEGORY THAT MATTERS, and yet, you’re relatively poor. Do you know why? Because you haven’t stopped being a fucking joker like the rest of society."
- vacri 15y agoThey're middle-class because they're working for a salary. That's obvious. You can be middle-class and rich - $200k/year will do that to you - but you won't find a lot of upper class people drawing a salary as their primary income. Perhaps some doctors and lawyers might at the upper end of the scale, but in tech? No.
- Tichy 15y agoIt is worth pondering, but I don't think being a joker is the reason. Also the attitude of "I said I'd do it, so I'll do it" could become a problem if it prevents you from pivoting and failing fast.
- jrockway 15y agoJumping from topic to topic, bold, and capital letters = too badly written - did not read. What happened to normal prose, where you use words to describe things instead of bold phrases and random fragments? Seeing this has made me a bit ill...
- callmeed 15y agoThe thing is, you can follow all the advice and platitudes given here and you still may not get rich. And, sometimes the joker gets lucky.
- thiagofm 15y agothat guy is full of shit check out the REAL JOKER: http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/hey-you-yeah-you-you-can-be-an-entrepreneur http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/hey-you-yeah-you-you-can-be... In the comments section of this post, he mentions that he's going to finish the editing process of his book by 30 september Now check this post: http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/why-isnt-my-book-done http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/why-isnt-my-book-done He's a fucking joker!
- megablast 15y agoEven in the post he is making excuses why he can't mail out a newsletter. Surely he should just get it done, not come up with excuses. That is classic Joker behavior right there.
- DanBC 15y ago> -Why isn’t Critical Thinking ready to ship? > -What’s wrong with it? Well, it's 17,000 words a day of this . . . > it was kind of something on the back of my periphery of my mind. EDIT: they asked for 50,000 - 60,000 words, and he's written nearly 180,000.
- ricardobeat 15y agoI could put my head down and just grind, get it done at 4AM before I go to work, and whatever. or better: I was going to edit, but I didn’t really. I was kind of flat. I played a lot of Conquer Club online, surfed around, didn’t really get anything done. Then I was traveling around and I wasn’t really working on the book. He was paid $65k in advance...
- shouteagle 15y agoThis incoherent rant should convince Sam, Jon, and Lee to cut their losses, if they haven't already. Spending 20 hours over a weekend to bang out marketing materials is supposed to be impressive? How about planning ahead and using something like Crowdspring and VistaPrint to get these distractions completed. Promising to make $10K in the first six months is supposed to motivate? You didn't share how you plan on doing that except, "I will make it happen." Have you demonstrated in any way in the past six months that you can deliver on this promise? Promises, wishing, wanting, pleading are hollow gestures. A grand vision and clear plan on how to achieve it, a track record accomplishments and successes: these are the things that make a good leader. They are the qualities that inspire others to do great things.
- cellis 15y agoIs 10k/6mo really that impressive, even on a shoestring budget in Japan (where I assume Sebastian is)? I mean, that's a 5th of what you could earn as an engineer at jrandom startup in the bay. Even biz-dev/product types like him (not engineers) are probably getting close to 100k now, if not more.
- danbmil99 15y agoHaven't we all been there though?
- jes5199 15y agoI really, honestly thought that this guy was showing us a parody of a letter from a desperate, clueless manager on a failed project. I guess this demonstrates some startup-kool-aid varient of Poe's Law.
- angryasian 15y agoas an engineer I've worked for this type of douche idea/business guy. When doing exactly what he says, he says "somethings just not right", then I ask "ok what is it then".. he responds "I don't know its just not right". DOUCHE. Then he tells me to take more initiative, and I do. Then I get an email like this that says why isn't things getting done, and I say.. because I'm doing things like setting up stupid accounts that he could be doing rather than writing stupid blog rants like this. Or why are we using x service instead of y service, "well you told me to do what I thought was best". He responds "Well its not what I had in mind". DOUCHE. He promised me trips to asia, bonuses, and days off when the product is a success. He hasn't told me how much equity I have or vested, because he said that another thing we will deal will when we are successful, but its been over two years, and I'm still having to listen to his stupid rants and fake motivational emails. DOUCHE. People like this are poison, and working for people like this will kill you inside because slowly as an engineer you'll dream, why can't I work with a real engineering team that can just write code, solve tough problems, work with cool tech and why do I have to deal with this bullshit.. when this douche needs me more than I need him. But because people like this have money, and there are always people willing to sell their services.. he may get a product out and may bullshit enough people that he has is something useful, but thats the way the world works.
- illumen 15y agoGet out now. There's better people to work with.
- kahawe 15y agoCut your losses NOW and take a serious look at your current situation from the view of a business owner - you are investing your time, your life and energy and skills so naturally you want something in return. Do the compensations add up? Do YOU get enough out of this RIGHT NOW? Do not wait for that mythical moment in the future when all will be great and you are flying first class around Asia for him. Forget that distant future, it is not there, not now. You need to make this situation work for you RIGHT NOW. Promising future prospects can be a (smaller) part of that but what else is in it for YOU right NOW? Not all compensation is monetary, some of the most valuable ones aren't monetary. So, understand your situation and what are you getting out of it right now until you have first class seats in Asia?
- nickand 15y agoThe guy who wrote this article sounds like the kind of person who wants to get everyone to do his work for him. His personal problems are leaking into his work life. He probably needs a vacation or to change lines of work. He's not a joker, he's a bitter old bastard (regardless of his age). Advice for the inexperienced doer: Don't listen to this guy. Pace yourself. Do what you need to and make time for yourself. This guy wants to smoke a cigar in his office while you kill yourself. This is his attempt at being 'the boss man' and it's transparent. You will never be happy making people like this happy. If this kind of verbal abuse makes you feel bad then seek therapy don't work late every night. Stand up for yourself.
- ootachi 15y agoI really really hope he loses his best employees for this rant. We shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior. Receiving this email would be enough to make me immediately start looking for other work.
- exfilmexec 15y agoNot sure what to think of that. He should hire an editor. Most people would not respond positively to that letter so his whole philosophy is meaningless. Though I can sympathize with trying to avoid distractions and delays with simple problems. Micro-managing horrors. And I also hate excuses. As someone who is on the verge of failing, I absolutely loved the Hannibal quote. Do anything to succeed mentality is good if applied to being self-critical. I believe that increasing work ethic, knowledge and skills with overall hardcore discipline is the only thing I have to logically and spiritually continue to use to fight the constant failure I've experienced. In other words, as I was often told growing up "don't be sorry, be correct". Stop making excuses and do it. There's some chance, some method, some concerted effort that will yield an eventual probability of actual success which is only achieved by being self-critical and then improving. EDIT - I didn't write this very well. Valid excuses are actually very good and effective. Logical reasons why something can't be done lead to ways it can. I've worked with too many people who avoid "negativity" out of some law of attraction thing. So I like when people say, "I'm stupid, your stupid, we're all being stupid but we can and should be smarter by doing X, Y and Z".
- wglb 15y agoThis is the same dude who ripped into patio11 for not living up to his potential. Personally, I would feel that HN can do without this tone-deaf self-importance.
- jodrellblank 15y agoThere's a world full of people ruined by thinking like this. Our language, our culture has "self-importance" as a negative attribute. It's ridiculous. Like yourself. Feel that you are important! What are you living and fighting and dieing for, if you feel unimportant and think everyone else should too? That's no way to be. :(
- scott_s 15y agoYou're taking the definitions for the word "self" and "importance" and just assuming that "self-importance" is the concatenation of those definitions. It is not. It means an exaggerated sense of one's own importance, or outright arrogance: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-importance http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-importance
- alexwolfe 15y agoI think the author of this fails to realize that you can teach a lot of things but not attitude. You can't convince someone to be passionate about your pet project, not gonna happen. All the begging and reasoning in the world is not going to change their mind. If your so fired up about whatever it is that your doing, find other people that are fired up about it too. If you can't find those people then be more reasonable with people who are building your dream. The whole, if you want to be rich is really strange too. How about being successful, I think that is a better goal. Success is not having a ton of money, no life, and being a slave driving prick, its about being good in all areas of your life. Believe it or not there are many people out there that would pass up the chance to be rich if it meant they would be absolutely miserable at work everyday. And finally, no matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, you can still fail. Its tough to realize that but it happens every single day in the tech world. Once you realize being overly consumed, frantic, and obsessive doesn't guarantee success, you may discover a different way of working, a better way. Be happy with your life dude, that's something you can bank on no matter how much money you make. Otherwise the joke is really on you.
- keeptrying 15y agoWhen I first became a manager, I used to push people like this. The sad truth is that finding just one more person with this kind of intensity is hard. I've only known a few people with this type of intensity. After moving to SF I now realize maybe its unnecessary. People get burnt out working at such high intensity. If your a really effective manager then you can ensure success by figuring out what is important and asking your engineers to deliver that instead of them slaving away on shit that might not be useful later.
- bermanoid 15y ago"Dear Sebastian, we quit, piss off. Best, Sam, Lee, and Jon." Seriously, this is just ridiculous. Is there anyone here that would actually put up with this ridiculous public shaming at all, let alone from a CEO that's off in Asia staying up "20 hours" to print flyers for one of his other companies, while he bitches that you're not reneging on your teaching commitments (which I would presume he knew about when he took you on...) so that you can meet his arbitrary (and from the sounds of it, utterly unrealistic) timeline? Fuck guys like this. I know them, and I'm even friends with a couple, and sometimes they're decent people to hang out with and (on occasion, in the right contexts) even learn from. But I'd never dream of working for them, or even usually with them, because they tend to be neither very good businessmen nor good employers. Bitching about your people being "jokers" is not the way to speed up a product's release: cutting features is, and that sometimes requires a CEO's involvement. Learn that lesson fast, or you'll be sorely disappointed in all your future projects, especially when you're just the guy-in-charge-of-negotiating-rates-for-business-cards...uh, I mean CEO.
- illumen 15y agoIt reads like the person has a drug habbit. I feel sorry for the employees.
- RandalMolek 15y agoYeah, there is some hypomania there, stimulant induced or otherwise.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- skore 15y agoRead his latest blog entry (or don't - it's quite a waste of time). Money quote is this: > "I’m cyclothymic too. Like Nieztsche and Byron and those guys. Albeit, much less talented; I’m just saying I got the same affliction. [...] What’s a cyclothymic? It appears that we feel emotions more strongly than other people, and cycle through them. I’m fucking awesome when I’m manic [...] Cyclothymic mania is when the SPIRIT OF GOD is within you. [...] It’s pretty fucking awesome when it’s going on. SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN YOU. Imagine that, eh? [...] Jut one rub – it’s a Faustian Bargain – crashing is… well, “hell” [...] when a convergence of bullshit strikes, then I crash hard and I’m fucking useless for a while. It’s a real bummer, I’ll tell ya." So yes - manic depressive. And a little too taken by it, if I may say so.
- cnxsoft 15y agoSorry, but I could not read it all... I got bored after 5 minutes of reading.
- vog 15y agoSince most commentators seem to have missed it: Please read the very first paragraph! > Get a coffee and some popcorn ready before you read this one. Love it or hate it, either way you’ll be wildly entertained. Names and details changed, for obvious reasons. In other words, the whole article is not meant seriously.
- jnorthrop 15y agoI'm not sure why someone down-voted you, although I disagree that this was some sort of satire. I hope it was, as it reads like a harsh, chest-thumping, insulting diatribe, like some over enthusiastic high school football coach -- and one that won't accept responsibility and just blame others when they loose.
- NARKOZ 15y agoA rich man walks into a bar. The barman says "Is this some kind of joke?"
- ale55andro 15y agoIf you want to be BIG then this is how you do it. You stop being a fucking joker :D FIND A WAY. OR MAKE ONE! great stuff on there. This is an excellent motivational post.
- jc-denton 15y ago"Stop being a fucking joker." It is quite funny how people come up with the subjects they have the most problems with. For example we had a professor also teaching project management who had a hard time keeping his meetings, work, teaching, etc organized ;)
- derrida 15y agoTL,DR. Started out with an email that looked like it was written by a scammer, got bored, moved on.
- Maro 15y ago"Interview" with Sebastian Marshall: http://www.whohub.com/sebastianmarshall http://www.whohub.com/sebastianmarshall
- jc-denton 15y agoBut I somehow agree with the non-joker argument. Ever heard somebody who doesn't write code, arguing about how great open source software like Ubuntu is?
- brerrabbit 15y agoYou mean like Cory Doctorow?
- npersson 15y agoThis type of rant is insane to me, I would never work for a guy like this. But thats just me, for others it might be prefectly fine... Generally it sounds like he needs a hug or something.
- hugh3 15y agoA hug, or possibly medical treatment for his bipolar disorder.
- mattadams 15y agotl;dr but I got a kick out of the bit on his about page that says he aims to get between 4-7 hours of sleep a night and insinuates that 8 is too much. The way he's going he'll be dead at 40. Sleep is important, don't skip it.
- larve 15y agohe's manic, and one of his friend should take him to a therapist. he's comparing himself to nietzsche, hannibal, byron. he's making crazy plans of self-improvement. he's swearing, cussing, incoherent, ALLCAPS in every blog post. he's not sleeping. he's not focusing on anything of real value. I really hope he has someone that takes care of him.
- larve 15y agohe says he's actually bipolar in that first blog post.
- newston 15y agohe needs a serious hug.
- hugh3 15y agoI've always found manic depression fascinating. I recommend the book "Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania" by Andy Behrman. He talks primarily about his manic phases, how he would rush out and buy things he couldn't afford, get into weird sex situations, fly round the world for no reason, and so forth, and how he eventually wound up involved in art forgery, before getting caught and deciding to submit to electroshock therapy. This Sebastien Marshall guy really sounds exactly like him.
- ericflo 15y agoCompare this to the blog post written by Kicksend last week: http://blog.kicksend.com/kicksend-is-hiring http://blog.kicksend.com/kicksend-is-hiring There is no comparison.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- wisty 15y agoDear Sebastian, You worked 20 hours straight. Congratulations, want a biscuit? That's about 20 hours less than what most people here have done trying to meet a deadline, or squash a stubborn bug. And that's not counting the guys who do that for kicks on Minecraft (I kid ...). Hannibal nearly got his troops to Rome. Presumably, he knew where Rome was, and so did his men. If you want people to MARCH, they need a destination. In web apps, this is a wireframe. So, break out a HTML editor, and get the wireframe up. Then tell the devs to push it live, put the database behind it, and get it to scale. If not, it's because you don't have a product in mind, and simply MARCHING is not going to get you to Rome, or anywhere. When people are lost, or lack a compass, they generally walk around in circles. Does that seem familiar? Of course, good engineers use the time to check out options, so they know what to do when there's actually a clear goal. Most engineers live to fix problems. A creaky prototype that won't work is a problem that needs to be fixed. A blank page is just a chance to make scribbly notes.
- petegrif 15y agoWhat a douchebag.
- petegrif 15y agoWhat a douchebag.
- DanBC 15y agoIt's very sad to see someone with such clear MH problems and no support in place. (http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and-schuester-ceo-carolyn-reidy http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and...)
- clark-kent 15y agowow this guy has really lost it. The worse part is that he has fans that cheer him on.
- kahawe 15y agoCould someone enlighten me what this is about and what is the context because while I can understand the point he seems to be trying to make (just make it happen) I have no idea who he is and what that was written for... Oh and: he equals being "only" middle class with being a "joker" who hasn't risen to their potential but the wealthy people are the not-jokers and the ones to admire? Seriously?? > 99% of people you interact with in life are fucking jokers. 99% of all humans think that 99% of people are jokers, idiots or just dumb... very trustworthy figure.
- DanBC 15y ago> what is the context The context is someone with a severe mental illness (bipolar disorder) going through a phase of mania. Here are some links to information: (http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/bipolar_disorder_manic_depression http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/bipolar...) > When I'm in a manic phase, I feel as though I am capable of anything and everything. This can be an amazing feeling, but I sometimes get frustrated and angry with people. Ideas flow constantly and quickly, as if my brain is on fast-forward. Everything happening in the world has significance in my life. (http://mentalhealth.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/complete-index.shtml http://mentalhealth.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder...) (http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorder.aspx http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/bipolardi...)
- kahawe 15y agoWell, this fits in with my own armchair-psychological evaluations of OP...
- nickolai 15y agoThe caps/profanity to content ratio is way to high for my taste. Weird: usually there is interesting stuff on that blog, and the writing is Okay too. not to self : never drink and post.
- frobozz 15y agoIf I were Lee, I'd be scratching my head wondering exactly what it is he's asking of me. If I were Sam, I'd wonder why he's decided to dick me about without apology, explanation or reward, then spend the next three paragraphs apologising to Lee and promising to "do something cool" for him.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- christkv 15y agoI read this as fiction then I realized he was serious. Obviously in need of some counseling. Delusional ? He reads like a carbon copy of "The Secret"
- wr1472 15y agoI'm sorry but this guy sounds like such a douche to work for.
- blader 15y agoThose who can, do. Those who can't, blog about it.
- noonespecial 15y agoIts parody right? The author is actually demonstrating the point by being the "fucking Joker" himself? I thought this with absolute certainty through the first 3/4 of the post. What a strange feeling as it dawns that this guy is serious. This made my morning much more surreal. Its like long-form xkcd.
- JonnieCache 15y agoWTF is all that stuff about S3 doing in the middle there? Setting up S3 takes about 10 seconds. Hardly worth invoking Hannibal. Sebastian: please seek professional help before you hurt yourself or someone else.
- tezza 15y agoSebastian: please seek professional help before you hurt yourself or someone else. Yep, I agree. Sebastian sounds like he drives himself too hard and has variously 'lost it', 'gone mad', 'gone off the deep end' or is in the early stages of a massive nervous breakdown. Not too many people would put up with even a fraction of his bile in real life, so Sebastian may be very very lonely or surrounded by other mal-adjusted people. So yes, Sebastian if you're reading this, please seek counseling ASAP, the world is not how you imagine it and you are in dire risk of going mad.
- 16s 15y agoThe advice he gives about keeping your word is good advice. I try to keep my word, and I enjoy working with others who do. However, committing to do unreasonable things in an unreasonable time and then not being able to finish them is not so much about "keeping your word" as it is about being realistic. No matter how great you and your team are, you have to set realistic goals and doing that is not being "normal" or "average" it's being reasonable and having a work/life balance.
- shareme 15y agoI once was CTO to an idiot like this.. I walked out after 30 days of these con games.. This author is poison
- llambda 15y agoI don't "fucking" understand where Sebastian gets off: "I had all the time I’d need for this project if we met our original timetables. Now, I don’t have it any more because I’m working 12 to 17 hours per day on something else." In a nutshell, the CEO is saying, "Hey guys, listen, I'm really this one kind of person who gets shit done, except for right now I can't be because I have to take care of some other self-interests (no this isn't the same as being a joker), so I need you to meet my crazy standards." So he's unable to actually live up to the work ethic he espouses and purports to be a paragon of and as a result wants his staff to fill in the blanks while he works on "something else"; to just "get it fucking done" and not be "jokers". This is contrived and manipulative. If I were working for this guy that would be the last professional exchange we ever had. Horrible leadership.
- tomelders 15y agoFrom the comments. “A joker is someone who says they’re going to do something, and then doesn’t. A joker always has excuses.” ------------------- Hannibal you’re back! Did you conquer Rome? Erm no. Had no siege weapons and my men would… Oh well, I tried… No, I don’t give a fuck that you tried. Did you do it or not? Could have. DID YOU DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU’D DO OR NOT? Erm no. Hannibal you’re a fucking joker and we’ve got problems. ------------------- priceless.
- oper1 15y agoTell me this guy doesn't wear a gold chain and stink of aramis. Ever hear of a psychic vampire? Feel sorry for the people under this guy and is hard on for jokers.
- malik 15y agoThis guy sounds like an utter penis. http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about
- masterponomo 15y agoI'm confused. I'm trying to get rich writing jokes, and you tell me to quit being a joker and just get it done. But "it" is being a joker. Seb, are you going meta on me? Am I supposed to consider my professional joking to be something else, in the same way bank IT workers in the 80's were told to think of themselves as bankers, not programmers? OK, man, BAM I'm not a joker. Welp, back to work!
- gavingmiller 15y agoAs someone who is partnered with 2 other people in business, I can really appreciate what's being said by Seb: If you make a commitment - hold to it. We had the same situation come up this week for us. A job went sideways that was worth a month of expenses and then some. The client gave us a deadline to fix it, and if it wasn't they weren't paying. I told my partners I would do whatever it took to fix this issue because that's too much money to lose. Long story short, our team had it fixed in two days; including contingency plans B, C, and D lined up if our first solution didn't work. Complete trust has to exist in a partnership, otherwise it doesn't work. And this means sticking to our commitments.
- harrisreynolds 15y agoThis guy expresses a lot of confidence in his developers and is just trying to motivate them. This is a good thing. It is so so easy to be a joker. Everything in nature needs energy to move forward, including startups and software developers.
- mattbaker 15y agoWhy the fuck is this on HN? For the comedy?
- Semiapies 15y agoBecause the blogger used to post on HN very frequently. He's good at synthesizing bold yet vacant rhetoric that plays well here, but resonates especially well with coders who secretly think they're better than everyone else. He usually doesn't sound so bug-nuts, though; maybe this was an early draft he hadn't cleaned up.
- cafard 15y agoYo, Hannibal, use the ring.
- newston 15y agoWhy does this article get so many comments ( so much attention)? I try to read it but it is so poorly written, even the profanities doesn't work. I've tried to find out more about his achievements, but couldn't find anything impressive. What do I miss here?
- Semiapies 15y agoBecause it was written by this goon: http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=lionhearted http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=lionhearted His biggest accomplishment known to folks at HN is...getting a lot of karma at HN.
- dspeyer 15y agoAre they really jokers, or were the tasks unreasonable in the first place? The only way to know is to understand the tasks in detail, which I suspect the author doesn't. The whole "just get it done" thing sounds impressive, but it doesn't hold up in reality. Just cure AIDS. What are you waiting for? People are dying! Get that cure finished by Monday. Also note that there's a large border zone where things are possible but require sacrifice. They could get it done by sacrificing their leisure, their health, their social status, their unrelated duties, their morals.... It's up to them to decide how much of that is worth it. This is not a decision to take lightly.
- jodrellblank 15y agoThe whole "just get it done" thing sounds impressive, but it doesn't hold up in reality. Yes it does, you're just not reading it properly. Assume you're being attacked by a wild animal, which attitude is more helpful out of the following? 1) I will do anything to overpower it and kill it, or any acceptable substitute such as distracting or trapping it, or escaping in any other fashion. 2) Well, it might be too powerful for me, and maybe I'm too tired, and if it's getting dark I can't see it as well, and I guess I'll try, but it's unreasonable to think I can win, and in this situation having precisely accurate beliefs is my highest priority, so I'll start off by assessing how energetic it looks and estimating how powerful it is before I start doing anything, if it's too big I won't bother. It's "duh" obvious that in a survival situation, the former might get you out, the latter might not. It's "duh" obvious that you might not win, whatever you do, but that's not relevent because you don't get points for trying, you either survive, or you die. Now, comparing a survival situation to a project, or a company, or any everyday life situation, isn't really a fair comparison. But comparing the attitude you hold can be a fair comparison. By your reply you are implying the OP is so dense they don't understand that some things can't be done. Do you honestly think that's true? You're giving zero credit to their intelligence at all. The "just do it" attitude is not supposed to be telling you that "you can do anything rah rah just will it and it will happen, laws of physics and human limits be damned". It's supposed to be telling you that hurdles are OK, you will meet them, and you can jump them, or go round them, or plough straight through them, or move them, or pay someone else to move them, or rent a car and drive through them, or burn them down, or argue the race to different track with different hurdles, or setup your own athletics federation and recruit athletes and viewers for races without hurdles, they're all fine, but doing nothing won't help, nor will giving up. If you want to solve a problem, getting points for trying won't get the problem solved. "Just get it done - you can" isn't meant as a literally true fact you have to agree with, it's a helpful attitude to hold and act on even while knowing it's not literally true.
- mathattack 15y agoAre we sure this isn't a spoof?