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I feel like you missed the grand theme of the piece: "How to keep the lights on at your startup, by doing whatever it takes" There's a whole ethics discussion
by nikanj 4y ago
I feel like you missed the grand theme of the piece: "How to keep the lights on at your startup, by doing whatever it takes"
There's a whole ethics discussion to be had here (is it better to fire 40% and save 60%, or end up closing shop and 100% losing their jobs), but "taking advantage of the misery of others and hiring desperate workers" just sounds like you're not understanding how damn hard it is to be in the CEO seat.
- neilv 4y agoThe grand theme of the piece could be about keeping the lights on, and it could be about moral abdication, to be ruthless and a little underhanded, because the McKinsey guy told the CEO it was OK.
- cyrilgrislain 4y agoAnd how damn hard it is for CEOs to have to do layoffs. Especially more in rather small companies, where you do know very well the people you are taking the job away from. Zuck for ex certainly didn't hire himself, know the kids of, etc the thousands he laid off. And still, your duty as CEO, starting with your duty to your teammates, is to maximize the chances that most people keep their job. The best way to do that is to build a healthy and enduring business & economics. At least as long as people still want to be paid with $$. And this is no bad joke: the pioneers of any industry, like were those joining tech startups in the 70s, were in it for the cause, the dream, the revenge, etc. Today this is not the case anymore: tech is a 'job' for most. Which is absolutely fine. A victory actually: it means tech has become a 'normal' industry. Unfortunately, the recent cycle was not about 'health'. so as in all excesses, the body needs to rebalance.