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Also ex-Shopify. Tobi has done this a couple times, and IMO it comes from a place of narcissism. It's applied very arbitrarily across the entire org at random t
by canucklady 4y ago
Also ex-Shopify. Tobi has done this a couple times, and IMO it comes from a place of narcissism. It's applied very arbitrarily across the entire org at random times. It very much feels like he wants to do something big and visionary instead of the boring day-to-day of actually managing like an adult, so he just throws bombs that generate headlines.
Even for devs who didn't have a lot of external meetings it was a pain because the executive leadership is basically just undercutting the authtority of managers. When I was there Shopify's middle management was extremely ineffectual because devs basically had free reign and executives didn't put any effort into top-down management, they just focused on "vision" (like joining the doomed Facebook crypto project, or hiring interns based on their esports experience)
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- JeremyBanks 4y ago[dead]
- lvl102 4y agoDoes Tobi even work these days? Sometimes I think he prioritizes playing video games over running a multibillion dollar company. It’s frustrating because Shopify could have been much bigger as a result of the pandemic if they had someone with a bit more ambition.
- frakkingcylons 4y agoPaging @xal /s
- agd 4y agoThis seems odd to me, given that he looks (from the outside at least) to be one of the most ambitious CEO's around. E.g. Building a fulfilment network to compete with Amazon.
- JeremyBanks 4y agoFrom the inside, he has an ego like Elon and focus like Dorsey. Several of his executives are very good at managing him, but he lives in and broadcasts from a white void detached from reality.
- thecoppinger 4y agoCan I ask what your source for this is? Perhaps you're an ex-employee? I never worked under Tobi directly (or even close), but I was almost always thoroughly impressed with his communication and direction. I think I have a totally different take than the one you stated. The only axis I could see Elon & Tobi both sitting on is being members of the tres comas club.
- canucklady 4y agoExternally he has a personal writer whose whole job it is to make him seem smart. He's the darling of the Canadian tech industry, which badly needed a win since the implosion of Nortel, so he has a ton of advantages. In SV he would be a mediocre wannabe founder but in Ottawa he's hot shit.
- thecoppinger 4y agoThat seems disingenuous at best—the man helped create Ruby on Rails & founded a mutli-billion dollar tech startup that has been wildly successful. Is there really any ground to question his intelligence, or rather, whether or not he's smart?
- ghostbrainalpha 4y agoTobi is cool as fuck. Your experience reminds me of the saying, sometimes "the best people to work WITH are the worst people to work FOR".
- ourmandave 4y agoThis reminds me of SNL's Undercover Boss Starkiller Base ~ Kylo Ren https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaOSCASqLsE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaOSCASqLsE Kylo Ren as Matt: "He said Kylo Ren has an 8-pack. That Kylo Ren is shredded."
- yowlingcat 4y agoAre you saying this based on speculation, or based on having worked with or for him at Shopify?
- acomms 4y agoNot OP, but I worked for Tobi when I was at Shopify. He is indeed cool as fuck.
- ilrwbwrkhv 4y ago[flagged]
- granshaw 4y agoOoof I sense a juicy backstory here
- rr888 4y agoNot really, I come from a similar country. If you’re ambitious – move to the US or UK, if you want balanced lifestyle – stay and don’t work too hard.
- KRAKRISMOTT 4y agoAussie?
- croes 4y agoSo classic german-canadian spirit: I will do it perfectly ... tomorrow.
- yoru-sulfur 4y agoTobi still actively works on project within Shopify. I've worked on projects within the last year that had (pretty heavy) direct involvement from Tobi.
- idontpost 4y ago[dead]
- a4isms 4y ago"Free rein," it's an equestrian term. https://writingexplained.org/free-rein-or-free-reign-difference https://writingexplained.org/free-rein-or-free-reign-differe...
- gernb 4y agoI'm sure there are other solutions but in my building tons of meeting rooms go empty because they've been booked for endless reoccurring meetings that no longer reoccure. The solution was to clear all of the reservations and say to rebook if you still have meetings
- tomhallett 4y agoWas that solution "cancel meetings" or "clear all physical room reservations from meetings, but leave the meetings alone"? Sounds like there's a slight difference there.
- zyang 4y agoIf you are a self-made billionaire you should be allowed to be a little narcissistic. But seriously this is more like a sign of panic. This quarterly numbers is going to be bad.
- cyanydeez 4y agoNo one in a modern democratic society is self made
- acjohnson55 4y agoNo, I don't think you should be allowed to be narcissistic if you are a self-made billionaire, whatever "self-made" means.
- hungryforcodes 4y agoOk, so replace him.