4 ms·

I'm a CTO, and this is one of my cardinal rules: no assholes. We hire by it, and we fire by it. I took me a while to become such a firm believer, but here's wha

I'm a CTO, and this is one of my cardinal rules: no assholes. We hire by it, and we fire by it. I took me a while to become such a firm believer, but here's what I've learned: 1. The true, genius level assholes are very few and far between. If you do find one, isolate them from your broader team, and ideally put them on contract. They are going to build you a great organization. The corollary of this: if you're an asshole, you likely aren't a genius. So stop acting like one. 2. Most assholes don't actually create anything great, they just look like they do. Strong opinions and blistering personalities tend to hide a crappy work product. 3. You'll learn there are enough nice people out there that you don't need to settle for crappy behavior. It can take time to find capable, nice people, but it's worth the effort. Finally: there are naturally asshole people, and then there are people who have been around so much institutionalized asshole-ism they just look like assholes. Learning the difference is critical. (Edit, formatting)

Bluestein 2y ago
I hope you do not mind if I print this and post nail it to a wall. Several walls. All over the place.-
ryandvm 2y ago
Agreed. Assholes are bad for organizations, but sadly, it's a pretty effective strategy for the asshole. Over the years, I've observed that you basically need 2 out of the following 3 things to be successful in this world: * Luck * Skill * Propensity for violating social norms (be an asshole, be corrupt, etc.) I call it the "Asshole Razor".
wakawaka28 2y ago
Genius assholes are rare but so are geniuses. I think the odds of a genius being an asshole are higher than a below-average person being an asshole. I also think asshole behavior is a subjective label in many cases. If your culture is not compatible with someone else's, they might be averse to you for no reason and assume you're an asshole, and then any minor encounter can turn into a dispute. Other people are so used to conformity that if you disagree with them, they'll shun you or else shout you down.
- Bluestein 2y ago
  > I think the odds of a genius being an asshole are higher than a below-average person being an asshole. Agreed.-
- wiremine 2y ago
  > I also think asshole behavior is a subjective label in many cases. It is absolutely subjective, but I think the advice still applies: "No assholes" means no assholes, regardless of your definition. That said, I also see a lot of assholes hide behind this reasoning. "I'm not a jerk, your culture is just weak." In my experience, 9 times out of 10, they really are just a jerk.
  - Bluestein 2y ago
    (The whole concept of "weak" - vs. ostensibly, "strong" cultures is one dangerous proposition, itself ...)
    - wakawaka28 2y ago
      I know where you're going with that but some cultures really are better in some ways. I don't think cultures that overly promote conformity and are "strong" for example. Nor are ones that tolerate too much corruption or dysfunctional behavior. Neither are ones that have no sense of self-preservation and allow infinite outside influence.
  - wakawaka28 2y ago
    I'm not even just talking about people who are way outside the norm when it comes to behavior, like the "I'm just blunt/honest" or contrarian type. Some people legitimately rub each other the wrong way, or else can't be read easily. They have different senses of humor and cultural backgrounds. When people start off with a bias or misunderstanding, it's easier to get frustrated and think the other person is an asshole. Here's an example. I literally had to sit through a HR training video where some people were pissing and moaning about a guy using sports metaphors they didn't understand. Instead of pissing and moaning about it, you know they could just educate themselves about that tiny bit of someone else's life. I'm sure that the guy would love to explain it to them, and enough people needing an explanation would make him reconsider his metaphors. There are times when the metaphors people use may be inappropriate, but is a basic sports metaphor in the US really so unacceptable? The choice of actors in that video also paints a troubling picture about whose culture is welcome or not.

Bluestein 2y ago

I hope you do not mind if I print this and post nail it to a wall. Several walls. All over the place.-

ryandvm 2y ago

Agreed. Assholes are bad for organizations, but sadly, it's a pretty effective strategy for the asshole. Over the years, I've observed that you basically need 2 out of the following 3 things to be successful in this world: * Luck * Skill * Propensity for violating social norms (be an asshole, be corrupt, etc.) I call it the "Asshole Razor".

wakawaka28 2y ago

Genius assholes are rare but so are geniuses. I think the odds of a genius being an asshole are higher than a below-average person being an asshole. I also think asshole behavior is a subjective label in many cases. If your culture is not compatible with someone else's, they might be averse to you for no reason and assume you're an asshole, and then any minor encounter can turn into a dispute. Other people are so used to conformity that if you disagree with them, they'll shun you or else shout you down.

Bluestein 2y ago
> I think the odds of a genius being an asshole are higher than a below-average person being an asshole. Agreed.-
wiremine 2y ago
> I also think asshole behavior is a subjective label in many cases. It is absolutely subjective, but I think the advice still applies: "No assholes" means no assholes, regardless of your definition. That said, I also see a lot of assholes hide behind this reasoning. "I'm not a jerk, your culture is just weak." In my experience, 9 times out of 10, they really are just a jerk.
- Bluestein 2y ago
  (The whole concept of "weak" - vs. ostensibly, "strong" cultures is one dangerous proposition, itself ...)
  - wakawaka28 2y ago
    I know where you're going with that but some cultures really are better in some ways. I don't think cultures that overly promote conformity and are "strong" for example. Nor are ones that tolerate too much corruption or dysfunctional behavior. Neither are ones that have no sense of self-preservation and allow infinite outside influence.
- wakawaka28 2y ago
  I'm not even just talking about people who are way outside the norm when it comes to behavior, like the "I'm just blunt/honest" or contrarian type. Some people legitimately rub each other the wrong way, or else can't be read easily. They have different senses of humor and cultural backgrounds. When people start off with a bias or misunderstanding, it's easier to get frustrated and think the other person is an asshole. Here's an example. I literally had to sit through a HR training video where some people were pissing and moaning about a guy using sports metaphors they didn't understand. Instead of pissing and moaning about it, you know they could just educate themselves about that tiny bit of someone else's life. I'm sure that the guy would love to explain it to them, and enough people needing an explanation would make him reconsider his metaphors. There are times when the metaphors people use may be inappropriate, but is a basic sports metaphor in the US really so unacceptable? The choice of actors in that video also paints a troubling picture about whose culture is welcome or not.