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It's important to remember that the CEO/founder role is where the buck stops. You're ultimately responsible for every mistake and fixing it. He's right that it'

It's important to remember that the CEO/founder role is where the buck stops. You're ultimately responsible for every mistake and fixing it. He's right that it's not glamorous. I think that if you're a sole founder you figure this out pretty quickly though. And as a rule of thumb: Always ignore Silicon Valley hype. By the way: writing words in ALL CAPS, italicizing lots of things, and saying 'fucking' a lot made it painful to read that blog entry.

zbruhnke 14y ago
Thanks for the feedback. I typically italicize and bold things in an effort to break up the black/white monotony of my site but I'll keep the advice in mind and maybe go back and make some edits. As for the 'fucking' I agree, it was actually pretty hard to write too. I grew up in a middle class family in the South most of whom would be appalled by the way this post was written(the language) but I thought it put some fire to the post, and the title as well.
- Zimahl 14y ago
  I wasn't sure why the 'F' was capitalized, that choice made both occurrences very odd with or without the bold/italic artistic license. I would assume someone with the title of 'Fucking Janitor' would be in a very different line of work than what tends to be talked about on HN.
  - kbronson 14y ago
    I also though the Fucking Janitor was some kind of special job, like a personal coach, a do-not-fuck-in-the-peeroom guard or shit. You know, because of the cap letter. But it's just another case of cussing, how disappointing.
- orthecreedence 14y ago
  Don't change it. People on here have weak stomachs. I like a bit of strong writing once in a while, especially after having to sift through all the "I'm a CEO too lol" garbage that makes it to the front page. It's not out of place here. I completely share your view on this one. I'm not a CEO (CTO, heh) but leaders do what it takes. While ego can have its place in business, being the CEO of a shitty little startup is nothing to brag about. Once you're making millions a year in profit, then I think you're allowed to let it get to your head (although the best ones don't). I think the best leaders in the world recognize that being a leader is just another job. It doesn't make you better than anybody else, and it's not an excuse to look down on people, whether they're willing to learn from you or not.
- dllthomas 14y ago
  I actually appreciate the breaking up of monotony with italics/bold when done well. You didn't do it poorly, but it could probably be toned down a bit.
- unimpressive 14y ago
  The 'fucking' in the title is most of the reason I read and upvoted it.* It's a reality check, such things are never polite. And I got tired of seeing the "I'm CEO, Bitch." style posts just as much as you did. *(In this context of course. Swearing in the title isn't enough to get me to click; but that message sure as heck is.)
- nollidge 14y ago
  Wouldn't worry about the F-bombs, but IMO italics, bold, and the like should be used quite sparingly, and typically only italics should be used for emphasis purposes (there's a reason the <em> tag typically renders as italics). I think typography should be visually monotonous so that it's not distracting.
- koide 14y ago
  You should certainly increase font size though, that might make the italic/bold thing less necessary
- dmlorenzetti 14y ago
  My reaction to your use of "fucking" wasn't that it appalled me in some moralistic or linguistic sense. Rather, I felt like it (partially) undermined the point of your post. The post is about how being CEO isn't all glamor, and includes doing dirty work as well. And you make clear that you feel the janitor, unlike a figurehead who merely signs documents, contributes something useful and necessary to the enterprise. Unfortunately, denigrating the janitor by tagging the role as "fucking" just buys into the CEO-as-glamorous-leader mindset that the post argues against. It transforms the title from a correction ("You think you are the CEO, but in reality you are in charge of the dirty work") into a put-down ("You think you are the CEO, but in reality you are the lowest of the low.") Yes, it sounds stronger-- but, in my mind, it shades your meaning in ways you probably don't intend.
  - batgaijin 14y ago
    The fuck. What is up with this opinion? Fuck means sex. Why do we call these words obscene? Do you honestly think those words entered daily use? "Grab the fucking milk" said without any emotional meaning. People would actually reason more. It's a prohibition on words, that makes them mean more artificially while contributing no logic to the discussion. How dare ye try to elate an emotion in me! How dare ye! Edit:I'm an idiot and wrote an argument to something you didn't say, but I'll leave it here cause it took me 5 minutes to write on the phone keyboard.
    - unimpressive 14y ago
      > Edit:I'm an idiot and wrote an argument to something you didn't say, but I'll leave it here cause it took me 5 minutes to write on the phone keyboard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_th... EDIT: In other words, it's even more idiotic to leave it here after you've determined it was a mu post.
      - batgaijin 14y ago
        Hey I'm happy to live in a world of honest assholes.
johnnyjustice 14y ago
So can we start a discussion on the use of those "no, no" type things. Is there any time they are worth using? (By the way, i really liked the title, I think this idea applies a lot of places outside of just CEOs)
gedrap 14y ago
I don't mind seeing The F Word from time to time in blog posts. It just expresses the frustration. It adds some kind of personal touch. Adds some... Naturalism? Obviously, using 'fuck' in every post (or especially post title) would not be appropriate or if you are some kind of role model/super-star who's posts are quoted in the press and etc. Oh well maybe the fact that English is not my native language changes something.
moron 14y ago
It's not so much that I disagree with it, as I just get tired of seeing it brought up every single time a blog post has a swear word in it.

zbruhnke 14y ago

Thanks for the feedback. I typically italicize and bold things in an effort to break up the black/white monotony of my site but I'll keep the advice in mind and maybe go back and make some edits. As for the 'fucking' I agree, it was actually pretty hard to write too. I grew up in a middle class family in the South most of whom would be appalled by the way this post was written(the language) but I thought it put some fire to the post, and the title as well.

Zimahl 14y ago
I wasn't sure why the 'F' was capitalized, that choice made both occurrences very odd with or without the bold/italic artistic license. I would assume someone with the title of 'Fucking Janitor' would be in a very different line of work than what tends to be talked about on HN.
- kbronson 14y ago
  I also though the Fucking Janitor was some kind of special job, like a personal coach, a do-not-fuck-in-the-peeroom guard or shit. You know, because of the cap letter. But it's just another case of cussing, how disappointing.
orthecreedence 14y ago
Don't change it. People on here have weak stomachs. I like a bit of strong writing once in a while, especially after having to sift through all the "I'm a CEO too lol" garbage that makes it to the front page. It's not out of place here. I completely share your view on this one. I'm not a CEO (CTO, heh) but leaders do what it takes. While ego can have its place in business, being the CEO of a shitty little startup is nothing to brag about. Once you're making millions a year in profit, then I think you're allowed to let it get to your head (although the best ones don't). I think the best leaders in the world recognize that being a leader is just another job. It doesn't make you better than anybody else, and it's not an excuse to look down on people, whether they're willing to learn from you or not.
dllthomas 14y ago
I actually appreciate the breaking up of monotony with italics/bold when done well. You didn't do it poorly, but it could probably be toned down a bit.
unimpressive 14y ago
The 'fucking' in the title is most of the reason I read and upvoted it.* It's a reality check, such things are never polite. And I got tired of seeing the "I'm CEO, Bitch." style posts just as much as you did. *(In this context of course. Swearing in the title isn't enough to get me to click; but that message sure as heck is.)
nollidge 14y ago
Wouldn't worry about the F-bombs, but IMO italics, bold, and the like should be used quite sparingly, and typically only italics should be used for emphasis purposes (there's a reason the <em> tag typically renders as italics). I think typography should be visually monotonous so that it's not distracting.
koide 14y ago
You should certainly increase font size though, that might make the italic/bold thing less necessary
dmlorenzetti 14y ago
My reaction to your use of "fucking" wasn't that it appalled me in some moralistic or linguistic sense. Rather, I felt like it (partially) undermined the point of your post. The post is about how being CEO isn't all glamor, and includes doing dirty work as well. And you make clear that you feel the janitor, unlike a figurehead who merely signs documents, contributes something useful and necessary to the enterprise. Unfortunately, denigrating the janitor by tagging the role as "fucking" just buys into the CEO-as-glamorous-leader mindset that the post argues against. It transforms the title from a correction ("You think you are the CEO, but in reality you are in charge of the dirty work") into a put-down ("You think you are the CEO, but in reality you are the lowest of the low.") Yes, it sounds stronger-- but, in my mind, it shades your meaning in ways you probably don't intend.
- batgaijin 14y ago
  The fuck. What is up with this opinion? Fuck means sex. Why do we call these words obscene? Do you honestly think those words entered daily use? "Grab the fucking milk" said without any emotional meaning. People would actually reason more. It's a prohibition on words, that makes them mean more artificially while contributing no logic to the discussion. How dare ye try to elate an emotion in me! How dare ye! Edit:I'm an idiot and wrote an argument to something you didn't say, but I'll leave it here cause it took me 5 minutes to write on the phone keyboard.
  - unimpressive 14y ago
    > Edit:I'm an idiot and wrote an argument to something you didn't say, but I'll leave it here cause it took me 5 minutes to write on the phone keyboard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_th... EDIT: In other words, it's even more idiotic to leave it here after you've determined it was a mu post.
    - batgaijin 14y ago
      Hey I'm happy to live in a world of honest assholes.

johnnyjustice 14y ago

So can we start a discussion on the use of those "no, no" type things. Is there any time they are worth using? (By the way, i really liked the title, I think this idea applies a lot of places outside of just CEOs)

gedrap 14y ago

I don't mind seeing The F Word from time to time in blog posts. It just expresses the frustration. It adds some kind of personal touch. Adds some... Naturalism? Obviously, using 'fuck' in every post (or especially post title) would not be appropriate or if you are some kind of role model/super-star who's posts are quoted in the press and etc. Oh well maybe the fact that English is not my native language changes something.

moron 14y ago

It's not so much that I disagree with it, as I just get tired of seeing it brought up every single time a blog post has a swear word in it.