I am uncomfortable with the advice being doled out here. In all cases mentioned, the "brilliant jerks" were clearly invaluable to the venture. In both cases t

I am uncomfortable with the advice being doled out here. In all cases mentioned, the "brilliant jerks" were clearly invaluable to the venture. In both cases they would literally not have gotten past the early startup stage without them. However, once they become inconvenient to manage, the "only" solution was too fire them. Not only does this strike me as a mismanagement of talent, but it is almost bordering on the unethical. While I do not claim to know the specifics involved, some of the anecdotes gave me pause : >> And the Brilliant Jerk speaks the truth. But I have also seen him stick his head in the door and deflate an entire management team. A growth company needs enablers, not disablers. A growth company also needs sensible advice, and sensible advice should not be confused with being a "disabler". Too often I have seen rational advice get dismissed because reality isn't compatible with someone's bold new plan. Not knowing the specifics here, it's not too hard to imagine a scenario in which a "management" team gets carried away with lofty and unrealistic goals only to be "deflated" by someone with actual technical insight.