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I've written a lot about this in my blog series on the Gervais Principle (21 posts, and 0.8 being worked on). First, you have the MacLeod hierarchy: "Soci
by michaelochurch 14y ago
I've written a lot about this in my blog series on the Gervais Principle (21 posts, and 0.8 being worked on).
First, you have the MacLeod hierarchy:
"Sociopaths" (upper management): strategic + dedicated + NOT subordinate
"Clueless" (middle management): dedicated + subordinate + NOT strategic
"Losers" (workers): strategic + subordinate + NOT dedicated
MacLeod Sociopaths aren't all bad people, and Losers are not losers in the sense of being undesirable or unpopular people (in fact, it's often the opposite) but because low-end employment is a losing deal.
Someone who has all 3 is a Protege, but that's rare and conditional. If you don't invest in someone's career, a strategic person will never be subordinate and dedicated both. He'll either optimize for comfort (Loser route) or personal yield/glory (Sociopath route).
Work cultures tend to be defined based on what they value most.
Subordinacy uber alles: Rank culture (typical corp. environment)
Dedication uber alles: Tough culture (e.g. Enron, Microsoft's stack-ranking)
Strategy uber alles: Self-executive culture (e.g. Valve)
Balance of the 3: Guild culture (rare, not seen in startups)
VC-funded startups tend to be all-Clueless. The Sociopaths are VCs and executive implants who aren't really part of the company. Startups can't stand to have Losers, since they tend to require explicit management and the rules are too ill-defined at that point. So they often end up with the tough culture, which is the opposite of how startups wish to market themselves.
In rank culture, all you need to do to remain employable is get along with your manager; but in tough culture, there's an unwritten rule that everyone must be 100% dedicated to work. Total submission of effort replaces subordination. It's not actually that way-- people aren't actually willing to work 80+ hours without personal benefit-- but people who flagrantly break the rules get shown out.