5 ms·

I've gotten to where I am by being honest about my shortcomings and sharing my most embarrassing stories. Unimportant people are always shocked and the quiet p

I've gotten to where I am by being honest about my shortcomings and sharing my most embarrassing stories. Unimportant people are always shocked and the quiet people that make decisions have always seemed to appreciate it... even if it made them upset at first. I believe it is the eve of being well-known that we are all our own spokespersons and that our branding and image is just as much a puff piece as a coke commercial. I do agree this falls apart when the stories involve other people, at least non-anonymous people. No one likes a snitch.

michaelochurch 14y ago
I've gotten to where I am by being honest about my shortcomings and sharing my most embarrassing stories. I live in New York. Most people expect perfect career histories, even in startups. Even minor blemishes put you out forever. It's that competitive. When I was at Google, I put together a strategy that would have saved Google+ Games (there was a G+ Games, you ask? My point exactly) and no one took it seriously because my previous startup (at which I was an engineer, not CEO) had failed. Had that startup become a success, people would have taken the suggestion seriously and Google would be worth at least tens of millions more. I'm 29 and already deal with age discrimination and the "job hopper" stigma from having made a couple bad calls and having a story that looks more like freelancing than the "company man" fantasy (which is dead, and people who still believe in it and hold "job hopping" against people should be evaluated for dementia). I also get an unbelievable amount of shit about leaving Google and, on a job interview, you can't exactly say, "Oh, their reputation as a great place to work is completely fraudulent because in 2009 they hired a bunch of transplant execs who turned the company into Enron, and now it's impossible to move to a better project." It's the truth, but I can't say it. Maybe it's magically different in the Valley. I don't live there; I don't know.
- rdouble 14y ago
  Tech companies in New York will hire anyone with a pulse.
  - michaelochurch 14y ago
    Getting hired is easy. I got hired at Google, which is supposedly uber-selective. Getting taken seriously is annoyingly difficult even with minor mistakes. Now that I'm 29 and have had 6 jobs, I really don't want to keep changing. I'll gladly bolt if I end up with an awful manager, bait-and-switch hiring, or any of the other nonsense that we put up with in this industry, but there's something to be said for a 5+ year fit. I really don't want another 6-month fling. Any idiot can get "a job"; getting the right one, one that comes with some credibility and autonomy, is important. It seems that most people, after a startup fails, end up in the shitpile applying for bullshit subordinate roles where they might get to write 5 lines of new code per day in the vain hope that one day, several years later, The Boss might throw them a bone and give them a real project. Most SV companies I've dealt with seemed not to have their act together. A couple were pretty cool, but one told me to expect 5 phone screens (I bowed out; don't have time for that shit at my age) and one required signing a full-on non-compete to take a coding test! This prima donna shit gets old.
    - Paul_D_Santana 14y ago
      Getting hired is easy? I think there are a few million unemployed Americans who would love to have a word with you.
      - michaelochurch 14y ago
        If you can program, and you're under 40, it's easy to get "a job". Getting good jobs is harder.
- digitalsushi 14y ago
  You're basing an entire alternate reality off one outcome; what about the one where your startup succeeded and ended up costing google tens of millions? Argh - I am so glad I don't live in an elitist nyc/valley area where people compete through job cannibalism. My life is simple, my home is cozy and my nights are mine. I write code in a small shop on its 11th year, my 5th. I am so glad that software is not all about life in the fastlane. I admire your life style, but I do not envy it.
  - michaelochurch 14y ago
    You're basing an entire alternate reality off one outcome; what about the one where your startup succeeded and ended up costing google tens of millions? The startup where I worked was completely unrelated to the idea that would have saved G+. I'm saying that, had that startup succeeded and had I ended up at Google around the same time, I would have had the credibility to actually roll up my sleeves, push a few idiots out of the way, and save those tens of millions of dollars. But I didn't have that credibility, at least not then, so I had to sit back and watch as enormous amounts of value were incinerated before my eyes.
    - zalew 14y ago
      I follow your comments and your skeptic bubblebursting approach is refreshing. You should write a blog or something.
      - dr_doom 14y ago
        He has a blog[1] that he's linked a couple of times. I'm just amazed by how long the entries are, I can never force myself to write that much. http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/

michaelochurch 14y ago

I've gotten to where I am by being honest about my shortcomings and sharing my most embarrassing stories. I live in New York. Most people expect perfect career histories, even in startups. Even minor blemishes put you out forever. It's that competitive. When I was at Google, I put together a strategy that would have saved Google+ Games (there was a G+ Games, you ask? My point exactly) and no one took it seriously because my previous startup (at which I was an engineer, not CEO) had failed. Had that startup become a success, people would have taken the suggestion seriously and Google would be worth at least tens of millions more. I'm 29 and already deal with age discrimination and the "job hopper" stigma from having made a couple bad calls and having a story that looks more like freelancing than the "company man" fantasy (which is dead, and people who still believe in it and hold "job hopping" against people should be evaluated for dementia). I also get an unbelievable amount of shit about leaving Google and, on a job interview, you can't exactly say, "Oh, their reputation as a great place to work is completely fraudulent because in 2009 they hired a bunch of transplant execs who turned the company into Enron, and now it's impossible to move to a better project." It's the truth, but I can't say it. Maybe it's magically different in the Valley. I don't live there; I don't know.

rdouble 14y ago
Tech companies in New York will hire anyone with a pulse.
- michaelochurch 14y ago
  Getting hired is easy. I got hired at Google, which is supposedly uber-selective. Getting taken seriously is annoyingly difficult even with minor mistakes. Now that I'm 29 and have had 6 jobs, I really don't want to keep changing. I'll gladly bolt if I end up with an awful manager, bait-and-switch hiring, or any of the other nonsense that we put up with in this industry, but there's something to be said for a 5+ year fit. I really don't want another 6-month fling. Any idiot can get "a job"; getting the right one, one that comes with some credibility and autonomy, is important. It seems that most people, after a startup fails, end up in the shitpile applying for bullshit subordinate roles where they might get to write 5 lines of new code per day in the vain hope that one day, several years later, The Boss might throw them a bone and give them a real project. Most SV companies I've dealt with seemed not to have their act together. A couple were pretty cool, but one told me to expect 5 phone screens (I bowed out; don't have time for that shit at my age) and one required signing a full-on non-compete to take a coding test! This prima donna shit gets old.
  - Paul_D_Santana 14y ago
    Getting hired is easy? I think there are a few million unemployed Americans who would love to have a word with you.
    - michaelochurch 14y ago
      If you can program, and you're under 40, it's easy to get "a job". Getting good jobs is harder.
digitalsushi 14y ago
You're basing an entire alternate reality off one outcome; what about the one where your startup succeeded and ended up costing google tens of millions? Argh - I am so glad I don't live in an elitist nyc/valley area where people compete through job cannibalism. My life is simple, my home is cozy and my nights are mine. I write code in a small shop on its 11th year, my 5th. I am so glad that software is not all about life in the fastlane. I admire your life style, but I do not envy it.
- michaelochurch 14y ago
  You're basing an entire alternate reality off one outcome; what about the one where your startup succeeded and ended up costing google tens of millions? The startup where I worked was completely unrelated to the idea that would have saved G+. I'm saying that, had that startup succeeded and had I ended up at Google around the same time, I would have had the credibility to actually roll up my sleeves, push a few idiots out of the way, and save those tens of millions of dollars. But I didn't have that credibility, at least not then, so I had to sit back and watch as enormous amounts of value were incinerated before my eyes.
  - zalew 14y ago
    I follow your comments and your skeptic bubblebursting approach is refreshing. You should write a blog or something.
    - dr_doom 14y ago
      He has a blog[1] that he's linked a couple of times. I'm just amazed by how long the entries are, I can never force myself to write that much. http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/