6 ms·

I know NOTHING about Dickinson other than this article and the linked articles, but something that really bothers me about tech is how people like him are able

I know NOTHING about Dickinson other than this article and the linked articles, but something that really bothers me about tech is how people like him are able to even become CTO/CEO/CXO at all, let alone continue to get jobs at that level! I've worked with my share of C level folk who are borderline sociopathic and have the wonderful combination of NOT being successful at that level either. It astounds me that people can basically continue to con their way around companies at the upper levels. /rant

Nate75Sanders 13y ago
Most devs I've met will just endlessly put up with this shit. They'll also put up with: - long hours - far less than optimal physical workspaces - being left in the dark about what's going on in the company from a business perspective - all kinds of other crap We need more devs who will speak up or at least who will support the ones who do speak up. In far too many workplaces, it's still high school. Management is sometimes just a great way not to have to be accountable. Pre-empt: Obviously there are great managers. I'm not talking about them.
- fingerprinter 13y ago
  I also wonder about the VCs or boards that hire them! I get the sense that they generally don't care if someone is a complete asshole so long as he gets results. But I am confounded when someone is a complete asshole and they don't get results. How does that person keep getting these jobs? :/
  - Nate75Sanders 13y ago
    Network of rich/influential buddies. Coming up with excuses/assigning blame somewhere other than himself. Taking credit for other people's successes.
  - theorique 13y ago
    I don't know what this guy's like in real life, but if he acts relatively normal in a job interview, why would his social media habits come up? In all my job interviews, no one has ever asked me whether I tweet out racist and sexist comments (spoiler: I don't).
    - fingerprinter 13y ago
      This is two days old now, so not sure you'll see it. One should always expect that their internet information where their real name is listed will be seen. Most places are doing some sort of internet search for the person to see what public information, both good and bad, they can glean. This is the way of the world these days.
      - theorique 13y ago
        Agreed. Depends on the policy of the company, of course, but the first thing I would do when I get a resume of a person for interviewing is to google their name. Do they have LinkedIn, github, Facebook, a personal web site? There's good, neutral, and bad. - good: OS contributions, intelligent blog on topic - neutral: random hobbies, completely blank web presence - bad: photos with illegal drugs, hostile blog, drive-by vicious blog comments, etc
- rjknight 13y ago
  Most people will leave rather than 'pick a fight' over something, taking the 'exit' rather than exercising 'voice'[1]. Looked at a certain way, this is one of the good things about the good economy for tech workers, in that we can at least leave bad situations, but it's probably not so good for those who can't. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty
  - Nate75Sanders 13y ago
    Lots of them seriously won't leave, though. The tech market is incredible in Seattle (where I live) right now and I know plenty of smart devs who put up with bullshit all the time.
- babs474 13y ago
  We need devs who will not only speak up but who can communicate I spent a few years dealing with the asshole charlatan CTO, who I shit you not, was "discovered" while working at computer renaissance. The major differentiator between him and the lead dev who never got his way, was that the CTO could calmly and credibly state his case. Even if that case was as ridiculous as "we need to rewrite all our systems to use UDP, TCP is making everything slow". When confronted with these kind of theories the lead dev would easily be goaded into hissy fits, that made him sound like an egotistical baby. Everyone on this forum knows that blaming TCP for system slowness is total misdirecting bullshit. But the CEO doesn't know that, and if you present your case without savvy social skills you will lose every time. This lead dev proved it for several years. It sucks, but it is life. Interestingly I happened upon this telling quote that I later learned through informal channels was attributed to the CEO "I have 25 code writers that are absolute 'Rain Men', but I gotta have ONE 'Rain Man' with social skills to run the place." In the context of that quote, some things that happened during my time at the startup make a lot more sense.
  - Nate75Sanders 13y ago
    For sure. I've worked with plenty of developers who sound like 5-year-olds when they don't get their way. They can't control their speech, facial expressions, anger, etc. Pretty important stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
anon808 13y ago
folks tend to self-select, great indicator about what values the people running/owning the company have that made the hire.

Nate75Sanders 13y ago

Most devs I've met will just endlessly put up with this shit. They'll also put up with: - long hours - far less than optimal physical workspaces - being left in the dark about what's going on in the company from a business perspective - all kinds of other crap We need more devs who will speak up or at least who will support the ones who do speak up. In far too many workplaces, it's still high school. Management is sometimes just a great way not to have to be accountable. Pre-empt: Obviously there are great managers. I'm not talking about them.

fingerprinter 13y ago
I also wonder about the VCs or boards that hire them! I get the sense that they generally don't care if someone is a complete asshole so long as he gets results. But I am confounded when someone is a complete asshole and they don't get results. How does that person keep getting these jobs? :/
- Nate75Sanders 13y ago
  Network of rich/influential buddies. Coming up with excuses/assigning blame somewhere other than himself. Taking credit for other people's successes.
- theorique 13y ago
  I don't know what this guy's like in real life, but if he acts relatively normal in a job interview, why would his social media habits come up? In all my job interviews, no one has ever asked me whether I tweet out racist and sexist comments (spoiler: I don't).
  - fingerprinter 13y ago
    This is two days old now, so not sure you'll see it. One should always expect that their internet information where their real name is listed will be seen. Most places are doing some sort of internet search for the person to see what public information, both good and bad, they can glean. This is the way of the world these days.
    - theorique 13y ago
      Agreed. Depends on the policy of the company, of course, but the first thing I would do when I get a resume of a person for interviewing is to google their name. Do they have LinkedIn, github, Facebook, a personal web site? There's good, neutral, and bad. - good: OS contributions, intelligent blog on topic - neutral: random hobbies, completely blank web presence - bad: photos with illegal drugs, hostile blog, drive-by vicious blog comments, etc
rjknight 13y ago
Most people will leave rather than 'pick a fight' over something, taking the 'exit' rather than exercising 'voice'[1]. Looked at a certain way, this is one of the good things about the good economy for tech workers, in that we can at least leave bad situations, but it's probably not so good for those who can't. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty
- Nate75Sanders 13y ago
  Lots of them seriously won't leave, though. The tech market is incredible in Seattle (where I live) right now and I know plenty of smart devs who put up with bullshit all the time.
babs474 13y ago
We need devs who will not only speak up but who can communicate I spent a few years dealing with the asshole charlatan CTO, who I shit you not, was "discovered" while working at computer renaissance. The major differentiator between him and the lead dev who never got his way, was that the CTO could calmly and credibly state his case. Even if that case was as ridiculous as "we need to rewrite all our systems to use UDP, TCP is making everything slow". When confronted with these kind of theories the lead dev would easily be goaded into hissy fits, that made him sound like an egotistical baby. Everyone on this forum knows that blaming TCP for system slowness is total misdirecting bullshit. But the CEO doesn't know that, and if you present your case without savvy social skills you will lose every time. This lead dev proved it for several years. It sucks, but it is life. Interestingly I happened upon this telling quote that I later learned through informal channels was attributed to the CEO "I have 25 code writers that are absolute 'Rain Men', but I gotta have ONE 'Rain Man' with social skills to run the place." In the context of that quote, some things that happened during my time at the startup make a lot more sense.
- Nate75Sanders 13y ago
  For sure. I've worked with plenty of developers who sound like 5-year-olds when they don't get their way. They can't control their speech, facial expressions, anger, etc. Pretty important stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

anon808 13y ago

folks tend to self-select, great indicator about what values the people running/owning the company have that made the hire.