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So what he's saying here is, "surround yourself with people smarter than you." This is good advice. Whenever you feel like you're not being challenged any more

by dlevine 17y ago

So what he's saying here is, "surround yourself with people smarter than you." This is good advice. Whenever you feel like you're not being challenged any more, it's time to move on.

tokenadult 17y ago
So what he's saying here is, "surround yourself with people smarter than you." That's why I spend time on HN. Lots of people here know a lot more than I do about a lot of different subjects.
lutorm 17y ago
I read a book called "My Job Went to India" (it's a tongue-in-cheek tutorial of how to stay competitive in the computer industry) and one of the advice was: Always be the worst on your team. The idea is, of course, not to suck but to put yourself on a team with people that are more awesome than you, because that's how you grow. People usually do a double-take when I quote this, though. :-)
- gms 17y ago
  Easier said than done no? Outside of school, where do you find people willing to work with someone worse than them?
  - lutorm 17y ago
    On every team, everyone except one is worse than someone else. On every team, someone is the worst. People work with those worse than them all the time, as those more experienced share their acquired wisdom with the less experienced ones. (Not to mention that you don't have to be the worst at everything. Ideally the places are switched in other realms of expertise.) For you personally, it means reaching outside of your comfort zone and doing something you're not sure you can do.
    - kragen 17y ago
      You're unwarrantedly assuming a total order on team member qualities, even though in your fourth sentence you point out that in a vector model of skills that assumption is invalid. It's not the only one.
  - zkz 17y ago
    The smart people always need other less smart people to do the things they don't want to do. There is always space for a worst of the team.
    - gms 17y ago
      That is what I thought. But not how it is playing out when applying for jobs that put me as the worst one (from my perspective anyway). Perhaps other factors are at play.
    - billswift 17y ago
      Especially if you are willing to work hard.

by dlevine 17y ago

So what he's saying here is, "surround yourself with people smarter than you." This is good advice. Whenever you feel like you're not being challenged any more, it's time to move on.

tokenadult 17y ago

So what he's saying here is, "surround yourself with people smarter than you." That's why I spend time on HN. Lots of people here know a lot more than I do about a lot of different subjects.

lutorm 17y ago

I read a book called "My Job Went to India" (it's a tongue-in-cheek tutorial of how to stay competitive in the computer industry) and one of the advice was: Always be the worst on your team. The idea is, of course, not to suck but to put yourself on a team with people that are more awesome than you, because that's how you grow. People usually do a double-take when I quote this, though. :-)

gms 17y ago
Easier said than done no? Outside of school, where do you find people willing to work with someone worse than them?
- lutorm 17y ago
  On every team, everyone except one is worse than someone else. On every team, someone is the worst. People work with those worse than them all the time, as those more experienced share their acquired wisdom with the less experienced ones. (Not to mention that you don't have to be the worst at everything. Ideally the places are switched in other realms of expertise.) For you personally, it means reaching outside of your comfort zone and doing something you're not sure you can do.
  - kragen 17y ago
    You're unwarrantedly assuming a total order on team member qualities, even though in your fourth sentence you point out that in a vector model of skills that assumption is invalid. It's not the only one.
- zkz 17y ago
  The smart people always need other less smart people to do the things they don't want to do. There is always space for a worst of the team.
  - gms 17y ago
    That is what I thought. But not how it is playing out when applying for jobs that put me as the worst one (from my perspective anyway). Perhaps other factors are at play.
  - billswift 17y ago
    Especially if you are willing to work hard.