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How can you folks say there's no brogrammer culture in silicon valley when I hear talk about "culture fit" all the time on HN? Some founders admit to excluding

How can you folks say there's no brogrammer culture in silicon valley when I hear talk about "culture fit" all the time on HN? Some founders admit to excluding applicants because they wouldn't fit in to the workplace culture. Which implies these founders hire people who are like themselves. When people talk about brogrammers, this is what they're talking about.

clavalle 13y ago
'Culture' is too flexible a word to be useful. It carries with it connotations that muddy issues. It should be retired as a useful way to describe any group of people smaller than a few dozen thousand. 'Culture fit' means sharing a common approach to problem solving. It means people are not there to just occupy a seat and collect a salary but to have an impact on the company they work for and, by extension, the world at large. It means having a consuming curiosity that drives them to learn. It means not being afraid of change and upheaval but a tendency to embrace it. It means treating other with kindness even when it is hard. Or jump into solving problems without fear. Those kinds of things. It is easy to get saddled with a cube dweller who has no interest in pushing things but enjoys the status quo and collecting a check. That is poison. That is what people mean by 'cultural fit' not whether they like to play ultimate frisbee or like the Beatles or afternoon drinking. So, instead of 'cultural fit' I'd say 'aligned with the company's approach'. As soon as you attach 'culture' to anything it evokes some sort of impenetrable collective-mind behemoth that takes on different attributes based on who is thinking or talking about it. It is a waste of time.
gruseom 13y ago
The word "culture" doesn't mean the same thing in "bro culture" vs. "culture fit". To me, "culture fit" is another way of saying "chemistry". It means that people work well together, and is what you want if you are forming a band, say, or any other creative endeavour.
- timr 13y ago
  The problem with that, of course, is that "chemistry" is just another way of saying "people I'm comfortable around", which is a socially acceptable way of discriminating against people who don't make you comfortable -- usually defined as "people who are different than you". And so it goes.
  - gruseom 13y ago
    One hears that argument, but I think it's shallow. People aren't cogs—some work better together than others. It isn't just about who you're comfortable around. Lou Reed and John Cale, for example, were not comfortable around each other. That's why I said "work well together": the work is what matters, not comfort.

clavalle 13y ago

'Culture' is too flexible a word to be useful. It carries with it connotations that muddy issues. It should be retired as a useful way to describe any group of people smaller than a few dozen thousand. 'Culture fit' means sharing a common approach to problem solving. It means people are not there to just occupy a seat and collect a salary but to have an impact on the company they work for and, by extension, the world at large. It means having a consuming curiosity that drives them to learn. It means not being afraid of change and upheaval but a tendency to embrace it. It means treating other with kindness even when it is hard. Or jump into solving problems without fear. Those kinds of things. It is easy to get saddled with a cube dweller who has no interest in pushing things but enjoys the status quo and collecting a check. That is poison. That is what people mean by 'cultural fit' not whether they like to play ultimate frisbee or like the Beatles or afternoon drinking. So, instead of 'cultural fit' I'd say 'aligned with the company's approach'. As soon as you attach 'culture' to anything it evokes some sort of impenetrable collective-mind behemoth that takes on different attributes based on who is thinking or talking about it. It is a waste of time.

gruseom 13y ago

The word "culture" doesn't mean the same thing in "bro culture" vs. "culture fit". To me, "culture fit" is another way of saying "chemistry". It means that people work well together, and is what you want if you are forming a band, say, or any other creative endeavour.

timr 13y ago
The problem with that, of course, is that "chemistry" is just another way of saying "people I'm comfortable around", which is a socially acceptable way of discriminating against people who don't make you comfortable -- usually defined as "people who are different than you". And so it goes.
- gruseom 13y ago
  One hears that argument, but I think it's shallow. People aren't cogs—some work better together than others. It isn't just about who you're comfortable around. Lou Reed and John Cale, for example, were not comfortable around each other. That's why I said "work well together": the work is what matters, not comfort.