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Personally, I'd say some combination of 2, 4 and 5. No company is perfect, even if you're the sole owner & employee. "Inability to close deals" is extremely v
by JonFish85 13y ago
Personally, I'd say some combination of 2, 4 and 5.
No company is perfect, even if you're the sole owner & employee. "Inability to close deals" is extremely vague, so I don't want to jump to conclusions, but deals fall through all the time. It could be a sub-par sales team, it could be market conditions, it could be a million things, but that's just a part of business in general.
Short-sighted decisions are also tricky. What you call short-sighted might be necessary for a longer-term strategy. Long-term strategies are great, but sometimes $10 now is more important than $100 next week. If it's a code thing, sometimes you need to have a feature done immediately for contractual reasons, even if it's going to require more work down the road.
Petty management techniques are a pain in the ass, but if it takes you over a year to find them, there's not a ton you can do before looking at your next job to ensure that doesn't happen.
Overly frequent pivots also can be tricky. If you don't see profit/upswing anytime soon, you might be forced to pivot if you can't raise money on reasonable terms. Unless you're privy to board meetings and whatnot, it's hard to say.
There aren't many perfect jobs out there. Like other posters have said, you might be happiest if you can save enough to do your own thing for awhile. But keep in mind that in one way or another, you're probably going to have to deal with other businesses, even if you're running your own show. Deals will fall through, your business plan might not go according to script, you might be forced to make short-sighted decisions just to keep the lights on / keep a client / what-have-you.
One thing I might caution about is quitting too many jobs. I'm not in the valley, but here in Boston, a reputation can follow you. If you get a name for being a perpetual flight-risk, it can be hard to shake. Granted leaving after a year or two at each one probably isn't the worst, but as your career develops, it might make it more difficult if you want to become a leader within a company.
- calinet6 13y agoIn Boston, I've found loyalty and reputation are very important qualities people look for and strive for. People stick with jobs through the muck and the mud. Like we do the winters. In California, people switch jobs at the drop of a hat, and a long chain of startup gigs of 1 or 2 years each is super common and even seen as great experience. Despite being California born and raised, I much prefer Boston's work ethic and loyalty.
- runako 13y agoThis is a fair point. However, keep in mind that loyalty to companies is generally one-sided: most firms will not hesitate to layoff staff if business goals/economics dictate.
- JonFish85 13y agoSpeaking for myself only, any loyalty I have is to people, not to companies. I'm loyal to my boss, my co-workers, etc. These are people I want to work with in the future, and it protects my reputation. Beyond that, I have no loyalty to a company for just the reasons you mentioned.
- isrsal 13y agoWake up! Don't be loyal because a company will never be loyal to you when the time comes. Do your best, be proud of your work, but do it only for yourself, not for any company. At the end of the day, you're a number on a balance sheet.
- jaegerpicker 13y agoAs someone who has been an employee and employer, this is false. Sure most companies are not loyal to employees but there are those companies that are. I've worked for 2 in the last 16 years and 8 companies. One I was at for 6 and half years and only let because the economic situation demanded it. The other I currently work at and have been there for a year. There are great companies out there run by good people, it just takes time to find the right ones and sometimes you need to compromise in that it might not be the latest startup or maybe it's a boring manufacturing company job but there are people who run companies that actually care about their employees.
- calinet6 13y agoAgree. I've been in both types of companies. It's certainly true of some companies; they'll drop you without thought, you're only a number, etc. etc. But some companies are better than that. You're very lucky if you find one. This type of thing drives loyalty, it's not blind.
- bmj 13y agoThere aren't many perfect jobs out there. This. After jumping between five jobs (plus some consulting work) over seven or eight years, I've been with the same company for almost eight years now. It is hardly perfect. We screw up process, which in turn leads to buggy products. Product management often doesn't understand the technical limitations of our platforms. Sometimes the projects just plain suck. But the culture is really great, and keeps me there. We get ample PTO, and I can take up to four weeks at a time. I can work remotely when necessary. I have a flexible schedule (unless a client demand requires my presence). I enjoy coding and building stuff, but I also enjoy the other things in my life. My employer's willingness to understand that covers over a multitude of little things that otherwise might make me leave.
- yitchelle 13y agoThat is so true. Company culture would play a big part for retaining its workforce even if the some of the work is not that engaging. That for me is almost 75% of why I would want to work at a company. However, having said that, the company culture must also match the personality. It is like a marriage.