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Innovation comes from collaboration among talented equals, not from someone bestowing his unique vision upon the masses and giving them the privilege of working

Innovation comes from collaboration among talented equals, not from someone bestowing his unique vision upon the masses and giving them the privilege of working for him. You nailed it. It is the latter attitude that I find the best predictor of whether there's going to be endless frustration at a company. Agreed. The MBA entitlement is pretty easy to spot and always toxic. It's better to compromise on technical details (Clojure vs. Python, Git vs. Hg) than on quality of people. If you find yourself making excuses for people because you want to believe, chances are your initial judgment (stay away) was the right one.

stcredzero 13y ago
* The MBA entitlement is pretty easy to spot and always toxic.* You can remove the MBA, and it generalizes just fine. It's better to compromise on technical details (Clojure vs. Python, Git vs. Hg) than on quality of people. I would posit that the general tenor of a technical community, the quality of people attracted to it, and the efficiency with which it accrues value and gains the right kind of mindshare is really the crux of the matter. The technology is just a fortunate byproduct of technologist lives well lived. This applies equally to companies and programming language communities. If you have the above and bad tech, you will still get by. If you have the above and good tech, you will prosper. If you have bad people/culture and excellent tech, you will fail anyways.
- seestheday 13y ago
  quote: You can remove the MBA, and it generalizes just fine. agreed - I've worked for MBA's and non MBA's. In my small sample the MBA's have actually been less entitled, but I also know that the multiple of anecdote != evidence
  - stcredzero 13y ago
    The actual quote is, "The plural of anecdote is evidence." http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-the-fox-knows/ http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-the-fox-knows/ - search for "plural of anecdote" Yup, so much for "stuff you read on the Internet" being the basis of rigorous, insightful analysis. Sturgeon's Law applies.
    - seestheday 13y ago
      Thanks - I still like the saying, though I'm not sure how to correct it now. To me multiple anecdotes signify a small uncontrolled, non random sample set, that you really shouldn't use to draw conclusions.
marincounty 13y ago
I once head a radio personality say,"There's nothing more useless to a company than a Harvard MBA." At first, I thought it was too harsh, but as I put on a few years, I knew what he was talking about. As a society, we are becoming more sophisticated; a lot of us know when we are being manipulated. When ever I see a company advertise incessantly--I now wonder who pays for this exposure. I then usually find a company with drastically lower prices, and by golly, holy hootenanny; This company doesn't advertise everywhere.

stcredzero 13y ago

* The MBA entitlement is pretty easy to spot and always toxic.* You can remove the MBA, and it generalizes just fine. It's better to compromise on technical details (Clojure vs. Python, Git vs. Hg) than on quality of people. I would posit that the general tenor of a technical community, the quality of people attracted to it, and the efficiency with which it accrues value and gains the right kind of mindshare is really the crux of the matter. The technology is just a fortunate byproduct of technologist lives well lived. This applies equally to companies and programming language communities. If you have the above and bad tech, you will still get by. If you have the above and good tech, you will prosper. If you have bad people/culture and excellent tech, you will fail anyways.

seestheday 13y ago
quote: You can remove the MBA, and it generalizes just fine. agreed - I've worked for MBA's and non MBA's. In my small sample the MBA's have actually been less entitled, but I also know that the multiple of anecdote != evidence
- stcredzero 13y ago
  The actual quote is, "The plural of anecdote is evidence." http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-the-fox-knows/ http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-the-fox-knows/ - search for "plural of anecdote" Yup, so much for "stuff you read on the Internet" being the basis of rigorous, insightful analysis. Sturgeon's Law applies.
  - seestheday 13y ago
    Thanks - I still like the saying, though I'm not sure how to correct it now. To me multiple anecdotes signify a small uncontrolled, non random sample set, that you really shouldn't use to draw conclusions.

marincounty 13y ago

I once head a radio personality say,"There's nothing more useless to a company than a Harvard MBA." At first, I thought it was too harsh, but as I put on a few years, I knew what he was talking about. As a society, we are becoming more sophisticated; a lot of us know when we are being manipulated. When ever I see a company advertise incessantly--I now wonder who pays for this exposure. I then usually find a company with drastically lower prices, and by golly, holy hootenanny; This company doesn't advertise everywhere.