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His presence galvanized and terrified employees in equal measure. [...] “He could be really rough when he was mad about something. He could shame you. But you k

His presence galvanized and terrified employees in equal measure. [...] “He could be really rough when he was mad about something. He could shame you. But you knew why, and you knew you’d screwed up. If you were as passionate as he was, he loved you, but if not, you were gone.” Reminds me of someone...

andrelaszlo 12y ago
Draft for an Ayn Rand novel?
Immortalin 12y ago
Steve Jobs?
- at-fates-hands 12y ago
  I was thinking him or Gates. Gates was famous for flogging his engineers in front of other staff members in meetings and telling them they didn't know what they were doing. Hard to say the constant questioning of ideas didn't make either company incredibly successful.
  - wavefunction 12y ago
    That's poor management technique. You flog someone in private and praise them in public.
  - bigtunacan 12y ago
    While Jobs is famed for his scathing treatment of employees in general, from everything I have seen Bill Gates was extremely technical and known for drilling employees on the technical issues in scheduled meetings that they knew to expect and prepare for. This is entirely different. There is a good recounting of just such an instance from Joel Spolsky here. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
>But you knew why, and you knew you’d screwed up. I find these justifications for personality types like these to be more than a little revisionist. The reality is when you deal with a short tempered person at the top of the food chain, anything sets him off. A bad mood, arbitrary shit, "who moved my cheese" mentality, etc. Then we expect the workforce to shame themselves and assume they did wrong because Mr. Temper Tantrum is always right? Of course he is, afterall we still want to collect a paycheck. So now the web team is up all night rolling back the website design because Mr. Temper Tantrum woke up one day and some of the navigation was slightly different and he decided to chew out the CTO. Yes, this has actually happened to us. Please stop pretending guys like Jobs or Torvalds are these ultra-honest truth tellers and because they're so honest and visionary that basic manners dont apply to them. They're flawed jerks just like the rest of us; the thing is they're in a position where their jerkism can't be questioned. That's not to be celebrated. I'm kind of an expert in this as I have staff under me and am a short-tempered person. Its my worst trait. I work on it (I suffer from sleep apnea and its related moodiness), but its slipped at work a few times. Treating people poorly, even if they've done wrong, is inexcusable in a professional setting. The people I have gone off on just sit there and take it. They know if they push back then their paycheck could be on the line. Its not worth it to them, so it gives me all the freedom I want to be an ass. Its really, really unfair to them and I hate myself for the times I've done it. No level of apology really brings back the trust and comradery we once had.
- jacquesm 12y ago
  Props for recognizing such a character flaw, being open about it and working on it. Another short tempered person here, I know how hard this can be, especially when the threads have already been frayed by some other cause.
- Dewie 12y ago
  I wonder if being at the top of the food chain like that spoils some people. Instead of trying to reflect on how and why they get annoyed or are easily irritable, they are excused for letting it out and taking it out on other people, so they don't have to. Maybe if they couldn't indulge in those things, they could get over all the things that annoy them. Same way with how "primadonnas" can get away with being picky and demanding. People indulging them exaggerates every impulse and preference they have.

andrelaszlo 12y ago

Draft for an Ayn Rand novel?

Immortalin 12y ago

Steve Jobs?

at-fates-hands 12y ago
I was thinking him or Gates. Gates was famous for flogging his engineers in front of other staff members in meetings and telling them they didn't know what they were doing. Hard to say the constant questioning of ideas didn't make either company incredibly successful.
- wavefunction 12y ago
  That's poor management technique. You flog someone in private and praise them in public.
- bigtunacan 12y ago
  While Jobs is famed for his scathing treatment of employees in general, from everything I have seen Bill Gates was extremely technical and known for drilling employees on the technical issues in scheduled meetings that they knew to expect and prepare for. This is entirely different. There is a good recounting of just such an instance from Joel Spolsky here. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

>But you knew why, and you knew you’d screwed up. I find these justifications for personality types like these to be more than a little revisionist. The reality is when you deal with a short tempered person at the top of the food chain, anything sets him off. A bad mood, arbitrary shit, "who moved my cheese" mentality, etc. Then we expect the workforce to shame themselves and assume they did wrong because Mr. Temper Tantrum is always right? Of course he is, afterall we still want to collect a paycheck. So now the web team is up all night rolling back the website design because Mr. Temper Tantrum woke up one day and some of the navigation was slightly different and he decided to chew out the CTO. Yes, this has actually happened to us. Please stop pretending guys like Jobs or Torvalds are these ultra-honest truth tellers and because they're so honest and visionary that basic manners dont apply to them. They're flawed jerks just like the rest of us; the thing is they're in a position where their jerkism can't be questioned. That's not to be celebrated. I'm kind of an expert in this as I have staff under me and am a short-tempered person. Its my worst trait. I work on it (I suffer from sleep apnea and its related moodiness), but its slipped at work a few times. Treating people poorly, even if they've done wrong, is inexcusable in a professional setting. The people I have gone off on just sit there and take it. They know if they push back then their paycheck could be on the line. Its not worth it to them, so it gives me all the freedom I want to be an ass. Its really, really unfair to them and I hate myself for the times I've done it. No level of apology really brings back the trust and comradery we once had.

jacquesm 12y ago
Props for recognizing such a character flaw, being open about it and working on it. Another short tempered person here, I know how hard this can be, especially when the threads have already been frayed by some other cause.
Dewie 12y ago
I wonder if being at the top of the food chain like that spoils some people. Instead of trying to reflect on how and why they get annoyed or are easily irritable, they are excused for letting it out and taking it out on other people, so they don't have to. Maybe if they couldn't indulge in those things, they could get over all the things that annoy them. Same way with how "primadonnas" can get away with being picky and demanding. People indulging them exaggerates every impulse and preference they have.