tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post7531921291324494954..comments2024-02-05T05:15:04.759-08:00Comments on Wandering Scientist: Weekend Reading: Assorted Things about Work EditionCloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-57812419836221025892013-06-10T08:51:43.093-07:002013-06-10T08:51:43.093-07:00I've read some of his articles. My experience ...I've read some of his articles. My experience in start ups is in biotech, and is a little different from what he describes. I also think that there is a tendency in writing about start ups in general to conflate how they are with how they have to be. A lot of tech start ups are founded by people straight out of school with no management experience. Sometimes they do things in managing the start up not because that is the best way to do it but because they don't have experience to see other ways. I'd love to start a company and show the world that you can make a successful start up without doing some of the employee-destroying things for which start ups are (in)famous!<br /><br />But that isn't what you asked. You asked why people think start ups are good places to work. I think it is for the energy and team spirit that you can get in a good start up. Everyone is working for a common goal against steep odds. It can be exhilarating. Also, you can really see the impact of your work.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-67369837434959772052013-06-10T08:22:32.525-07:002013-06-10T08:22:32.525-07:00Re: startups and their work environment. Many of ...Re: startups and their work environment. Many of Paul Graham's essays are insightful explanations of what makes a company a startup, how startups fail, how startups succeed, the type of people that found startups, and the forces at work in/on startups. He is a driving/defining force in the software startup world.<br /><br />I may be wrong, but to my knowledge he does not conflate startup with good-place-to-work. His earliest explanation (I believe) was that one could work at a "traditional" company for 40 years, or a (successful) startup for many fewer years and make the same money. So I have to wonder, why do people (in general, not specific) think a startup is a good place to work anymore than a non-startup?Rumpushttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-84699710783338553762013-06-07T23:28:57.938-07:002013-06-07T23:28:57.938-07:00Thanks for the shout out. Glad you liked the arti...Thanks for the shout out. Glad you liked the article. I'm still thinking about it (which is rare for things I find on FB.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15212690454989568626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-14890532200945484472013-06-03T09:36:45.529-07:002013-06-03T09:36:45.529-07:00Re the men and long work hours -- I maintain that ...Re the men and long work hours -- I maintain that many people who think they are working long hours aren't (see Robinson, et al, on this in June 2011 Monthly Labor Review). But if you can talk about what long hours you're working, that keeps lots of mothers -- and anyone else who cares about their personal lives -- from gunning for your job. Not only do you sound like a hard worker, you've eliminated some of the competition. Double bonus! <br /><br />One of the reasons I'm doing the Dandelion project I talked about on my blog -- collecting time logs from women who earn $100k and have kids at home -- is to debunk one of Williams' assumptions. Namely, that working 55 hours a week means you'd never see your children. In a lot of the time logs I've seen over the years, people who are working 50-60 hours a week work out ways (like split shifts) to still do things with their families. And basically no one works north of 60 hours, even if they think they do. Laura Vanderkamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385504652419979583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-84864869047542980532013-06-03T07:51:21.505-07:002013-06-03T07:51:21.505-07:00Happy (belated) birthday!
I know it's a typo,...Happy (belated) birthday!<br /><br />I know it's a typo, but I like that your title is "Assorted Things abut work." Indeed they do!Alexicographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-81132644925216555842013-05-31T19:24:41.384-07:002013-05-31T19:24:41.384-07:00We have that why men work so much one on our link ...We have that why men work so much one on our link love for tomorrow too, but I suspect we stole it from your twitter feed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com