I worked at a very hip startup that was once on the move but then had crested and was on the slight decline.
1/

I was running a team of people who did video conferencing. They were really good at it, and I didn't know anything about the technology. One of the tricks I sometimes use in management is to shut up when I don't know anything.
2/
it was IT in a different gear than I'd seen before
e.g. your wiring had to be perfect, there would be decisions by people that required insane costs &
white gloves
3/
a day or two after they announce earnings, they want to do an All Hands where the CEO, CFO and various bigwigs claim credit for the smart work of their teams.
4/
This team runs that conference setup. It's a big deal and a lot of work, and this was the first one I'd run by myself. None of the old leaders
5/
In reality, of course, I didn't run a goddamn thing. C_____ was an expert at running a conference setup and it was going silky smooth. I did press a button that kept the stream from going down. Go me 😊
6/
As the largely conventionally pretty and hip employees walk in, the lights go berserk and they have loud bass heavy music to hype everyone up.
7/
https://t.co/Q8tf0zJYdF
If I recall it right, it was Video Phone by Beyoncé
8/
I get back to my desk after doing sweaty work in my nice clothes, and there's a scathing email from H______. She's an HR woman on the move, and my boss' boss is being asked to account for what's being said in the song.
9/
This is before #metoo, so nothing like that. Just an HR worker on the way up asking questions about sexism in the workplace. I recall thinking it was fair play. So I go to ask C_____ just to have my facts straight.
10/
I bring it up to C_____ and he stares at me blankly.
"That's a playlist we've used for five years."
2009ish checks out.
11/12
I had to write this contortionist both apology, and "say, fuck off with that shit."
12/12

More from Startup

You May Also Like

I'm going to do two history threads on Ethiopia, one on its ancient history, one on its modern story (1800 to today). 🇪🇹

I'll begin with the ancient history ... and it goes way back. Because modern humans - and before that, the ancestors of humans - almost certainly originated in Ethiopia. 🇪🇹 (sub-thread):


The first likely historical reference to Ethiopia is ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to the "Land of Punt" in search of gold, ebony, ivory, incense, and wild animals, starting in c 2500 BC 🇪🇹


Ethiopians themselves believe that the Queen of Sheba, who visited Israel's King Solomon in the Bible (c 950 BC), came from Ethiopia (not Yemen, as others believe). Here she is meeting Solomon in a stain-glassed window in Addis Ababa's Holy Trinity Church. 🇪🇹


References to the Queen of Sheba are everywhere in Ethiopia. The national airline's frequent flier miles are even called "ShebaMiles". 🇪🇹
I’m torn on how to approach the idea of luck. I’m the first to admit that I am one of the luckiest people on the planet. To be born into a prosperous American family in 1960 with smart parents is to start life on third base. The odds against my very existence are astronomical.


I’ve always felt that the luckiest people I know had a talent for recognizing circumstances, not of their own making, that were conducive to a favorable outcome and their ability to quickly take advantage of them.

In other words, dumb luck was just that, it required no awareness on the person’s part, whereas “smart” luck involved awareness followed by action before the circumstances changed.

So, was I “lucky” to be born when I was—nothing I had any control over—and that I came of age just as huge databases and computers were advancing to the point where I could use those tools to write “What Works on Wall Street?” Absolutely.

Was I lucky to start my stock market investments near the peak of interest rates which allowed me to spend the majority of my adult life in a falling rate environment? Yup.