Food for thought
From Paul Graham's essay on the YCombinator's Summer Founders' Program found here: http://paulgraham.com/sfp.html
"I think the problem here is much the same as with the apparent laziness of people this age. They seem lazy because the work they're given is pointless, and they act irresponsible because they're not given any power. Some of them, anyway. We only have a sample size of about twenty, but it seems so far that if you let people in their early twenties be their own bosses, they rise to the occasion."
It is easier for people who were given enough responsibility and meaningful work when they were twenty-something to give enough responsibility and meaningful work to the next generation. But it has to start somewhere. The computer industry, particularly internet businesses, has adopted this approach and has found it working well. I wonder if the old economy companies can do the same and find it as successful. I think a lot more mentorship and a litte less idealism might see this practice through. More on the "less idealism" later. :-)
"I never considered it till this summer, but this might be another reason startups run by hackers tend to do better than those run by MBAs. Perhaps it's not just that hackers understand technology better, but that they're driven by more powerful motivations."
What does an MBA really teach you? Some things in business cannot be learnt outside of the School of Hard Knocks. A lot many other things can be learn just through good mentoring. Family businesses are good evidence of this. No, my question isn't rhetorical.
"I suspect this is another reason startups beat big companies. Startups can be irresponsible and release version 1s that are light enough to evolve. In big companies, all the pressure is in the direction of over-engineering."
Not being able to do something the wrong way is a very big disadvantage. It has something to do with blocking cognitive processes.
"I think the problem here is much the same as with the apparent laziness of people this age. They seem lazy because the work they're given is pointless, and they act irresponsible because they're not given any power. Some of them, anyway. We only have a sample size of about twenty, but it seems so far that if you let people in their early twenties be their own bosses, they rise to the occasion."
It is easier for people who were given enough responsibility and meaningful work when they were twenty-something to give enough responsibility and meaningful work to the next generation. But it has to start somewhere. The computer industry, particularly internet businesses, has adopted this approach and has found it working well. I wonder if the old economy companies can do the same and find it as successful. I think a lot more mentorship and a litte less idealism might see this practice through. More on the "less idealism" later. :-)
"I never considered it till this summer, but this might be another reason startups run by hackers tend to do better than those run by MBAs. Perhaps it's not just that hackers understand technology better, but that they're driven by more powerful motivations."
What does an MBA really teach you? Some things in business cannot be learnt outside of the School of Hard Knocks. A lot many other things can be learn just through good mentoring. Family businesses are good evidence of this. No, my question isn't rhetorical.
"I suspect this is another reason startups beat big companies. Startups can be irresponsible and release version 1s that are light enough to evolve. In big companies, all the pressure is in the direction of over-engineering."
Not being able to do something the wrong way is a very big disadvantage. It has something to do with blocking cognitive processes.