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Comment by softwaredoug | Hacker News Reader

You have to be OK getting rid of productive assholes that mess up this culture. The hint of a senior not being open to criticism will instantly halt any ability for a team to have a safe, open dialog.

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i’ve worked with people like this - big egos were like a bag of lead the entire team had to carry.

Equally true when they're good and bad, unfortunately.

In the 18 years since I graduated (I feel old), I have seen some people easily carry entire projects while demotivating everyone around them… and also colossal idiots who were just as confident and unwilling to listen.

I really hope I never end up unable to listen to critics.

We've found good result hiring candidates who've experienced some form of ego-death. It's a difficult signal to separate from the noise of the talent pipeline, but until people start filling their resumes with meditation buzzwords, it will suffice.

How do you select for this? I am significantly less cocky than in my youth, simply because I have accumulated a long list of personal failures (ie teaching moments). Failings which I would not want to discuss with a potential employer.

I wonder if this why Steve Jobs preferred to hire those who had experienced LSD. I think I saw a video of him mentioning this.

Yeah, very true, when we're hiring we'll sometimes skip over the most talented candidate and pick a candidate who we feel would be the better communicator, easier to work with and fit in with the team. Easier said than done, but we at least try to hire for that.

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