If anything, the "skills" demanded by the present economy are those of a high-functioning psychopath [1]. That is, total lack of empathy but with a modest ability to fake it.
[1] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/10/1015320/-Why-High-F...
How do you deal with this?
a) Slowly turn into a psychopath to be able to rule the biggest portion of the world
b) Forget about all this and live in blissful ignorance.
c) Live a sad life where you know you're getting a$$ fked by psychopaths but you also know you're not "made" to become one.
The following is a comment of mine on HN from nearly an year ago. It was made in response to a post on what the author learned from Steve Jobs in matters of negotiation [a]. It stands true today as it did then. Every time the topic of empathy and its relevance to startup success or success at large comes up, I feel a strong need to revisit this comment. Sadly, I have a feeling I will be posting this for some time to come, in the foreseeable future because I think most people - if they are being genuine - seem to be under the false assumption that somehow there are ways to win in the valley or elsewhere by being anything but ruthless :
-- -- --
I think every time the issue of Steve Jobs's maniacal side comes up I feel obliged to bring this up:
Steve Wozniak on Steve Jobs:
I was inspired by Stanford intellectuals like
Jim Warren talking this way at the club. Lee
Felsenstein wanted computers to help in things
like the antiwar marches he'd orchestrated in
Oakland and I was inspired by the fact that
these machines could help stop wars. Others in
the club had working models of this computer
before Jobs knew it existed. He came down one
week and I took him to show him the club, not
the reverse. He saw it as a businessman. It as
I who told Jobs the good things these machines
could do for humanity, not the reverse. I
begged Steve that we donate the first Apple I
to a woman who took computers into elementary
schools but he made me buy it and donate it
myself. [1]
However I agree with first part of what toddmorey has said below:
3. Most importantly, being an asshole may help
great ideas get powered through, but it's not
the only way.
The people I most admire have found
success while still being amazing human beings
to work beside.
I think we should stop telling kids that life rewards the passionate and the skilled.
By rewards I certainly do not mean some inner calm or contentment coming from indulging in what you love. I mean the conventional rewards of recognition, admiration and remuneration.
Life is rigged in favor of the opportunists. The schemers, hustlers and the witty-talkers. But certainly not the plainspoken and the adept.
This is what many kids who have grown up on the stories of Steve Jobs and the valley lore surrounding many other iconic founders, will take away as their guiding principles.
They will grow up thinking, "Life rewards the unabashedly ravenous, merciless and ruthless blokes among us. Life does not spare the dignified, the pleasant or the mild-mannered." There is nothing to suggest otherwise.
No matter how you dice it, your conscience tells you that this is more than a bit disenchanting if not unfair.
[1]
http://i.imgur.com/a1I9DTs.jpg
https://plus.google.com/+CarmsPerez/posts/GnVTvQNgvpf
-- -- --
[a] http://heidiroizen.tumblr.com/post/80368150370/what-i-learne...
I think we should teach our kids to build a world where life rewards the passionate, skillful and empathetic - but be very aware that we don't have that world yet.
Not wanting to donate the first apple II or use it to "help stop wars" doesn't make Steve Jobs a bad person or demonstrate a lack of empathy. He could have easily understood exactly where Wozniack was coming from, but have drawn different conclusions about what was right. The things that people associate with being "good" aren't always the best indicators of morality or motivation. Someone can be a good person without ever giving money to charity.
And before we crush the dreams of children, it should be pointed out that musicians, artists and athletes are heavily rewarded for their passion and skill every day. So are many successful entrepreneurs. It's our responsibility to chose the right heroes, for ourselves and for the next generation. There's a Judas for every Jesus. We get to choose which one we want to be.
I'm no Steve Jobs fanboy, but describing him as "unabashedly ravenous, merciless and ruthless" is far beyond the pale. Don't let a few rumors and out of context stories color your judgement of an entire human life. Empathy, right?