trentnix

Consequently, it’s a terrible idea.

So many fantastic, dense, and challenging subjects are explored in those books.

Some time later when I finally used the ink I bought, imagine my surprise when the printer wouldn’t accept the ink because it was from the “wrong region”. HP printer ink is region locked!

I called HP support and they fed me an unbelievable story that this was for my own good. You see, ink in different regions is turned for the climate in that region, the support rep explained! I was dumbfounded at such a stupid explanation.

With no other option and wanting to prevent others from making a similar mistake, I tweeted about my experience. Magically, HP support promptly contacted me and sent me replacements. So now I’ve learned that not only is HP unscrupulous and manipulative, you are wasting your time bothering with normal support channels. You’ll only get results if you embarrass them publicly.

I’ve purchased my last HP printer, but I fear each of their competitors is just as bad.

It results in frequently hiring the lowest common denominator. No risks are taken. Bold thinking is suppressed. It trains your managers, whom you don’t trust to hire their own team members, that leadership is done by committees.

And what’s the solution to a bad committee hire? A bigger committee.

It just didn’t feel like a fit.

Yep. And almost everyone is hiring by committee now. Because if the committee hires the wrong person, nobody hires the wrong person.

And with all of these people involved, now you are subject to the calendars of the various very busy “stakeholders”. One company I engaged with had me talk to 11 people between individual interviews and panel interviews. That’s 11 calendars to coordinate, with illness and PTO and holidays and on and on to sort through.

I had one situation where I had to wait two weeks for one of the interviewers to have a spot open on their calendar. “She is so busy”, I was assured. They eventually extended an offer, but this and other warning signs made it clear it wasn’t a fit, so I respectfully declined.

Eventually you’ll get a “No” along with a message that, per policy, they don’t provide feedback. And then you’ll get several emails insisting you send your feedback, because they really want to “improve the process”. *facepalm*

Unfortunately, despite assurances to the contrary, I was generally unimpressed with the quality of the people doing the interviewing. One of them was in his kitchen, while family members moved about behind him. Another didn’t share video, because reasons, making every silence while they made their notes that much more awkward. And another would spend 2+ minutes typing in silence until finally asking the next question, ruining any opportunity for flow or conversation.

Judging by Amazon’s recent growth (prior to the recent layoffs), I’m not sure anyone has had time for any engineering. They’ve all been stuck doing interview “loops”.

First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. Examples are dedicated classroom teachers in an educational bureaucracy, many of the engineers and launch technicians and scientists at NASA, even some agricultural scientists and advisors in the former Soviet Union collective farming administration.

Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. Examples are many of the administrators in the education system, many professors of education, many teachers union officials, much of the NASA headquarters staff, etc.

The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.

I do think many good managers are problem solvers. They are often hands-on, in the thick of ideation and problem-solving.

They have the knowledge necessary to evaluate the competence and solutions submitted by the people being managed. And that knowledge and skill also helps them understand what their reports need to succeed.

So this guy’s company (I may have missed it, but he doesn’t appear to mention what his own product is called) made a copycat product and went from design to manufacturing to market in 5 months? Sounds like they were just relabeling and repackaging someone else’s product. Hard to shed a tear as a grifter gets scammed by an even more unscrupulous grifter.

Regardless, this shows the dangers of violating one of the golden rules of business: never depend on a single customer. They’ll own all the leverage when negotiating price and terms. Wal-Mart exploited this for years situation for years, pitting vendors against each other and providing and preferring knock-off alternatives (sometimes its own) when available. Now Amazon does the same.

I should be able to cut and paste or press a button to restore the description, but no.

I spent the next hour fuming and imagining how it would work if it was done right (i.e. the way I thought it should work). Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.

I soon sobered up, realizing I had neither time nor patience (or talent, maybe) to build it right.

Respect to you for rolling your own.

How much success, across multiple decades in so many different fields of business and technology, must someone acquire before meeting your standards?

I feel like I’m reading comments on Slashdot about Bill Gates in 1999. But in comparison, Elon Musk is wildly more successful than 1999 Bill Gates.

You should read a few stories about working for Steve Jobs (or head to YouTube and watch interviews). This article is extremely mild, in comparison.

I would love to hear from any left-handed RM2 owners about their experiences and whether they experienced similar issues.

Of course, but I'd bet the farm there's a very strong correlation!

I don't buy this. It's like saying someone has a remarkable physique or remarkable fitness only because they used PEDs when it actually requires a significant amount of effort and discipline regardless of what's in the gas.

Certainly targeted studying, tutoring, test accommodations, etc. can help. But the difference is at the margins.