

I Don't Do That Job Anymore - dmor
http://www.daniellemorrill.com/2013/02/i-dont-do-that-job-anymore/

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ChuckMcM
This is the closest thing I've seen to the 'star complex'. I went to school in
LA and met a number of folks actors and actresses. When they are early in
their career they can mingle with people "outside" the business, as they
become more well known this gets harder.

When people have only seen you in one role, and you were "playing" that role,
they think they know you (if you were good at it anyway). But if that isn't
you, especially if it is strongly not you, then you find the "wrong" kind of
people want to be friends. Wrong here is relative, its people who want to
friends with the person whose role you are playing, except that is not you,
and they may not want to be friends with you the person you actually are. It
was a running gag with Ginger on Gilligan's Island.

One of the things I like about engineering and general nerditude is that it
has largely been immune to these sorts of forces. One of the most depressing
parts of the dot com bubble/boom was how 'hollywood' everything got, with
people playing the part of quirky ninja rockstar techie.

That made me uncomfortable because it exposed that what I valued, and how I
comported myself, could be put put on like a cloak by someone who was skilled
a mimicking the mannerisms and the habits of engineers I respected. And _that_
made me sit back reflexively and ask myself how much of what I said, did, and
felt was me, and how much was what I played as a "silicon valley engineer" ?

Introspection is a powerful thing. Scary but powerful. I think it is great
that Danielle stepped outside the simulation and took a solid look at where
she was going. I firmly believe that nothing but good can come of that.

~~~
eksith
It's typecasting, basically. You perform well in one role and that's the role
everyone will ever see you in. Until you grow a beard, wear tons of makeup or
go completely avant-garde in your next role.

Which, ironically, is what a lot of founders of startups do and sometimes the
world doesn't except that role, or you clash with your co-workers, or you
approach with the wrong method (unsuitable for what's at hand anyway) and the
project suffers. Which is why most fail.

Do what works for you. Which sounds easy when you really know you, but when
you only know you through others, things get a bit more complicated.

------
fourstar
\- Startup Mentor

\- Marketing Guru

So why do you have a widget on your website that charges $3.33/min to "request
a call" with you and within the blurb of that you advertise:

"Distribution, developers, marketing, brand, metrics, customer satisfaction,
operations, scaling the business, raising seed investment."

Might be time to either remove that widget or update it to coincide with your
newfound resolution(s), since all those things you list scream startups and
marketing.

~~~
dmor
Unlike startup launches, I didn't get all my ducks in a row before publishing
this post. I just figured this out this week.

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sethbannon
I think this is reflective of a process all founders have to go through. As
the needs of your startup evolve, and as your responsibilities shift, you
often have to give up entirely roles that used to define you. It can be one of
the most difficult challenges entrepreneurs face.

~~~
halcyondaze
Going through this right now myself and it's definitely one of the weirder
feelings I've had recently.

~~~
hilko
Would you care to elaborate, to some degree at least?

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gbog
I must be lacking some context, this blog post feels like an uninteresting
egotrip to me.

~~~
darkxanthos
I'm going through a career shift right now from software engineering to data
science. Shifting between roles requires a mental shift where the things I
once smothered my life in I now need to push back on those around me and ask
if that's the best use of my time. It's hard not falling into old patterns,

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rx4g
Wow, I can relate. A while back I left a job I had for 11 years to enter a
completely different business domain. I still get email from users of the
software I used to work on. Back when I was paid to do it, I always directed
people to the mailing list for help. But now that I've moved on and don't
really want to make a public appearance, I will occasionally just answer
directly. Or ignore them and feel guilty.

------
jonathanjaeger
It's interesting to see how this might be the opposite experience of many
founders. Some founder/technical CEOs wish they could just hunker down and
code half or all of the time and are too afraid to go out and do the
marketing, writing, and customer service thing at full steam. Seems like
Danielle was in that position in Twilio and has dialed back to what makes
sense for her current position.

~~~
dmor
That is so true. I even remarked to my cofounder/husband recently that I
finally understand why developers/founders I know tend to want to go into
their code caves and just build, even to the extent of getting disconnected
from customers. I've never been able to truly relate to that before, so it was
pretty cool and made me feel closer to several friends. The pendulum has
swung, as some might say.

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bsg75
> I told him we should put a reasonably senior job title on my business card
> so I could get meetings, so we did. I wasn’t really operating like a true
> Director-level person until probably the last year I was there.

Its an interesting trend in tech where titles don't communicate actual
experience.

Directors without anyone reporting to them, 10 person companies with 3-4
C-level executives, software / network "engineers". In some cases its "we
can't pay you enough for the hours you will put in, so here is a fancy title".

~~~
dmor
I think it is less a trend and more a fact that in early stage companies
titles don't mean much, even CEO doesn't mean much in the earliest days. I
joined Twilio as the first non-founder so basically employee #4 and at that
time we had no idea what to call me. To be clear, I built a team that was 18
people when departed and hired another dozen people who ended up in various
other roles (support, ops, product, etc) so while the title was undeserved in
the beginning it was an understatement in the end.

------
aorshan
I think the thing about this that is most remarkable is how much better this
is going to make Danielle as a founder. Being able to really focus on
different and new aspects of the business (and gaining experience in those
aspects), when combined with the skills she already developed at Twilio, will
surely help her tremendously.

------
zbruhnke
As someone who recently reached out to Danielle for advice about some things
she "Used to do" I am now even more grateful for her reply, though short and
almost reminiscent of a Steve Jobs-like answer it made tons of sense to me and
I was able to develop a strategy around what she told me.

I was thankful for the advice then, but now I'm glad I asked when I did,
fleeting moments happen every day I suppose.

Danielle, Good luck with Referly, I'm rooting for you.

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chris_wot
Anybody else having issues reading this on an iPad?

~~~
dmor
I'm so sorry, it is my Disqus comments plugin - there is so much traffic I am
unable to log in and disable it. Will do as soon as I can.

~~~
dotBen
Danielle, I'd be delighted to offer you a complimentary WP Engine account if
you would like. lmk ben [at] wpengine.com

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jhprks
then get another job.

~~~
tptacek
She's the CEO of a YC startup now.

