
Everybody is faking it. - Raphael
http://thatgraph.com/961
======
azharcs
_Bill Gates managed to walk into IBM, tell them that Microsoft had an
operating system to sell, retained ownership and received royalties on said
software, yet didn’t once give away that he had nothing. That’s right, he
didn’t have a single line of code to offer up on the chopping block. This feat
lead to one of the greatest wealths in history._

This is totally wrong. This is the part taken from "Pirates of Silicon
Valley", that movie was a work of fiction. IBM always knew Gates was buying
QDOS from Tim Patterson of Seattle Computers. It is just that IBM couldn't
strike a deal with Tim Patterson for QDOS or Gary Kildall for CP/M. Gates
comes into picture, assures IBM that he would buy the OS from Seattle
Computers, improve it and license it to IBM for a low fees. IBM didn't have
any problems with that, as they never saw software as an integral part of a
computer (They were all hardware companies).

~~~
edw519
Thank you.

When people come to absurd conclusions based upon urban myths, it's nice when
someone bothers to set the record straight.

------
decode
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone were faking it? If all you needed to excel at
anything were some gumption and a ready lie?

Instead, in the real world, the good people have dedication, have put in the
hard work, and have been blessed with abilities and the right environment.
Education and experience are a part of that. Some people know what they're
talking about and others don't, and at times it's very obvious who is who
(especially in highly technical fields).

~~~
redorb
His example applies, as does yours I think I agree about some degrees;
computer science is something you will need and use as a founder or Cto but
does anyone really need a "business managment" degree when you get that job;
you'll get more than enough on job training

~~~
wheels
Most web startups don't do much with computer science, and a computer science
degree generally doesn't prepare you to build a web startup.

It always smacks of an inferiority complex when a group a people who largely
thus-far haven't actually been successful in business snipe at people who
studied business and suggest that all of their skills are meaningless.

~~~
indiejade
Excellent points.

This is perhaps why so many solopreneurs can't make it: startups need the
symbiotic, complementary talents of code people and business people to build
products from ideas that have time-relevance -- as in "this is what is needed
NOW". Otherwise, a person wanting to build startup is forced to be a fast
learner.

Even though I had a business degree, I knew I wanted to work in tech. I had an
MBA, but kept teaching (was already in the process of doing so) myself to
code; and now, I consider myself both a code person and a business person with
a successful (I do consider zentu.net successful) startup.

It was just a lot harder and it took a lot longer to build with one person.
Also, even though I was self-taught, I seem to know a lot more and have a bit
more, um, demonstrated competence, than some CS people I've met.

I sometimes get the idea that high-level theory in CS is probably a lot like
the high-level (economic) theory in business: it's great and fun to talk about
and muse upon, but at the end of the day, it doesn't always help you
accomplish anything specific.

~~~
rantfoil
Keep in mind that a team of hybrid code/business people would destroy a team
of pure coders and pure business people any day.

It's fine to specialize, but a startup requires all of those skills collected
in as few people as possible so that decisions can be made quickly and there's
no miscommunication because less communication is necessary.

~~~
indiejade
So why do you think that I am having such a hard finding gainful employment
myself as a hybrid business/code person?

BTW, when I said I consider zentu.net to be "successful," I just meant that it
works, has decent Alexa rank, I get lots of thank you emails, it produces
slightly more income than cost of running, etc (we're talking strict hosting
costs here, assuming I've been working for "free" for myself on it). It's not
like I actually attempted to get actual VC or anything like that.

~~~
notauser
Because in a larger team (anywhere that is hiring, as opposed to two people in
a garage) comparative advantage starts to kick in.

Even if there are only two of us, and I am slight better at A while you are
slightly better at B, the most efficient distribution of labour is that I do A
and you do B, despite the fact that we can both do either.

This gets more true the larger the team, because as the team (and the work)
grows it is more likely that you have enough work to keep a specialist busy.

A startup needs perhaps 1.5 coders and 0.5 business people, so two hybrids is
more efficient than the specialist minimum of 2 coders and a business guy. But
a larger business might need 5 coders and 2 business guys, so you are better
off with 5 pure coders and 2 pure business guys because they will be more
experienced in their specialty (and therefore probably better) than 7 hybrid
types.

~~~
rantfoil
This is a great explanation of why it's hard to find a _job_ as a hybrid jack
of all trades. Founders/owners don't really want hybrids because they're
harder to manage, and often have a harder time proving to the world that
they're better than the pure hacker or the pure business guy.

So find smaller, earlier-stage startups and you'll find people who are
clamoring for what you offer.

------
ryanwaggoner
_In fact, if you were to ask a handful of the most successful people in this
world what their secret was they would unanimously say, in one form or
another, that they learned to play the system (read: fake it)._

Unverified. Why should I believe that random-guy-from-Internet has any
credibility or perspective on what the world's most successful people would
reveal as their "secret to success"?

~~~
ken
To his credit, he is putting his money where his mouth is. Bill Gates didn't
have an operating system, and this guy has no peer-reviewed success study.

Would you prefer he said "I've done 10 years of research at Harvard and
Oxford, and concluded that everybody is just faking it. Do not listen to
important-sounding studies from impressive-sounding universities!"? :-)

------
barry-cotter
That is one lousy article. It's too short, and doesn't come with enough
provisos. I agree with the spirit of what he's saying, but for crying out
loud, people are expensive to train, and lots of them turn out useless anyway.
I'm sure there are many, many fields where Trojan work and a determination not
to give up will get you very far if you get a little luck and grab it for all
it's worth, but you have to be up to hammering your head at that wall until it
breaks, and in some fields the wall ain't breaking (mostly due to licenture
issues)

A friend took three years to get into video games programming after building a
substantial portfolio, getting business experience and doing a Masters that's
stupidly competitive to get into, after getting his CS/IT degree. If you're
that bloody minded, sure you can make it, but don't put down the people who
turn you down when you're an unknown quantity. Look at your situation with
cold eyes, not fake optimism and opinions of your worth and capability.

------
Tichy
Faking: I don't really think so. It took me a while to flesh out the "stories"
about my past jobs to the liking of employers, but even though, I don't think
I am faking it. Rather, it means to realize that one has indeed done the one
or other thing that was interesting, even if at the time it was just a job.
And also, in the sense of "faking", to realize that even not so special things
are not so bad after all, because all other things are not so special, either.

As for hiring people without degrees, I must admit that I also have a certain
sympathy for people who might be thinking to themselves "I toiled through
years of university and startup hardships to get to the position where I am
now, and now I am supposed to just hand the same thing to this hotshot on a
plate?". Maybe it sucks a little, or employers miss out that way, on the other
hand, a certain test of determination might be helpful at times, too.

~~~
randallsquared
"Rather, it means to realize that one has indeed done the one or other thing
that was interesting, even if at the time it was just a job."

This is exactly my experience, too. It's hard to "play up" what I've done,
because once I've done it, it seems like anyone could pick it up right away;
things I've done are obvious to me, so it's hard to figure out what to say
about them. Actually, the same thing applies to commenting and documentation:
once you know enough to write comments, it can be hard to figure out what to
write to speed understanding when you or someone else next looks at it.

------
mlLK
" _You ought to go to a boy's school sometimes. Try it sometime," I said.
"It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to
be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to
keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do
is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together
in these dirty little goddam cliques. The guys that are on the basketball team
stick together, the goddam intellectuals stick together, the guys that play
bridge stick together. Even the guys that belong to the goddam Book-of-the-
Month Club stick together._ "

\--Holden Caulfield

------
swombat
Only one question to the author, which I left on his blog:

 _So, going by your argument, would you like to be treated by a doctor who got
in via option 2?_

~~~
Prrometheus
Why not? If he has a good, or even exceptional, track-record, are you going to
refuse to visit his office because he lacks a degree?

~~~
swombat
Definitely. A doctor without credentials is not a doctor, he's a witch doctor.

------
begemot
Wide brush generalization supported by an anecdote and a hypothetical
situation... pass.

~~~
Hexstream
No, fail.

------
kmavm
So that's what people who are terrible at their jobs tell themselves: that
everybody else is a fraud too. I've always wondered how they got through the
day...

------
jwesley
I thought this blog post sucked until I came across the phrase "If you take a
play from P Diddy’s biography..."

~~~
ConradHex
Also: I recall reading another book where the author wrote that he offered to
work for free, and was turned down. And it was a huge blow to his ego.

Not every company wants to deal with unpaid interns.

------
diN0bot
to be successful one has to work hard and think. the trick is that anyone can
do it.

XYZ always seemed complex and unmakable to me. After making XYZ it seemed like
the simplest thing in the world. After a while more and more things were
makable.

The courage to get on the 'success' path of working and doing oftens means
getting over the "but i'm just a faker" mind-block. If it helps you to think
that "everyone is faking it", fine. Just get on with it :-)

------
glazz
He is talking about commercial success. And "lie, cheat and steal" was best
strategy for ages...

------
voidpointer
It seems almost ironic that an author who sees no value in education beyond
securing credentials that get you a good position is only offering anecdotes
to back his position.

~~~
jjs
In many fields, there is a growing mismatch (in terms of time, effort, and
expense) between securing credentials and securing an education.

------
zupatol
Madoff could have written that.

------
Allocator2008
More emphasis on training, and less on education per ce, would be more helpful
for economic growth. So, instead of various loans and so on to help people get
a four year degree in say, ancient Sumerian languages, offer loans for people
to get tech certifications in things like networking and so on, things, in
other words, that actually benefit the economy. If the United States wants to
compete in technology and engineering, a greater emphasis on tech training and
certifications is needed. Higher education still applies as a need in things
like chemistry, medicine, and physics, and so on, but in the engineering
fields, tech certifications could fill a void.

We have two problems: a lack of prowess in sciences and maths, and a lack of
prowess in engineering. More opportunities for tech training by way of trade
schools, certification programs and the like, can fill a void in engineering.
However quality degree programs are still needed to fill the gap in producing
people skilled at the maths and sciences. Basically, the chief scientist of
your company still benefits I would say from having a Ph.D, but your average
Joe-hacker probably only needs a few training courses in whatever language he
is working on. So there is some truth to the "faking it" idea, but not
complete truth I think.

