
Joel Spolsky: Management, Doogie Howser and Y Combinator Kids - lupin_sansei
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/29.html
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byrneseyeview
Joel Spolsky should probably have done more research. When Townsend was
building Avis, he worked crazy hours -- when he sold to ITT, he started
slacking off (showing up late, if at all, and leaving early). His bosses
didn't like it; he didn't like them. He got away with saying what he did
because Harold Geneen wasn't a very sympathetic character, but Townsend's
failure was Townsend's fault, and ITT (which made some stupendous sums as a
conglomerate) only screwed up to the extent that they underestimated his
ability to be obtuse. More information: <http://www.amazon.com/Itt-Management-
Opportunity-Robert-Sobel/dp/1893122441>

And Google, Yahoo, etc., are only barely conglomerates. They've figured out
what the conglomerates got right (if you give customers every kind of product
they want, they'll have no reason to consider working with anyone else)
without repeating the same mistakes (overpaying, buying utterly unrelated
businesses). The Google/Yahoo/Microsoft model of conglomerates is great -- it
predates the word 'conglomerate' (which, I think, was coined in a Fortune
article in the late 50's), since it's what US Steel and GM did early in the
last century. The conglomerates Townsend complains about were an artifact of
the accounting rules and financial culture of the late 1950's through early
1970's, and there's no reason to consider them a useful analogy with any
business trend before or since.

Edit: Also, has anyone seen anything written by Casnocha that's in any way
remarkable? It it just the age thing?

~~~
puppetsock
" _has anyone seen anything written by Casnocha that's in any way remarkable?
It it just the age thing?_ "

He is remarkably good at self-aggrandizement. Hm, wait, no... just remarkably
persistent at self-aggrandizement.

------
blueballs1
Ben Casnocha just says things that have no real value or meaning. I don't
think it's just an age thing but I think the arrival of blogging has made a
lot of younger entrepreneurs think they are a lot more important than they
really are. Everyone has an opinion on VCs, consultants, lawyers, convertible
debt, etc. Casnocha amazingly has an opinion on absolutely nothing except
organic blueberries and Zen Buddhism. He's too caught up in the San Francisco
world of trust fund babies like himself.

~~~
byrneseyeview
The real tragedy about Casnochas is that there are probably many people near
his age who are great entrepreneurs -- but smart teenagers are bad at playing
by stupid rules, so they end up not bragging because bragging could get them
in serious trouble. I bet there's a 16-year-old with twice Casnochas' net
worth and a much more insightful view of business -- who can't brag about it
because his business is selling drugs.

~~~
sbraford
Would that be of the street variety or pharmaceuticals? (con prescription)

This guy has done very well by himself and gets little press (he's 22-24 now
or so): <http://www.ryanallis.com/blog/>

His companies do several mil a year and have profits to show for it. (my
buddy's a cto there)

