
Joel: How Hard Could It Be?: Lessons I Learned in the Army - luccastera
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080301/how-hard-could-it-be-lessons-i-learned-in-the-army.html?partner=fogcreek
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edw519
Great read. When managers lose touch with workers, morale suffers.

I would even take it a step further. When managers lose touch with workers,
they lose touch with HOW the business operates. They know the WHAT, but not
the HOW. I see it over and over. Maybe they forgot how to do it, maybe things
have changed, maybe they never even knew. But as soon as a manager tells you
HOW to do something and you know he's wrong, time to plan your next move. It's
inevitable.

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ilamont
I agree that managers need to stay in touch with workers and the nuts-and-
bolts of the business, but I disagreed with some of the examples he used in
the article. There is no evidence that the brigadier or the CEO failed because
of a quip about sleeping in a limo or picking up the phone at the pool.

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bonsaitree
As an independently wealthy individual, due to family inheritance and MS stock
options, even before starting Fog Creek, I don't think Joel is in much of a
position of authority to discuss the average corporate employee's economic
perspective.

This article would be far more credible were he not posting on his $10k Sonus
home audio system and written by someone who had overcome real economic
hardships in life. Fog Creek's first offices were in his grandmother's New
York brownstone. Most start-ups in New York can barely afford a closet-sized
office.

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henning
I find it amazing that he still takes the subway, apparently.

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run4yourlives
Why? In New York, and most livable cities it's often the best way to get
around... faster, no parking hassles, no traffic, etc etc.

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henning
I thought the rich investment banker people had cars. Like, I read an article
about a new BMW dealership strategically placed near Wall Street.

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johnrob
Excellent piece. He could not be more right.

I think there is more in that story than was argued. The equity structure in
startups, in my opinion, could see a change similar to what is happening to
venture financing.

Here is the current problem: if you hire an employee, and give him .1% of the
company, what happens if that employee's actions significantly increase the
value of the company? Maybe this person makes a key innovation that pushes the
product over the chasm. That .1% looks like an unfair reward. In general, the
greater the contribution, the worse the equity allocation becomes.

My guess is that market forces will find a way to solve this problem.
Companies that can give employees variable equity based on contribution will
find it easier to attract top talent. Legally, I have no idea how this would
work, but the market forces are there nonetheless.

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eru
Make them sub-contractors? (And if they do not like the risk you can offer to
cap the down-side (as well as the up-side).)

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davidw
A personal pet peeve: I can't stand it when the bosses bring outside people
around, give them a tour, point at you, explain what you do, and never once
mention 1) that there would be visitors, or 2) who the heck they are. It's
degrading.

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alaskamiller
How hard can it be? Surprisingly not that much. My time in the Marine Corps
was similar. Training-wise it's all pre-planned by officers for staff NCOs to
execute but when push comes to shove all that gets thrown out of the window at
a minute's notice. Because of the escalation of the war in Iraq our training
schedule was "lost" and we began an accelerated infantry course whereby all
weekends were taken out, humps amped up, and classes extended.

What's always been amazing to me has been the ability for people to adapt. The
weak ones weeded out from boot camp end up in infantry training capable of
handling quite a lot of stress and workload. You'll _feel_ tired but when the
entire platoon has been asked to practice drills for another hour you simply
push through and do it.

When boots are on the ground, however, it's not so similar. There's so much
downtime in between missions. And in time that's when accidents happen and
people get careless. Maintaining discipline and order has paramount and that's
when the hours and days of reflex drilling snap to and you stay alive for yet
another day.

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wallflower
I think the important lesson here is the sense of ownership, whether emotional
(passionate) and/or financial (founder), that someone who works at a (usually
startup) company feels. If you're not invested in something, what do you care
about making things better or the symbolic act of saving some of the startup
funds by traveling on the cheap?

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mynameishere
What is the legal status of serving in a foreign army?

At any rate, if you read accounts of the various wars Israel has been in, one
of the deciding factors has always been the sloppy preparation on the Arabs'
side.

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falsestprophet
Outside of taking up arms against the United States, you can pretty much do
whatever you please.

[http://www.uscitizenship.info/en_US/faq/citizenship/ans/g60....](http://www.uscitizenship.info/en_US/faq/citizenship/ans/g60.jsp)

~~~
mynameishere
People are focusing on citizenship, which is not the issue. The Selective
Service board may have something to say on the matter, for instance.

