
Ask HN: effects of a sociopath on an early stage startup - urlwolf
For HN'ers who may have not read the related post, I'm talking about 'sociopath' in the sense of 'will to power, amoral individual'. This was coined by Venkat in 'the Gervais principle' in opposition to loser/clueless group morality, not necessarily evil (Gandhi and Martin Luther King are sociopaths under his definition). [1][2]<p>I have to decide if I partner with someone who has a clear sociopath profile. He will be damn efficient at sales, but it is virtually impossible to do collaborative work with him. He will be always measuring his power and negotiating for advantage. It's emotionally tiring to deal with him already. He will spend all his metal energy making sure things are done the way he wants them. Will behave like a CEO, even when his role is not CEO. Will orchestrate power coups any chance he has.<p>The more general question is: should sociopaths be tolerated on an early stage startup? Given the requirements of startup life, my guess is that sociopaths abound. I lean against this partnership. But I may be rejecting a very effective partner, provided he plays fair with the rest of the team (which is not clear!).<p>The only relationship that I imagine could work is one similar to that of Malcom [3] and Jayne [4] in Firefly.<p>What do you think?<p>[1] http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/ 
[2] http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/11/21/morality-compassion-and-the-sociopath/
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Firefly_characters#Malcolm_Reynolds
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Firefly_characters#Jayne_Cobb
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michael_dorfman
First of all, any definition of "sociopath" that would include Gandhi and
Martin Luther King is an abuse of terminology of such proportions as to make
comprehension difficult.

That being said: why is this even a question? Is there no one else available
to you? Sure, he may be "damn efficient at sales", but there are a lot of
people who fit that description without all of the other baggage.

Move on.

~~~
urlwolf
The question is whether all other people we interview will exhibit the same
traits.

~~~
michael_dorfman
You're asking if everyone you'll interview will be:

    
    
       virtually impossible to do collaborative work with
    
       always measuring his power and negotiating for advantage
    
       emotionally tiring to deal with 
    
       spending all their mental energy making sure things are done the way they want them
    
       behaving like a CEO, when it is not their job
    
       orchestrating power coups every chance they get?
    

Seriously? You think this is even relatively normal?

~~~
urlwolf
You are right. I guess I needed to put it in writing to realize that these
things are not normal. Even for a sales person who should 'always be
negotiating'. This guy is out.

