

What I Learned at Summify Before Twitter Swooped Down and Snatched Up My Team - domino
http://robincampbell.ca/lessons-learned/what-i-learned-at-summify-before-twitter-swooped-down-and-snatched-up-my-team/

======
bobbles
"Perhaps it’s because they’re engineers – who they told tend me, tend to have
low energy – but I’d argue that 90% of people would not be as composed as
these two, albeit, like ducks, they were paddling under the surface like
maniacs. "

Really hard to parse this sentence the first time around, 'who they told tend
me, tend to' ??

~~~
bobbles
Also like to note that the following rules:

* if you don’t know what you’re supposed to do, or don’t understand something, ask.

* if you’re not able to complete your task by the deadline, for whatever reason, tell the team now, not later, and adjust as necessary.

* if you need help, get some.

should be drilled into every new starter at every company, startup or not.
Unfortunately I've worked at a few companies where even graduate level
employees are worried about asking questions, or get hostile answers from the
older guys that seem bitter about new people coming in.

------
richardlblair
"Try it, track it, fix it. Now you know if it does or doesn’t work and you can
move on – next."

It seems that a lot of people have performance anxiety, and find it very
difficult to just "do" what they need to "do". In my opinion people need to
learn that it's okay to be wrong. All that matters is that you are moving
forward.

Great article and congrats on the exit.

~~~
robincampbell
It's funny how hard taking action can be for some people who aren't used to
it. It really is the hacker way, but it's so foreign to many others. Hackers
are great company :)

------
wyclif
I love Summify, probably one of my fave startups. Sad to hear they got talent
acquisitioned, but happy for them. I still look forward to my daily Summify in
the morning while I'm having coffee or tea. I got a whole bunch of friends
using it through word-of-mouth. I really hope Twitter doesn't mess up the core
functionality.

------
ashishg
Interesting title. I thought it was going to be about the Twitter snatching!

Nonetheless, great lessons around communication / teamwork.

