Get Out

Steve Blank just wrote a post called Get Out of My Building telling of the CEO of a startup yelling at him in an all-hands meeting after Steve interjected an unsubstantiated opinion. I smiled and then was surprised by the Hacker News discussion. Some called out the screamer as unprofessional and inciting a traumatic experience. Adrenaline fires indiscriminately in a tense situation, blocking mental facilities. A calm but firm explanation would have sufficed and been more appropriate. He'll be haunted and hounded by the embarrassment suffered from being shot down in full view of co-workers and friends.

I disagree.

Emotion codifies memories and obviously this is one never to be forgotten. Contrast with all the cool, collected, and otherwise professionally given advice I've gotten and couldn't recall it to save my ass. Whether the boss described here is brilliant or not, he's effectively cemented an important lesson. He's walking a fine line between respect and fear, I can't believe it's mere luck.

My fondest manager memories are not the comfortable ones. Heck, I can't think of any of those. Breaking down into tears as a young SDET contractor working for Gary Mock under his intense pressure at Microsoft? Very embarrassing, very unpleasant to revisit, and I'll never forget how he spoke his mind and treated me with fairness and firmness. Arguing my case for a flat-screen LCD (or later about a side-project I disclosed prior to starting) with Jim Beaver at eNom? Nerve-wracking and seemingly ineffectual against his intimidating, unflappable poker face. That pops into my mind anytime I'm going to buy something for my own business and I wonder if I could have convinced him. Chris Cowherd, a many-time manager of me, rarely resists "busting my balls" and so we've been able to maintain a candid professional relationship alongside friendship.

Maybe these aren't your experiences, but I bet if you let your mind wander to the past you'll find at least one.