LinkedIn’s cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag that you’re ‘not committed to winning’
LinkedIn's cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag that you're 'not committed to winning’
To be fair, he's talking to the founders of startups, not employees. But still, he sounds like an ass.
Personally I'd rather have both
Fuck this guy. I say we guillotine him as an example to the others.
I worked at a couple of startups and every single one was a success with good exit strategies, and we had good work-life balance. His view is factually false.
“The people that think that’s toxic don’t understand the start-up game, and they’re just wrong,” he said. “The game is intense. And by the way, if you don’t do that, eventually, you’re out of a job.
For those who disagree, working at a startup is a choice, Hoffman insisted.
But the reward on the other side is second to none; the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn don’t need to work anymore, he added. Microsoft purchased the professional networking platform for $26.2 billion in 2016.
That's good for the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn, but I'm certain that the VAST majority of employees who bust their ass trying to help get a start-up off the ground don't have anywhere near that end result. I'm sure it isn't worth it for 99% of employees of start-ups.
But if you want to take on the challenge, hoping that maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones, go for it, but don't fucking drag a spouse/significant other, or children into that nightmare. If you want to commit your entire life to a start-up, then fucking commit.
This is what happens when you survey jackpot winners about the value of lottery tickets.
That's called Survivorship Bias, and it's a fallacy! I would expect nothing less than irrationality from a billionaire that got lucky and thinks his hard work in particular was what got him where he is.
It's a fucking lotto. Lucky people always think they're smarter or more hardworking than others.
It's like listening to successful YouTubers say all you gotta do is commit to the grind and you'll achieve your dreams. Even focusing solely on the numbers, it's literally dishonest.
Not everyone hates their family, Reid.
I've worked with a number of workaholics over the years. A few have straight-up admitted that they were taking on extra work to get away.
Reid Hoffman can wake up at 4:30am and begin the important work of eating my entire arsehole.
Says the man who has a maid, a butler, a staff waiting with a coffee and strudel for him at work. Every conference call is set up and waiting on him to start. Everyone is lined up to lick his boots at all time, to ensure the person who's time is "the most valuable" never has to spend an extra second listening to anyone or anything they don't want to. Give me a break.
Linkedin is a meat market for capitalist labor. It is very anti- worker, pro capitalist douchebaggery. Fuck Linkedin.
You will never be able to afford a two bedroom apartment with that kind of attitude, sir!
I want to live in a place where life isn’t a game with winner or losers, but a fun experience to share with those you love.
I mean that's fine for the guy or gal trying to start up their own business, which is what his talk was about, in the class he was addressing.
This should not apply to the workers though which is what way to many of business owners seem to forget once they start touring s profit and hiring people.
What they forget is that other people aren't going to be as comitted to their business as they themselves are. They're not going to care as much for the simple fact, that if the business takes off, they're not going to earn any of the profits. Why would I work 50 hour weeks like the founder, if I don't stand to actually reap the benefits?
not to mention a lot of US companies have "bonuses" to encourage you, but haven't the foresight to think that an unmet bonus - usually out of the person's hands, at least in my experience - is just a pay cut, and pay cuts are the worst thing you can do for morale and productivity.
Fuck off, Reid.
Excuse me sir, we appear to have a different definition of "winning".
Does "winning" mean you ignore family, friends, and self-care to further enrich giant corporations...? Cuz if so, I suggest this dude jump up his own asshole.
The quotes are specifically about early stage startup founders, not employees of huge established startups corporations.
He (and the exploitive class he is part of) want you to neglect your personal life and be productive so they can do the opposite.
The context is important:
for small businesses and entrepreneurs
Processing the context, you can see how a lot of internet companies have continued the trend of making wage positions "more entrepreneurial".
This context does not change anything. Not prioritizing health shows a critical misunderstanding of what wealth is, and how to reap its benefits. You are not likely to be a good business person if you do not understand fundamentals.
That being said, if you're willing to cheat/lie/steal you can ignore a lot of the fundamentals - which is the route most of these "cofounders" took
I mean he's definitely an asshole for many reasons, but the context is "if you are a start-up entrepreneur"
No, he's still an idiot, and he'll realize it when he dies, if he's lucky.
Like most CEOs that push this toxic shit, hope it's soon.
It's also a good sign you're not mentally ill.
this belongs in linkedin lunatics
Dude wants to win at work. I win at life.
He doesn't understand the difference.
Cool, he might consider fucking off and dying.
What a loser
Looking at him, he may need a bit of work-life balance.
These narcissist CEOs cannot grasp the idea that "life" is employees working for themselves and pursuing their own interests instead of working for others.
What kind of commitment does Reid Hoffman have towards seeing his employees win?
What kind of profit sharing do LinkedIn employees enjoy? What's the salary / compensation disperancy look like between the average employee and the C-Suite executives? What's the medical insurance and parental leave packages look like? What about education reimbursement?
Seriously, who is "winning" in Reid Hoffman's ideal scenario?
"Hail corporate!"
Fuck this "you can't get anywhere without stepping on everyone else" attitude.
That's our secret Raid, we don't want to win.
You can win. You can lose.
You can go poke around the garden with a rake on a sunny morning to discover what spring has wrought, also. Maybe have some friends over later?
Kings deserve the Guillotine!
This guy reeks of chode energy.
I agree, it's not winning unless you're crying, exhausted and with barely any more money than any other average folk unable to use it properly hoping for early retirement just before the economic crash leads you to being fired and having nepotism replace you instead!
Tired of winning yet?
Fuck this guy and anyone who thinks like him
might want to look at your linkedin site, what it has turned into
Winning what, more profits for you instead of me? Get fucked, loser.
I work to live. I dont live to work.
Maybe if workers actually Won by doing their jobs, this would be even close to approaching accurate.
I am not committed to winning
Exactly the sort of vapid self destructive Corpo-Cap shittery you'd expect out of the LinkedIn cofounder. He's probably like that all the time.
If you think you're winning because you're a corporate slave in capitalism then actually you're losing at life.
I live for me, not for a business.
When I'm old and dying I'll never say "I wish I worked more"
I think loving for a business is illegal in many places. ;)
Lol
Live*
I want work life imbalance. I want less work and more life.
I’m proud of being a loser in this case.
Fuck winning.
Be the best, climb the ladder
Do it better, higher, faster
I refuse to participate
If I go up it will be slow
I’m bringing everyone I know
Stopping on the sixth or seventh rung
Win what?
It’s weird that it’s always losers that are the ones talking about winning.
Not a good dedicated wage slave.
Man, Reid looking rough nowadays. If that’s what winning is, I don’t want it.
Also FYI, I’ll leave my original response up, but the title of this particular post is clickbait. Reid specifies a very particular instance where he thinks this applies.
Ah yes, slave away for decades to make the company's executives/owners richer, sacrificing watching your kids grow up, sacrificing your relationship with your spouse, family, and friends.
Giving up time for hobbies and community service so that I can get a raise that barely keeps up with inflation, a pizza party twice a year, shitty coffee that the employees have to make, in a pot that the employees have to clean, and eventually a parking space that is 100 feet closer to the entrance so I can get into the office even quicker...
Nah, forgive me for passing on being a "winner."
"Winning" presumably means achieving something as worthwhile as inflicting LinkedIn on the world. I'm good thanks.
LinkedIn == blessed 😍
Define winning.
That gave me the greatest laught yesterday.
It was so expected but still funny
Thats exactly the kind of thing I would expect the founder of LinkedIn to say. Bet there's a bunch of absolute lunatics ready to repost that to their own linked in page.
You committed to paying?
Why the f— would an employee be invested in the corporation "winning"? Unless he sees LinkedIn as a co-op and actively works on distributing profits equally to all member workers, that there is just management drivel.
Winning what for whom, you blubbering dipshit?
Patient zero of !linkedinlunatics@sh.itjust.works
The quote is right though I suspect he means something very incorrect by it. If your work is hostile to your life, you're losing; ditch that job immediately.
So done with this bullshit.
"...me my money."
"Visionary"
As LinkedIn begs for attention most days.
I'm not, and he's still wrong.
Sounds like he is just jealous of those who CAN manage their work and life and still suceed.
Hey Reid! You should pull yourself up by your bootstraps and be more like Tom over there!
I am reminded of an episode of Friends. I forget what else was happening in the episode, but the guys and the girls are separated. The three girls are in Monica's apartment with a leg waxing kit they have apparently bought ALL THE WAY into the marketing for, because they keep saying shit like "we gotta do this if we wanna be goddesses."
Being excessively steeped in messaging is a great way to give yourself idea cancer.
"Winning." What are you "winning" if you work yourself into fatigue and start making errors and mistakes?
Giving up work-life balance in the pursuit of "winning" leads to a Pyrrhic victory, assuming that you even actually win.
Well I say seeking to remove my work-life balance means he's not committing to not wanting to taste lead at high velocity using the base of his skull as a mouth.
In the context of start-ups. Where workers presumably are also rewarded with stock options or similar. Takes a certain mentality and a definition of "winning" that I don't share, which is why I don't and wouldn't work at a start-up. And besides, the message is chiefly directed at founders. I don't find it -that- controversial.
He's right. I'm committed to getting paid and doing what I want.