Jason Calacanis has stirred up something of a firestorm with his assertion that:
Fire people who are not workaholics. don’t love their work… come on folks, this is startup life, it’s not a game. don’t work at a startup if you’re not into it–go work at the post office or stabucks if you’re not into it you want balance in your life. For realz.
In fairness to Jason, a number of the tips he gives for saving money are sensible but this one is way off the charts. In a later post, he tries to retract part of what he says (hence the strike throughs), saying that:
Truth be told, I’ve never asked anyone to work harder than I do, and I work seven days a week. I never stop thinking about whatever project I’m working on, and I don’t consider what I do work–never have.
I am so relieved. But seriously – workaholics like alcoholics are sick people. If you’ve ever worked for one – or in my case for both in the same person – it is an incredibly debilitating experience, especially if you have a family and a one hour commute in each direction. Jeff Nolan may not realise it but he nails it with this:
The fascination with Jason Calacanis as muse in this part of the tech industry is curious to me. He’s not particularly insightful while being exclusively self-serving and self-absorbed
Those who are self-ish in the manner Jeff describes tend to be sick. People who know me are probably thinking – what the heck? This is the guy who never sleeps (not true) and is making a holier than thou statement about someone who believes in hard work? Wrong. I believe in hard work just as much as the next person although working hard has nothing to do with getting things done. But what I don’t believe in is work as the centre of everything. In this, Jason makes a telling point:
My work *is* my life.
That is sad. If that’s all this person has going for them then I feel sorry for him because in later life it will be the source of much regret. I’ve been there and know. Ask any of the poor souls at KPMG how they feel about pulling 70-90 hours a week and being short changed just how good they feel.
I believe Jason is getting confused between commitment and work. The guys at FreeAgent for instance are among some of the most committed people I know. But they all have young families and they come first. Does that mean things don’t get done? Of course not. It means that when the children are tucked up in bed, we can get other things done for an hour or so. That’s commitment.
loading...
loading...
