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’
He's right. I'm committed to getting paid and doing what I want.
Right? "Winning" what exactly? Reid Hoffman's trying to be the best at being the most miserable and unfulfilled. The most regrets on his death bed.
Until I have the same unlimited upside as a founder does, I’m committed to work life balance. If you’re a wage employee, there is not point in giving your life to your job.
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.
Reid Hoffman can wake up at 4:30am and begin the important work of eating my entire arsehole.
I wouldn't give him the privilege of the entirety. He can just lap at the crusty bits.
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.
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!
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.
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.
You have been banned from /r/capitalism
Fuck off, Reid.
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.
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.
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.
Looking at him, he may need a bit of work-life balance.
Dude wants to win at work. I win at life.
He doesn't understand the difference.
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
Processing the context, you can see how a lot of internet companies have continued the trend of making wage positions "more entrepreneurial".
I think it’s fair enough to put in some really intense years with the promise of a nice payoff and ability to retire early, as opposed to spreading that effort and payout over decades with work / life balance. The problem is when that same intense effort is asked of anyone who will not be getting such a payout at the end. Even workers with equity in a start-up can get the shaft due to the fine print where the VCs take the lions share of the exit money and the workers end up with a paltry sum to that won’t even cover their medical bills later on after the stress takes its toll on their bodies.
Fortune rage baiting?!
Kings deserve the Guillotine!
this belongs in linkedin lunatics
What a loser
Fuck this "you can't get anywhere without stepping on everyone else" attitude.
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!"
might want to look at your linkedin site, what it has turned into
Cool, he might consider fucking off and dying.
This guy reeks of chode energy.
Fuck this guy and anyone who thinks like him
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?
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?
If anything, Linkedin itself is a redflag just from their psychopathic micromanagers lost in their own world thinking everyone owes them something.
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.
There are many ways to win in life. LinkedIn isn't one of them.
I am not committed to winning
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*
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.
Win what?
Win the expectation to do more work without proper compensation, in my experience.
I want work life imbalance. I want less work and more life.
Not a good dedicated wage slave.
"Winning" presumably means achieving something as worthwhile as inflicting LinkedIn on the world. I'm good thanks.
LinkedIn == blessed 😍
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.
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
It’s weird that it’s always losers that are the ones talking about winning.
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."
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.
That gave me the greatest laught yesterday.
It was so expected but still funny
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.
a reality check for entrepreneurs
Yes. You gotta grind like hell to start a seriously profitable company. Had drinks at our company's open house with a client who owned 3 or 4 small construction related businesses.
"You have to bust your ass for about 2-2.5 years to get a business rolling, then it mostly takes care of itself."
You committed to paying?
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.
