Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by SFLemonade 3718 days ago
Really impressive response - they took the high road here and the data was nice. The whole time I was reading the book, I just felt like something was off. Like he was sort of out of touch and hypocritical in a lot of his arguments (like accusing the company of ageism, right after complaining that his manager was 28). It seemed like Dan may have wanted to write this book before even taking a job at the company. Too many low-ball shots and unsubstantiated stories of hearsay. Glad to see the other side of this.
2 comments
visakanv 3718 days ago
> It seemed like Dan may have wanted to write this book before even taking a job at the company.

This seems pretty likely to me.

link
ant6n 3717 days ago
He worked at the company for 20 months. That's almost two years. If this was an undercover stunt, then he was pretty committed to this.
link
apapli 3718 days ago
I'd say 28 is still pretty young - when you look at the workforce ages between 20 and 60 odds are that individual is probably not even a quarter through their working life.
link
SFLemonade 3718 days ago
And your point? Companies like this realize that promoting / rewarding on results and competency, rather than age and tenure, is much more effective. But this is honestly nothing new.

It was surprising to me that the author just couldn't wrap his mind around it, despite going to such lengths to convince the audience that he was some amazing and prestigious tech journalist. With stuff like this, I think he was intentionally ignorant ("What?? A young manager?? He would be an assistant at my beloved, ironically extinct and thus irrelevant Newsweek"), so as to appeal to an audience that just isn't familiar with the tech scene beyond what they see on TV.

link
jbdigriz 3717 days ago
Uh, he was right unless you missed the part where the 28 year old was replaced by someone even older than the author.

There's something the vast majority of millennials seem to lack and that is respect for the wisdom that comes with age. This doesn't say anything else that necessitates a defensive posture or taking a chip on one's shoulders - though another character flaw of applying and seeing everything in the light of themselves generally causes this. This is the naivete of youth and unfortunately most don't even realize as much until they are way past their youth

link