[AVTizzle]

>> "I was visiting with an ex-student who’s now the CFO of a large public tech company."

>> "(By coincidence, the CEO was an intern at one of my startups more than two decades ago.)"

Admittedly, this isn't adding to the discussion at hand. Just one amateur writer picking apart another's writing style, but...

Is it just me, or do those lines serve no purpose except to boost the author's own ego and sense of self-importance?

I feel like they don't serve the reader in taking away the lesson in the least. They really strike me as an attempt to remind the reader of the writer's own value and importance.

Maybe I'm being too cynical...

[Aeolun]

Later on in the story it's become apparent that the line that the CEO is touting is the exact same one that the author told him 20 years ago, so I'd say that part is pretty relevant :)

[chrisbennet]

I noticed that but I didn't understand what he was getting at. Was he saying that the CEO/former student was:

A) Repeating what Steve told him and Steve had changed his mind about that advice?

B) Repeating what Steve told him but in the wrong context?

[lovich]

To me it sounded like the author had truly believed that advice at the startup stage but now in a large company he saw how those words rang hollow as the employees were no longer benefiting from the companies growth. He seemed embarrassed that his words were being used to justify adding 45 ×70 minutes of commute time to a team that wasn't getting early employee equity

[chrisbennet]

Thanks!

[sumedh]

I was skimming through the article when I read that line then I assumed the author might be someone important so started reading the rest of the article with more focus.

[rf15]

Shouldn't you care more about the topic and if you find it agreeable or even inspirational instead of judging it by the author's perceived importance?

[sumedh]

Ideally yes, in reality you cannot process everything so you filter the information based on the author's importance.

e.g If you read some financial advice on a random blog you might ignore it but the same advice coming from Warren Buffett will be taken seriously.

[andrewstuart]

Its Steve Blank - he's just pointing out facts that support the story, it happens that he works with lots of successful people and companies.