[alexashka]

I hear you.

When Michael Jordan was an asshole to everybody, I hear they refused to have him on The Bulls and won multiple championships without him.

Remember how The Beatles decided it's not worth it and didn't make any music? What a great decision by them, nobody would remember them long after they're gone anyway.

When I look at giant corps with their HR departments and filtering out of anyone who isn't a 'team player' - I am inspired. When Microsoft announces another ground breaking product - I forget all about the mediocre music and art created by small groups of difficult people.

When I compare Steve Jobs and his lunatic behaviour to Tim Cook, I am reminded that getting along clearly leads to better outcomes.

It is corporate culture of getting along that inspires me. It is people who think like you.

[onion2k]

You're getting downvoted but I think you make a valid point. Brilliant loners can be really useful for a business. They're the visionaries. They're the ones who change industries.

But imagine having Steve Jobs on your team, and trying to get the best out of him within the constraints of a project. It'd be impossible. Brilliant people like the ones you've listed need to be the ones leading. That's why I don't want them on my team.

[bcrosby95]

Yeah, but now you're most likely leaving the field of software engineering and are going higher up the promotion ladder.

[mattmanser]

Beatles/music analogy rather backfires, no-one remembers Paul McCartney albums or Freddie Mercury solo projects.

I could spend years listing bands that have split up, the lead singer or guitarist tries to go solo, utterly fails, band goes for reunion tour 10 years later. It's a known band cliché.

A large software project is a lot of hard work of basically a bunch of people trying to write a story together. It's different to sport. One asshole pulling in a completely different direction is enough to drag everyone down.

[danjac]

Counterexamples: John Lennon, Sting, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Phil Collins, Lou Reed...

[mattmanser]

They're the exceptions to the rule, the converse happens far more often.

[danjac]

...George Michael, Paul Simon, Iggy Pop, Cher, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Diana Ross...