Jason Calacanis quote from FOWA
Near the end of Jason Calacanis’ talk at FOWA 2009, he said:
Average people push great people out of a company.
That’s a pretty heavy quote, really, and can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. But I definitely think there’s truth in it.
The first point of controversy lies in the definition of great people. And of course, the definition changes with the situation. If you replace “company” with “senior design project” then all of a sudden “great people” is in the context of students. So it could mean several different things, but the general idea is the same. And since we’re talking about web technology, person and developer become synonymous.
So, what makes a “great person” then? To me, a great person (in this context) is someone who strives to be the best, doesn’t stop until it’s right, loves to learn, and never settles for “well it works”. Anybody can make anything “work” — it’s not that tough. But to solve a problem the right way, the way that will stand tall 5 or more years from now, takes knowledge, dedication, self-motivation, hard work, and in my eyes, someone great.
One could argue that my life experience is somewhat shallow, as I’m only 27 years old. But I can count a number of instances where I’ve been involved with people who don’t care. Whether it was during college or a job, it’s a frustrating thing to deal with. Especially considering how the world doesn’t always appreciate the one’s who do it right. Sure, you graduated at the top of your class, but the odds are that won’t really get you anywhere. And maybe you spent that extra day ensuring that your code was modularized and/or decoupled, but unfortunately for you, it happens to work the same as the tightly-coupled code. Most of the time, companies just want it done, regardless of how “right” it is. And that’s where I think this quote strongly applies…
Great people can only go so long living in an environment that doesn’t support and/or appreciate all of the dedication and hard work that goes into something. And a company, or school project, or whatever full of average people can only afford to support the status-quo. Average will never be great, and by definition, can never support greatness. It creates a problem, for sure. In some cases, it seems like the overachievers get the same deal as those who do little to nothing. Being surrounded by that day after day can make a person want something better. Something more deserving.
And that’s why I think I agree (or at least, can understand the point) that, “Average people push great people out of a company.”
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with that quote?