The Robot's Thoughts

Rands In Repose has a great blog post on "Toxic Assets". These are the people who go ALL CAPS on your ass. People avoid this team member. He doesn't get the memo. He's defining someone as "Toxic" when despite Management's best efforts, people can't work with him and he might have to be let go. He closes with this:

The history of the Silicon Valley is full of stories of toxic people who were, well, right. These people were physically removed from their respective companies, but their agenda, their ideas, however unpalatable to the existing cultural regime, were actually the right thing to do for that particular company.

The paradox is we often need these toxic people. We need these self-centered assholes to totally ignore cultural conventions and to mix things up beyond recognition. They don’t need social grace and they don’t need charisma. Both help, but their value lies in their intense belief in their own culture.

I have an intense belief in my own culture. I've had debates where the other person has left the room because they felt they weren't being heard. They probably feel I was going ALL CAPS on them. I was just bypassing the part of the argument where they talk. This might sound arrogant, but I've heard it before.

You don't grow up poor, punk, educated, atheist, and liberal in central PA without facing intense cultural scrutiny. You're an outsider. People you've never met know things about you before you even start the conversation.

Anyway, the article and its simple model of relationships provoked thought in me, and I thought it was a good read. So I thought I'd share.

Labels: corporate culture, goals, links, personal, ramblings, thoughts