How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was like to work for Bill Gates

Re:How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was li... by huhtenberg on Thursday June 26, 2008 @11:03AM (#228668)

This is true for any industry and it's a basic common sense for anyone but a recent MBA graduate without any real-world experience. There's nothing particularly great or insightful about this quote.

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Re:How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was li... by neilc on Thursday June 26, 2008 @12:46PM (#228789)

Not really: the practice of installing CEOs without a lot of industry experience is quite common (see Terry Semel). It might be obvious to you, but not to everyone.

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Re:How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was li... by natrius on Thursday June 26, 2008 @01:59PM (#228869)

Terry Semel had previous experience managing a large media company, which is what Yahoo wanted to become at the time he was hired.

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Re:How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was li... by neilc on Thursday June 26, 2008 @02:05PM (#228878)

Sure, but he didn't have experience as a technology executive, and couldn't call "bullshit" on technical claims made by people reporting to him -- which is Joel's argument for why this sort of CEO isn't often a good idea.

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Re:How Hard Could it Be? Joel Spolsky recalls what it was li... by dreish on Thursday June 26, 2008 @12:36PM (#228772)

Not to veer off into politics, but the Bush administration would seem to be an existence proof that at least some part of your statement is incorrect. (Yes, I realize Bush has an MBA.) I've run into this attitude fairly often, and not just among MBAs.

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