Many of us have worked with them: the engineering jerk who is brilliant at what they do, but treats others like trash. Some companies have a policy not to hire them (eg, Netflix’s “No Brilliant Jerks”, which was one of the many reasons I joined the company). There’s also the “No Asshole Rule”, popularized by a bestselling book of this title, which provides the following test:
- After encountering the person, do people feel oppressed, humiliated or otherwise worse about themselves?
- Does the person target people who are less powerful than him/her?
Here’s a test for you or your company: Would you tolerate a brilliant engineer who is also an asshole? (Or the more company-polite version: would you tolerate a brilliant jerk?)
Read in full here:
This thread was posted by one of our members via one of our news source trackers.