I intend to write a lot about why you should go and read this https://hackingcapitalism.io/
And then realized I could write very little.
It would be best if you read Kris Nóva’s Hacking Capitalism because it is a highly well-written document by an outsider on how to function and succeed in the alien tech world. It would be best if you read it because Kris Nóva (@nova@hachyderm.io) is a fantastic person who is impressive and distills a lifetime of insight into a tight actionable document.
And that’s the only reason you should read it. And if you need me to tell you why beyond that, here’s my life story.
At NetApp circa 2002, a great manager named Jonathan Crowther took me to lunch to discuss my career. It was the first time any manager had done that.
I was frustrated because my career had stalled out. And I didn’t understand why.
And he smiled and said that the problem was that I only approached people as functional units that needed to solve my problems or I needed to solve theirs. That I never treated people as people.
And I remember staring at him, and then he explained, “when you come in on Monday, you never say – how was your weekend? It’s always – I need this.”
I stared at him. I suspect I am somewhere on the spectrum. And it was a moment of clear revelation.
I spent the entire weekend thinking about this one conversation. A key benefit I had was that I had done a lot of acting, enjoyed D&D, and had an absurdly high executive function. And so I came on Monday morning and acted. I have a youtube video where I talk about this here.
What resonates with Ms. Nóva’s document is that she detaches herself from the reality of understanding why and accepts that things are and that she must devise rules on how to win based on that.
I lack her precision of English, wit, insight, and, to be quite frank, experience. And I wish, when I was 22, she had given me this document.
So who should read it? If you were not born in the United States, you were not a white CIS-gendered man, and you are not privileged, you should read this document.
The United States is an alien country. Its rules are strange. And its culture is derived from 300+ years of interaction between property rights, the evil belief that labor should be enslaved, that extreme Christian Dogmas are fundamental, and a sense of supreme righteousness and contempt.
For example, let’s consider ownership.
A year ago, I had an opportunity to talk to a Chinese woman, from mainland China. And she was talking about ownership and how she was struggling with her career because of that. And I realized she was talking about ownership in a way that sounded like a colorblind person talking about colors.
And then we talked about “what is ownership in the USA.” In the USA, ownership of property is a sacred right. When you own something, you own it. You can do whatever you want to it. And nobody can tell you otherwise. A considerable amount of the conflict in this country is putting boundaries on the ownership of people by others and the limits of ownership of common goods by individuals at the expense of the group. The idea that the country protected property rights from others and the government was eye-opening to her. Her life experience in Xi’s China and property rights was not that. And as we talked about ownership, she said – “oh, so that’s what ownership means.”
I love this country, and as a Greek from a village, a Canadian from Montreal surrounded by more small-town Greeks who fled Greece due to a civil war, a world war, and a junta, the culture of the United States and beliefs frequently leave me perplexed.
Hacking Capitalism is a guide to making this system work for you without understanding the why and just understanding its weak points.
The link to the book is broken.