Some people are very good at recognizing talent and using it. It is a common attribute of many top CEO's in any industry.
As an outsider looking in, I perceive Jason's value to a company may be found both in his skill to identify valuable people and to market the company he is involved with through his personal exploits. Sometimes, companies work well in spite of the leadership they have as staff comes together to form and execute ideas.
At Weblogs, Brian Alvey and a slew of talented people pushed both the platform and the content to form a successful company. At Mahalo, iteration after iteration drives the product while a revolving door of staff comes and goes. Jason's latest projects including his video podcast network and independent startup conference are further examples of time and trial. On the surface, Jason's value has been to identify the right people and use each company as a platform to market himself and then his role within the company.
This history is somewhat unusual and confusing when compared with traditional employers. Especially for those that Jason prefers to hire. Young, fresh out of school, energetic and bright, Jason leverages his abilities to identify talent in order to "scoop" people who can trade their time for the chance to work for a true online legend. In many cases, it's a fair trade. However, when looked at from afar, Weblogs, Mahalo, This Week In and TechCrunch tell an interesting story that may make those with more experience, knowledge or connections think twice. "To each his own" is a valuable sentiment conveyed well by Travis in the original post.
Beyond history, I have learned to judge powerful people with a simple measure of good vs. evil. When given the opportunity, some people unknowingly make decisions that have a positive impact on the people and processes around them. Others feel more comfortable operating somewhat negatively while justifying their path by saying things such as, "I make the hard decisions" and "I'll fight until the last breath". There is no right or wrong way to make decisions but the impact of those decisions on the people and processes around them uncover what type of person they are.
With my definition of good vs. evil above in mind, and using Mahalo as a specific example, Jason can be viewed as evil. It's not always easy to do, but I strongly believe that working with people who are fundamentally good produces happy, healthy, engaged employees who truly care about the success of their company, it's culture and their leadership. Working for people who are evil produces a turnstile of employees who typically last less then 3 years at their desk and require regular additional extra curricular motivation in order to offset their frustrations.
One correction: Mahalo has had close to zero turnover in the past year. It is far from a revolving door... more like a line of folks out the door who want to get it!
Now, you are correct that my skill is in finding talent....... and developing it.... and finding markets....... and attacking them.... and raising capital...... and then more capital... and in marketing products....... and in branding/naming.... ... and motivating folks... and creating company culture.
I've basically gotten lucky like six times in a row... the streak will be over shortly.
To correct Jason, I think our near zero turnover has been closer to 8-9 months long. But it's certainly improved significantly over when I started at Mahalo about a year and a half ago. I would attribute that to Jason's hiring of smart people, recognizing those with skills in areas he may be weak in, and putting them in positions where they can do something about it.
Just to be sure that I haven't misspoken: I'm not using the word evil to say that Jason is in some way similar to the devil. He's a smart guy who I'm sure has done some really nice things. I'm using evil in the context described above.
As for the turnstile of staff at Mahalo... I don't necessarily think that this is a bad thing either. I bet that without planning, groups of staff have naturally come and gone as the product has iterated. If you're in a long iteration right now, that's great news! Maybe this is the one that will "hit". The problem with turnover like this is that eventually, products start to evolve in circles. I think that Mahalo itself is a good example of this.
Comments
Some people are very good at recognizing talent and using it. It is a common attribute of many top CEO's in any industry.
As an outsider looking in, I perceive Jason's value to a company may be found both in his skill to identify valuable people and to market the company he is involved with through his personal exploits. Sometimes, companies work well in spite of the leadership they have as staff comes together to form and execute ideas.
At Weblogs, Brian Alvey and a slew of talented people pushed both the platform and the content to form a successful company. At Mahalo, iteration after iteration drives the product while a revolving door of staff comes and goes. Jason's latest projects including his video podcast network and independent startup conference are further examples of time and trial. On the surface, Jason's value has been to identify the right people and use each company as a platform to market himself and then his role within the company.
This history is somewhat unusual and confusing when compared with traditional employers. Especially for those that Jason prefers to hire. Young, fresh out of school, energetic and bright, Jason leverages his abilities to identify talent in order to "scoop" people who can trade their time for the chance to work for a true online legend. In many cases, it's a fair trade. However, when looked at from afar, Weblogs, Mahalo, This Week In and TechCrunch tell an interesting story that may make those with more experience, knowledge or connections think twice. "To each his own" is a valuable sentiment conveyed well by Travis in the original post.
Beyond history, I have learned to judge powerful people with a simple measure of good vs. evil. When given the opportunity, some people unknowingly make decisions that have a positive impact on the people and processes around them. Others feel more comfortable operating somewhat negatively while justifying their path by saying things such as, "I make the hard decisions" and "I'll fight until the last breath". There is no right or wrong way to make decisions but the impact of those decisions on the people and processes around them uncover what type of person they are.
With my definition of good vs. evil above in mind, and using Mahalo as a specific example, Jason can be viewed as evil. It's not always easy to do, but I strongly believe that working with people who are fundamentally good produces happy, healthy, engaged employees who truly care about the success of their company, it's culture and their leadership. Working for people who are evil produces a turnstile of employees who typically last less then 3 years at their desk and require regular additional extra curricular motivation in order to offset their frustrations.
One correction: Mahalo has had close to zero turnover in the past year. It is far from a revolving door... more like a line of folks out the door who want to get it!
Now, you are correct that my skill is in finding talent....... and developing it.... and finding markets....... and attacking them.... and raising capital...... and then more capital... and in marketing products....... and in branding/naming.... ... and motivating folks... and creating company culture.
I've basically gotten lucky like six times in a row... the streak will be over shortly.
Pure evil.
To correct Jason, I think our near zero turnover has been closer to 8-9 months long. But it's certainly improved significantly over when I started at Mahalo about a year and a half ago. I would attribute that to Jason's hiring of smart people, recognizing those with skills in areas he may be weak in, and putting them in positions where they can do something about it.
I'd say this is far from evil.
Just to be sure that I haven't misspoken: I'm not using the word evil to say that Jason is in some way similar to the devil. He's a smart guy who I'm sure has done some really nice things. I'm using evil in the context described above.
As for the turnstile of staff at Mahalo... I don't necessarily think that this is a bad thing either. I bet that without planning, groups of staff have naturally come and gone as the product has iterated. If you're in a long iteration right now, that's great news! Maybe this is the one that will "hit". The problem with turnover like this is that eventually, products start to evolve in circles. I think that Mahalo itself is a good example of this.
You're definitely a talented guy. I don't believe in luck.
It would be time well spent for everyone who wants to be successful to take a page out of your book.