Do you really need explanation as to why you shouldn't be needy and obnoxious? I find it hard to believe that you need some empirical evidence to prove this point.
Person X has never been regarded as needy or obnoxious and is generally really great to be around. He is a junior engineer and spends a lot of time making sure everyone around him is as happy as possible by making sure he always completes anything assigned to him quickly.
Person Y is generally regarded well, but people expect him to always ask them questions so they tend to avoid him. He's often referred to as needy and sometimes even as obnoxious. If you're doing something he doesn't know about, expect him to be hovering around trying to work out what you're doing and why.
What happens if person X and Y stay at a big corporation? Person X is probably going to be promoted up a few rungs. If he is lucky he will eventually end up high in the organization. If he is unlucky or too nice, he will end up stuck in a dead end job doing the work of 5 people for the pay of 1 person. Person Y is probably going nowhere.
What happens if X or Y decide to create a new startup? Person X only knows about engineering - and only small stuff, not the big picture. It's unlikely his startup would succeed. Person Y, however, has spend the last few years trying to understand everything about business/engineering/sales etc that he can get his hands on. His startup has far better odds.
This is what the article is arguing. I find it hard to believe you DON'T need some evidence to assume person Y is always wrong. I've been person X before - I would not recommend it. Always make sure you understand the reasons behind anything you are doing, never just 'follow orders' or do anything you don't understand. Life is too short.
Comments
Do you really need explanation as to why you shouldn't be needy and obnoxious? I find it hard to believe that you need some empirical evidence to prove this point.
Let's take two people.
Person X has never been regarded as needy or obnoxious and is generally really great to be around. He is a junior engineer and spends a lot of time making sure everyone around him is as happy as possible by making sure he always completes anything assigned to him quickly.
Person Y is generally regarded well, but people expect him to always ask them questions so they tend to avoid him. He's often referred to as needy and sometimes even as obnoxious. If you're doing something he doesn't know about, expect him to be hovering around trying to work out what you're doing and why.
What happens if person X and Y stay at a big corporation? Person X is probably going to be promoted up a few rungs. If he is lucky he will eventually end up high in the organization. If he is unlucky or too nice, he will end up stuck in a dead end job doing the work of 5 people for the pay of 1 person. Person Y is probably going nowhere.
What happens if X or Y decide to create a new startup? Person X only knows about engineering - and only small stuff, not the big picture. It's unlikely his startup would succeed. Person Y, however, has spend the last few years trying to understand everything about business/engineering/sales etc that he can get his hands on. His startup has far better odds.
This is what the article is arguing. I find it hard to believe you DON'T need some evidence to assume person Y is always wrong. I've been person X before - I would not recommend it. Always make sure you understand the reasons behind anything you are doing, never just 'follow orders' or do anything you don't understand. Life is too short.