Dunning Kruger Founder

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37620807

by DKDKJB • 3 years ago

4 5 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Technical founder who has multiple startup failures due to dunning kruger keeps failing. How do I tell him he is failing because he is making bad decisions in other functions

theGeatZhopa• 3 years ago

With Diplomacy. Also. One needs to stay within the same domain of language and knowledge, f.e. draw graphs and throw figures and formula equations and show him the impact of the wrong decisions compared to the right decisions.

Try to understand his point of view, from his perspective. Why has he decided that way and not the other? All answers are valid except "'cause he's sh*t dunning his krugers at all occasions"

codingdave• 3 years ago

Diplomacy, yes. But if someone came to me with figure and graphs outlining my mistakes, I'd be mortified and ticked and probably react poorly not because they thought I was wrong, but because they spent a ton of time diagramming why I was wrong instead of just talking to me.

gtsteve• 3 years ago

How you solve this problem depends on why you want to solve it in the first place. Is this a business partner, a colleague or a friend?

What makes you certain that the technical decisions are bad? Any examples? There might also be economic, marketing or product fit reasons which are less obvious, depending on what information you have.

bruce511• 3 years ago

When someone is skilled in one area, they can fall for the idea they are skilled in all areas.

The big advantage of co-founders are honest peer conversations of what worked, and what failed.

Ultimately to be a good founder requires that they are able to post-mortem well, and identify weaknesses.

Personally I would let the person know i had advice, but then keep the advice to myself until asked. Ultimately all decisions are compromises, and unsolicited advice on why a decision is "bad" without all the facts is seldom appreciated. My first goal would be to find out the constraints that lead to the decision in the first place.

phantomdk• 3 years ago

Founders on “Mount Stupid” do not accept the fact that anyone else can know something better or have a clearer picture of the industry or business than themselves. As a result, they fail to hire strong people who could challenge their worldview or provide constructive feedback.

Dunning Kruger Founder

Related Stories