LinkedIn's cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag

https://fortune.com/2025/04/02/reid-hoffman-says-the-best-founders-dont-have-work-life-balance-anything-short-means-theyre-not-committed-to-winning/

by bbqfog • 1 year ago

5 17 1 year ago

fortune.com

bbqfog2• 1 year ago

Just a reminder that this man was a frequent visitor to Jeffery Epstein's island, so it really makes you wonder what his definition of "work" is.

duxup4• 1 year ago

One thing about start up culture that always makes me wonder is the hustle and working all the time aspect and what if anything that has to do with success. It seems more like a social cues for other people to see (investors), but not really related to the end result of a start up succeeding or failing.

I really don't think your "uber but for cleaning windows" start up is going to succeed or fail because someone spent Christmas Day pounding out some code...

It seems more like product fit and so on are the reason most startups fail, not hours put into it.

Urahandystar• 1 year ago

I agree, I've always felt that its something that is necessary for much younger founders who this sort of material is aimed at. They don't have the experience so have to work hard to gain that experience, older founders would be making decisions from a much more seasoned standpoint and knowing what to expect in their domain so wouldn’t or not a much.

That said the cynic in me thinks it’s just a load of narcissistic clap trap that people tell themselves that it was all hard work and not their: Geography, network, Net worth that made the difference. The truth is all are going to be factors generalised as “Luck”.

JohnFen2• 1 year ago

"Committed to winning"?

Here's the thing. I'm not going to sacrifice my life on the altar of someone else's company. If I'm going to be as devoted to a company as this guy apparently thinks I should be, it's going to be for my own. For everyone else, I'll do the best work I can, in a professional manner, in exchange for a regular paycheck as we agreed to in the employment contract. It's called "doing business".

duxup4• 1 year ago

I can't tell from his quote if he means "entrepreneurs" and I think of that as founders and folks with lots of skin in the game ... or if he means everyone like some code drone who comes on later.

I do kinda get this concept as it applies to founders to SOME extent.

JohnFen2• 1 year ago

If he's talking about people working on their own businesses, that's an entirely different thing and my comment is wildly off the mark. I guess I didn't consider the possibility because most entrepreneurs don't need to to be told that, plus because he's a LinkedIn cofounder.

bbqfog2• 1 year ago

In the article he talks about making LinkedIn employees come back to work after family dinner. All for LinkedIn. Maybe it wouldn't suck so bad if people weren't stressed out and overworked?

quantified3• 1 year ago

Paywall is in the way. If you are listed as a co-founder, it should apply to you. You have meaningful participation.

If you're a non-founder employee, heck no. Your mission is making the VCs rich and the founders rich, in that order.

zero-sharp• 1 year ago

out of touch and/or virtue signaling

techpineapple• 1 year ago

Just dinner? What about waking up at 3am to workout and doing ice baths? (Kinda serious, interesting how every hustle influencer is convinced their routine is the key to success, and they’re all different)

duxup4• 1 year ago

I worked at a really old school company as my first job. Some folks talked about how hard the CEO and that team worked and so on. And they did put in a lot of hours, they really did.

On the other hand they had staff that catered to their work and their personal needs. The executive suite had a lounge and bar and storage for their personal stuff like their golf clubs... they flew first class when they traveled and stayed at the nicest places.

All strong contrasts to my windowless cube that was falling apart, basic travel ... is it any wonder why I'd rather not be there too much?

triceratops• 1 year ago

Pretty much this. I too could work 60-80h weeks if I didn't have to worry about cooking, laundry, cleaning, taxes, childcare, random paperwork.

quantified3• 1 year ago

The advice wasn't for you, in your cube your job is to make them money.

For everyone, peak performance is achieved with physical health and mental health, so working out and non-work brain-boosters like playing music or racing bikes are crucial.

reptilian• 1 year ago

Reid Hoffman is a pedophile, and his opinion is worth nothing to anyone.

LinkedIn's cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag

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