>The saddest part for me in the late 90's was the influx of business majors who were going to 'show up how its done' as opposed to problem solvers and team builders.
Funny, the saddest part for me, both in the late 90s and today, are the "Tech Stars" who are living high on the hog on other people's money, with some pipe dream of getting bought out and no plan to run a real, viable, sustainable business. Their businesses implode, they get "rich" (through money and contacts) and move on to the next project.
Laugh all you want at the MBAs, but I can assure you that they, at the very least, understand that the purpose of a business is to create value for customers and generate a return for stakeholders. I think "Silicon Valley" could have used a bit more of that sort of thinking then, as perhaps more so today.
I think that 'ninja/rockstar/ego-driven' technologists are sad in their own way. Somewhat differently than unseasoned MBAs though. There was a joke that was old even when I moved to the Bay Area in the 80's that you knew you were a 'successful' engineer when companies issued a press release that you had joined them, but they had no idea what you were going to do for them. And like most jokes there was a painful truth that for some people it really is all about them.
That said, I find it is also easy for me to fall into the trap of looking primarily at the excesses and sillyness and overlooking the cool things that get built. One of my long time friends is working at Intuitive Surgical and they are doing some really innovative and cool stuff that is not at all frivolous.
That's why you need an entrepreneur that has both skills (biz & tech). Engineering chops to execute (code) their dreams and business sense to make sure that they are building something that creates value for customers and not a hobby.
Funny, the saddest part for me, both in the late 90s and today, are the "Tech Stars" who are living high on the hog on other people's money, with some pipe dream of getting bought out and no plan to run a real, viable, sustainable business. Their businesses implode, they get "rich" (through money and contacts) and move on to the next project.
Laugh all you want at the MBAs, but I can assure you that they, at the very least, understand that the purpose of a business is to create value for customers and generate a return for stakeholders. I think "Silicon Valley" could have used a bit more of that sort of thinking then, as perhaps more so today.