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A review by johndsouza
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
3.0
I have polarized feelings about this book.
On one hand, Dan comes across and a condescending individual who considers his age and experience to be the sole determinants of his superiority at a startup that is predominantly made up of people half his age, with a skill-set very different from what he has. He was a bad fit for the job, but he stuck around because there were IPO $$$ to be made.
On the other hand, I relate to parts of his experience. My 6 years taking a product from infancy to maturity at a VERY BIG financial company in Boston added up to nothing when a new clique moved into the project. Suddenly the old crowd could do nothing right and the NKOTB were infallible. Two horrible biannual reviews later, I'm just glad I didn't quit but got laid off, got a very generous severance package and found greener pastures across the street within a month.
Ageism is very much alive in the tech sector.
The best part of the book is Chapter 12 where he takes a break from his incessant whining and actually writes something substantial. This is probably the only chapter where you learn something useful.
This is soon followed by a spiteful Chapter 20 which though insightful seems so out of place.
At times his narrative seems like a lawyer finally getting a chance to make an argument for the defense - "I did this. It was trivial. But Spinner... she got livid. But, but... it was TRIVIAL. Really!"
Lyons has a story worth telling, a story my career relates to; but this book didn't do that. Reducing the page count by about 50 and editing out a lot of the repetitive whining would have been a good start.
BTW, did anyone else notice the irony in the review by none other than... Newsweek: "Laugh-out-loud funny."
On one hand, Dan comes across and a condescending individual who considers his age and experience to be the sole determinants of his superiority at a startup that is predominantly made up of people half his age, with a skill-set very different from what he has. He was a bad fit for the job, but he stuck around because there were IPO $$$ to be made.
On the other hand, I relate to parts of his experience. My 6 years taking a product from infancy to maturity at a VERY BIG financial company in Boston added up to nothing when a new clique moved into the project. Suddenly the old crowd could do nothing right and the NKOTB were infallible. Two horrible biannual reviews later, I'm just glad I didn't quit but got laid off, got a very generous severance package and found greener pastures across the street within a month.
Ageism is very much alive in the tech sector.
The best part of the book is Chapter 12 where he takes a break from his incessant whining and actually writes something substantial. This is probably the only chapter where you learn something useful.
This is soon followed by a spiteful Chapter 20 which though insightful seems so out of place.
At times his narrative seems like a lawyer finally getting a chance to make an argument for the defense - "I did this. It was trivial. But Spinner... she got livid. But, but... it was TRIVIAL. Really!"
Lyons has a story worth telling, a story my career relates to; but this book didn't do that. Reducing the page count by about 50 and editing out a lot of the repetitive whining would have been a good start.
BTW, did anyone else notice the irony in the review by none other than... Newsweek: "Laugh-out-loud funny."