laurenhoward 's review for:

Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons

3.0

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I have mixed feelings about this book. While there are certainly criticisms that can be made about the tech industry, and maybe HubSpot, as well, Lyons is just so oblivious to how unlikable he is. He commits multiple offenses that one could absolutely be justifiably fired for and doesn't understand why management gets upset. He seemingly didn't do any research about the culture of the company (or the industry in general), and then got upset at his coworkers for not responding well to his behavior. I lost count of how many times he said something like "if this was a newsroom" or "if my journalist buddies were here" in order to justify his often antisocial actions, as if those two industries are anything alike. I certainly understand not enjoying a company's culture and being in a position where you need a job, any job, to pay the bills, but a lot of people genuinely do enjoy that culture, and Lyons just wasn't a good fit. Maybe HubSpot is really a terrible company, but Lyons brought so much of his unhappiness there upon himself.