> This seems to miss the fact that what’s needed in a startup tends to be very different than what’s needed in a larger, more mature organization.
I wasn't talking about how companies should be organized. I was talking about how one should think about hierarchies:
> No matter how much you want to believe [emphasis added] that hierarchy is a "meritocracy", the founding of the hierarchy was undoubtedly chaos.
> I've always felt that hierarchical, subservient thinking [emphasis added] is strange, and I honestly never considered my former bosses to be "better" than me.
As a practical matter, hierarchies are difficult to avoid, as you've said. But they're only a means to an end. The point is to avoid internalizing hierarchical values and making your personal sense of worth depend on your place in them.
I wasn't talking about how companies should be organized. I was talking about how one should think about hierarchies:
> No matter how much you want to believe [emphasis added] that hierarchy is a "meritocracy", the founding of the hierarchy was undoubtedly chaos.
> I've always felt that hierarchical, subservient thinking [emphasis added] is strange, and I honestly never considered my former bosses to be "better" than me.
As a practical matter, hierarchies are difficult to avoid, as you've said. But they're only a means to an end. The point is to avoid internalizing hierarchical values and making your personal sense of worth depend on your place in them.