Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley

by Antonio García Martínez

It’s because you are without a doubt the least daring and least innovative person at your organization, because in the opportunity-rich environment in which you live, the ambitious and capable have left to pursue it. There’s a negative selection in which the cream (or whatever it is that initially rises) gets constantly skimmed off, and you are what’s left after years of continual skimming. Changing from big company A to big company B is cosmetic, as it’s of course at least a lateral move if not a step up. You learn that what matters in a big company is to avoid falling victim to firing or layoffs, and to appear important and critical to the company’s mission. You have mastered the art of “managing up”: namely, controlling the feelings and perceptions of the management layer above you. You take feedback well, and make sure to be seen speedily acting on that feedback. If you have reports, you champion their careers internally (make sure they know you’re doing that), and try to mold them into people like yourself, who are organizationally effective and recognized as such. In all but the most pathological organizations, your reports’ success will reflect well on you and create your own success. You make sure to form allegiances and friendships with your peer managers, particularly in organizations like sales or business development that you’ll need to push your business agenda forward. When there’s an ineffective and incompetent member in the organization, rather than calling...