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When Smart People Make Bad Employees
theodp writes "Writing for Forbes, CS-grad-turned-big-time-VC Ben Horowitz gives three examples of how the smartest people in a company can also be the worst employees: 1. The Heretic, who convincingly builds a case that the company is hopeless and run by a bunch of morons; 2. The Flake, who is brilliant but totally unreliable; 3. The Jerk, who is so belligerent in his communication style that people just stop talking when he is in the room. So, can an employee who fits one of these poisonous descriptions, but nonetheless can make a massive positive contribution to a company, ever be tolerated? Quoting John Madden's take on Terrell Owens, Horowitz gives a cautious yes: 'If you hold the bus for everyone on the team, then you'll be so late that you'll miss the game, so you can't do that. The bus must leave on time. However, sometimes you'll have a player that's so good that you hold the bus for him, but only him.' Ever work with a person who's so good that he/she gets his/her own set of rules? Ever been that person yourself?"
Exactly at my company we deal with complex engineering problems. I had one guy I worked with who was an absolute genius he has a knack of solving difficult problems with abstract thinking. The problem is that you ask him a question and he gives you answers with the same sort of abstract thinking. So now picture the scene, your on a construction site and a industrial electrician comes up to ask a question and gets more questions shot back at him structured as a riddle... had so many complaints and people just getting upset. His only saving grace was when the installers learnt that its easier to email him a question than to ask it face to face.