Paul GrahamVerified account

As an employee you get credit for effort too, being employed always felt to me like being a kid.

That's why no-one in SV hires or funds founders whose startups failed in the past, right?

Many results would be considered "cheating" in academia. In industry they might call it "hacking". By that logic customers still wouldn't care as long as you deliver.

It would be exceptionally interesting if you expanded on this with further observations.

I couldn't disagree more. If you are in a society so hell bent on outcome rather than effort then move to a better, more enlightened and, dare I say it, less sociopathically devoted to "customer is always right"... #sauceforthegoose

Students receive credit for effort precisely because the tasks imposed on them are (almost ostentatiously) without intrinsic interest. Adults choose both the tasks they undertake and the methods used to undertake them. It's easy to exert yourself toward something you want to do.

Admittedly I am a teacher, but when I am a customer and someone gives me a good service, ie tries, but I don’t get exactly what I asked for, I thank them for trying.

Absolutely! Growing up, we seem to be educated to deal mostly with linear reward functions (ΔReward=K*ΔEffort) in our life, which fail for a lot of fields: in research being stuck is frequently the default stage, startups etc. You should write an essay on this :)

Unfortunately, a lot of youngsters are happy with merely making a show of an effort. In business, whether one is a owner, or an employee, they have to prove every time, with every customer. Businesses that fail are those where this hunger to excel doesn't run very deep.

I like it.