I'm a bastard. I have absolutely no clue why people can ever think otherwise. Yet they do. People think I'm a nice guy, and the fact is that I'm a scheming, conniving bastard who doesn't care for any hurt feelings or lost hours of work, if it just results in what I consider to be a better system. And I'm not just saying that. I'm really not a very nice person. I can say 'I don't care' with a straight face, and really mean it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Torvalds claims he prioritizes system quality over feelings or individual work hours.
- In plain terms
- He values good results more than being nice.
- What can you take from it?
- Results may require hard decisions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is it okay to hurt feelings?
- How do you balance results and people?
Another view
Ignoring feelings can damage team morale.
More from Linus Torvalds
Talk is cheap. Show me the code.
Permalink to quote #20 In short: just say NO TO DRUGS, and maybe you won't end up like the Hurd people.
Permalink to quote #22 Note that nobody reads every post in linux-kernel. In fact, nobody who expects to have time left over to actually do any real kernel work will read even half. …
Permalink to quote #19
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