Home > Work > This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness
1 " We have FCC, abandoned alimony payments, assault and battery, Homeland Security escalation, and that's before we invite the IRS to take a walk on your wild side. "
― Ken Goldstein , This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness
2 " Pain has an odd way of expressing itself in the acts of business. No matter how many setbacks a leader might experience, there always seems to be a new opaque watermark of endurance testing, invisibly triggered for erratic combustion in each compounding decision. Every CEO in the world knows this, yet few have the good sense to walk away from the table when their cards are hot. Why win in Act Two when a comeback in Act Three gives you a longer biography? Ego is not so much about immortality as it is about demonstrating stately resistance to nightmarish attacks in public forums. Any good smack to the head is a continuity wake up call, or at least another invitation to be interviewed by Charlie Rose. "
3 " I don’t want other companies, I want this one,' insisted Seidelmeyer. 'I want all of their revenue and none of their people.''None of their people?' echoed Feretti. 'That’s good margin. "
4 " I know you engineer types are excellent with mathematics, much better than I ever will be, but I do know the difference between a tiny pail of coins and big bucket of dollars. How can I take the pail when I am worth the bucket? "
5 " Who could have guessed at the dawn of the 21st century, the seminal technology upon which 5000 years of modern science had resulted was the click? "
6 " And I’m sure they all played by the rules, just liked I did. By the way, when I got laid off four and a half years ago, the stock of my company was at an all-time high. Our CEO retired. He was paid $70 million. Maybe now that is only worth $30 million. Or maybe in a few years if he plays by the rules it will be worth $130 million. I’ll still be worth nothing. And I won’t have a home or my children. You see why I wonder about playing by the rules? Because I always do. As a result, you’re standing where I sleep. "