Altman defines real work as work that’s directly related to growth. Building the product, selling it, and hiring meet his criteria; interviewing lawyers does not. This is why Y Combinator is relentlessly focused on tracking and encouraging growth week-over-week. What do they do instead? Fake work, which is easier and more fun. They raise money, try to get press – do anything that doesn’t make them grow faster, by whatever metric they’re using. He offers five examples of things you might hear from entrepreneurs who are doing fake work – things he actually heard from Y Combinator startups who went on to disappoint: Sound familiar? If fake work truly is easier and more fun than real work, our minds should go through all sorts of twists and contortions to justify it. Yes, this makes sense, but we are the exception or It’s only temporary or I know best what’s good for my company. But if Altman is right, then all those rationalizations are the first stop on the road to mediocrity.
