Tech Bros Love to Be “Hardcore.” Too Bad They Don’t Understand What It Means.

Butts in seats, heads on beds. From a radical uptick in in-office time to literally sleeping there, Elon Musk’s Twitter looks – oh, what is that word again? - “hardcore”. 

The chatter I hear from some tech executives is that Elon’s getting it right: a return to five days in the office, committing to hours at your desk and long sprints of work. In their world, hardcore is really bro-speak for the kind of work life where mostly single (and largely white) men are “proving themselves” and thus getting ahead, bolstered by a network of guys who look pretty much just like them. 

To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what they think it means.

I look in the mirror and I see someone hardcore. Hardcore is not time spent at your desk. It’s not hours given at the expense of all other obligations and pursuits in life. It’s not believing that great work can’t be done outside the office. It’s not looking at employees as expendable and replaceable. 

Hardcore is about hitting your numbers every day. Earning the confidence and trust of customers. Growing the business in a crappy economy. Keeping your team curious, engaged, satisfied and productive. And it’s about achieving all those things in the configuration that works best for you. 

For me, that means picking my kids up from school every single day, being available for pediatrician visits, folding laundry during a call if I have to. It might mean texting a board member in line at school pickup or getting up at 5 am to talk with my team in Europe. It means holding CoderPad employees accountable for results but giving them the autonomy to get their work done. We high five for outcomes and speed, not for looking busy at the office.

Being hardcore isn’t about rigid adherence to any kind of hours (either to a strict 40 per week if it’s not enough or 70 simply because it’s expected). It isn’t about looking a certain way or acting in lockstep with everyone else. I don’t want to play foosball in the office while I wait for something to do. Being busy for the sake of being busy isn’t my jam. I also don’t want to leave my team in a lurch during a busy season by saying, “Too bad, I’ve done my eight for the day.” Hardcore to me is making the choice to work the way that works best for me – as long as I’m getting shit done and done well. Period.

I might not look hardcore by bro standards but guess what? Hardcore is living your professional and personal life on your terms – and making no apologies about it.