> Repeatedly, I pour my heart and soul into a project that I believe in, only for ownership to trash the project for superficial reasons.
This has happened to me over and over and I've seen it happen to others. It's not always obvious but sometimes business changes. Markets change, customer demands change, regulations change, competitors change. Strategies that made sense suddenly don't anymore. All the work that has been done is a sunk cost. You can't get it back, and if nobody wants the product anymore or it's not going to provide value, you just cut it off.
It sucks, but think about it, if you've been with the company 10 years and presumably they have been in business longer than that, they can't be complete idiots. Most small tech companies don't make it 10 years, or even close. Maybe the owners are assholes, but they are doing something right.
One thing that has helped is that I don't put my "heart and soul" into work projects anymore. I come in, work on the project in a professional, high-quality fashion, and go home at the end of the day. I get paid, and we're even. I've tried to make my relationship with work emotionless. It's a job. If you treat it like something deeply personal it's much more likely that you're going to end up angry or offended or taking business decisions by the owners as personal attacks.
> Maybe the owners are assholes, but they are doing something right.
Sometimes they are assholes and they are doing it wrong but it can work for a long time because there is still a market and no one want or can compete.
Say you own the only restaurant on top of a hill. There can only be one, as the space is limited, so it's only you. There will always be some customers are people enjoy the top of the hill view despite your shitty food. The owner of such an establishment can exist for longer than you can remain sane.
It's why lots of shitty businesses and bosses exist. These guys are immune, but a nice boss/business can die if the market changes.
This has happened to me over and over and I've seen it happen to others. It's not always obvious but sometimes business changes. Markets change, customer demands change, regulations change, competitors change. Strategies that made sense suddenly don't anymore. All the work that has been done is a sunk cost. You can't get it back, and if nobody wants the product anymore or it's not going to provide value, you just cut it off.
It sucks, but think about it, if you've been with the company 10 years and presumably they have been in business longer than that, they can't be complete idiots. Most small tech companies don't make it 10 years, or even close. Maybe the owners are assholes, but they are doing something right.
One thing that has helped is that I don't put my "heart and soul" into work projects anymore. I come in, work on the project in a professional, high-quality fashion, and go home at the end of the day. I get paid, and we're even. I've tried to make my relationship with work emotionless. It's a job. If you treat it like something deeply personal it's much more likely that you're going to end up angry or offended or taking business decisions by the owners as personal attacks.