I think you’ve got cause and effect a bit backwards.
> whenever you feel you’re treated unfairly, walk away. People will stop treating you unfairly.
Walking away from a bad deal certainly prevents you from being taken advantage of in that moment, but it will do nothing to prevent the next company who knows nothing about you from trying to hoodwink you again. While the ability to say no to a bum deal is important, it’s no substitute for actual leverage in these situations.
Executives and highly valued FAANG engineers have more leverage not because they say “no”, they have more leverage because both parties know they can say no, and they’re valued enough for that no to hurt. The startup needs not just an engineer, but that specific one. The threat of a “no” those with leverage gets far more results than from someone without it.
> whenever you feel you’re treated unfairly, walk away. People will stop treating you unfairly.
Walking away from a bad deal certainly prevents you from being taken advantage of in that moment, but it will do nothing to prevent the next company who knows nothing about you from trying to hoodwink you again. While the ability to say no to a bum deal is important, it’s no substitute for actual leverage in these situations.
Executives and highly valued FAANG engineers have more leverage not because they say “no”, they have more leverage because both parties know they can say no, and they’re valued enough for that no to hurt. The startup needs not just an engineer, but that specific one. The threat of a “no” those with leverage gets far more results than from someone without it.