Judge followed his advice about passion with this nuanced observation about the relationship between employees and employers. Rather than the typical commencement message to 'follow your dreams and ignore the naysayers,' Judge offered something more realistic: respect the people you work for, because they usually do know their own business better than you think. But — and this was the crucial distinction — their knowledge of what's best for their company is not the same as knowledge of what's best for you. A boss might genuinely need you to work weekends, and that might genuinely be good for the company. But only you can decide whether that trade-off is right for your life. This was advice born from experience. Judge had left engineering to pursue animation, a decision that no employer or career counselor would have recommended. He acknowledged that there are 'a lot of really mean stupid bosses out there,' but also that there are good ones. The point wasn't to rebel or to comply — it was to maintain a clear understanding of whose interests are whose.