When did fake it until you make it backfire epically?

I was in a Skype job interview that involved multiple rounds in one session. I talked to person

A, then person B, and then person C. During the interview with person B, I was asked to talk about

one of my weaknesses after having already talked about one of my strengths. I explained that I'm

very comfortable with

creative problem solving, but sometimes I take for granted that the status quo exists for a reason.

Person B responded, huh, I see your point, but I don't think that's a problem in the grand scheme of

things. You seem very entrepreneurial to me, and people with that motivation have a healthy

skepticism for how things have to be.

So that was a pleasant thing to hear, especially in an industry that involves bringing in new business and keeping clients.

I thanked Person B and told him I'd never thought of myself as entrepreneurial, but there was something that felt true about that description.

Cut to my interview with Person C. First question, what are some words that people

might use to describe you? Well, one thing I've been told is that I'm entrepreneurial. I'm less of a

leader and more a collaborator. I value creativity and I went on like that. They answered,

So, you've said you're entrepreneurial. What business have you started then? I might as well have quit at that point.

Once I said, none, nothing I said to person C was going to convince him that I wasn't full of crap.

I told Person C several projects I'd started that involved my personal initiative, taking risks and making proposals to people with the power to deny my idea or be a part of my team.

The problem he seemed to have was that none of those things was literally a business. Guy I used to work with told me about when he used to work as an electrician apprentice at a plant. When there was nothing to do, which apparently was most of the time, the lead guy and him would walk out to a random spot in the plant with a ladder, a conduit benderender and a piece of conduit. Then one of them would stand on top of the ladder and the other one was on the ground holding the conduit and they'd just chit chat all day. If any of the bosses wandered by, they'd nod and pass the piece of conduit up to the guy on the ladder, would then make a show of trying to fit it in somewhere. that they both made it through three rounds of layoffs doing that, but they were ultimately found out. A lot of the big

instances of fraud came from the fake it until you make it mentality. Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos

were faking the technology until they could get it to work. Fire Festival was faking it until they

could get the money together. Anna Delvey didn't tend to make it one day, but she ponzied her way through until she'd get there.

Dr. Christopher Dunch, or Dr. Death, was a horrible back surgeon, but he kept operating and working on patients anyway.

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