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There seems to be an overall attitude in these early comments that have seemed to reach a consensus of, "Those changes sound like what every company should have

There seems to be an overall attitude in these early comments that have seemed to reach a consensus of, "Those changes sound like what every company should have." Personally, I'm not sure I agree. I think it's entirely possible that those qualities are not what help startups grow, but instead please investors/people not involved in the actual success of the company, while generally decreasing real productivity, increasing turnover, and causing anyone who sticks out from the norm to be the first to go. I might be wrong, but I've yet to be on a team under hard pressure for long periods of time that I saw productivity rise under. Instead, people stress more, and productivity drops because everyone's worrying about looking like they're working instead of figuring out the right work and nailing it.

slfnflctd 9y ago
> pressure for long periods of time The key factor to me is that the pressure has to be periodic, or cyclical, so everyone knows there will be a point where it eases off a bit. Rhythms like this are built into pretty much all aspects of biological systems, and human constructs which better reflect them are, I think, more likely to be successful. Someone mentioned a professional sports team vs. 'family' analogy elsewhere here, and while I'm not much of a sports guy the analogy seems like a good one. Pro teams have plenty of down time built into their yearly patterns.
- ghaff 9y ago
  >the analogy seems like a good one It is but it's probably also extreme in the context of how most companies are/should be managed. Having a bit of an off-year because you're having some trouble getting on the same page as the new quarterback or whatever. Well, nice to know you, but we're trading you. "It's just business." Hope things work out. Mind you, some occupations are pretty much like that. Sales jobs in particular are pretty ruthlessly results-oriented. Miss your numbers a couple of times even though it's because of some external factor you may not have control over and you're probably looking at the door.
- quaunaut 9y ago
  I agree with the idea of periodic pressure- mostly because it leaves you able to respond appropriately when it comes, which it always will.
manquer 9y ago
It depends on how you view it, over the long term you are simply left with people who can cope, whether it is good way to run a team/organization is a different question, but it certainly possible to get gains over longer periods of time For example in professional team sports you face high pressure constantly, while individuals fail all the time unable to cope with demanding physical and mental nature of the job, teams however can and do usually improve because the retain the ones who can thrive and perform in such environments and "firing" the ones who don't.
- DataWorker 9y ago
  Sports teams generally contract with players. Most employees do not have contracts and golden parachutes and the like. Comparing business to pro sorts isn’t very helpful.

slfnflctd 9y ago

> pressure for long periods of time The key factor to me is that the pressure has to be periodic, or cyclical, so everyone knows there will be a point where it eases off a bit. Rhythms like this are built into pretty much all aspects of biological systems, and human constructs which better reflect them are, I think, more likely to be successful. Someone mentioned a professional sports team vs. 'family' analogy elsewhere here, and while I'm not much of a sports guy the analogy seems like a good one. Pro teams have plenty of down time built into their yearly patterns.

ghaff 9y ago
>the analogy seems like a good one It is but it's probably also extreme in the context of how most companies are/should be managed. Having a bit of an off-year because you're having some trouble getting on the same page as the new quarterback or whatever. Well, nice to know you, but we're trading you. "It's just business." Hope things work out. Mind you, some occupations are pretty much like that. Sales jobs in particular are pretty ruthlessly results-oriented. Miss your numbers a couple of times even though it's because of some external factor you may not have control over and you're probably looking at the door.
quaunaut 9y ago
I agree with the idea of periodic pressure- mostly because it leaves you able to respond appropriately when it comes, which it always will.

manquer 9y ago

It depends on how you view it, over the long term you are simply left with people who can cope, whether it is good way to run a team/organization is a different question, but it certainly possible to get gains over longer periods of time For example in professional team sports you face high pressure constantly, while individuals fail all the time unable to cope with demanding physical and mental nature of the job, teams however can and do usually improve because the retain the ones who can thrive and perform in such environments and "firing" the ones who don't.

DataWorker 9y ago
Sports teams generally contract with players. Most employees do not have contracts and golden parachutes and the like. Comparing business to pro sorts isn’t very helpful.