Speaking as one of the developers who watched Joel put up the blinds, I know that this one shared instance of "servant leadership" falls in line with plenty of

Speaking as one of the developers who watched Joel put up the blinds, I know that this one shared instance of "servant leadership" falls in line with plenty of others that go unmentioned. Just off the top of my head, I remember one Fog Creek get-together when one of my guests (Joel barely knew her) mentioned to me that she was thirsty, and before I could do anything about it Joel rushed off to get her a glass of water. While not a huge deal, fetching water for his developers' guests is not something that Joel really has to do. ...and even if I were to assume the basest of motives (that Joel wants to keep his developers working at Fog Creek so they make him lots of money), it's still a compliment as a developer and the type of attitude that makes me enjoy working hard.