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I suspect that people are interested in an article about Valve's culture not (just) because they'd want to work at Valve, but also to take its good ideas and us
by chwahoo 14y ago
I suspect that people are interested in an article about Valve's culture not (just) because they'd want to work at Valve, but also to take its good ideas and use them elsewhere. I think talking about how one of those ideas worked well or poorly at another company fits perfectly with this discussion.
- chrisbroadfoot 14y agoI didn't see anything in the handbook about PIPs.
- rdl 14y agoI don't understand how Valve could implement a PIP. How do they even fire people? Is it just your team shuns you and then you end up with nothing to do, so if you don't figure out something yourself, you wither away and are culled by the wolves/robots?
- gruseom 14y agoI have the same question. If they addressed it, I missed it. You know what, though? Your facetious suggestion is intriguingly sensible.
- officemonkey 14y ago>Is it just your team shuns you and then you end up with nothing to do I think the "wither away" bit is probably actually the truth. Let's say you're consistently ranked in the bottom and stick to projects that don't add value to the company. Since stack-ranking determines compensation, someone who costs the company money probably gets salary decreases. After a while, an underperforming worker could make more money in a different company, and they take the hint. Of course, since Valve is dedicated to hiring the right people, they probably don't hire too many duds. Talented people who just don't fit in probably just update their resume and go somewhere else.
- gruseom 14y agoWhat's interesting about this is that it connects the ranking mechanism to the (seemingly unrelated and far more significant) hiring/firing mechanism.
- shykes 14y agoTo quote Valve's handbook: "This is one downside of the organic design of the company—a poor hiring decision can cause lots of damage, and can sometimes go unchecked for too long. Ultimately, people who cause damage always get weeded out, but the harm they do can still be significant."
- gruseom 14y agoIt seems foolish to "take" one small part of the thing and try to "use" it elsewhere, while ignoring the massive difference that dwarfs all the others: workers managing themselves. That's what's important and new here, and that, supported by the fact that Valve has been so profitable, is what we ought to be talking about. This discussion is the HN equivalent of the prospective employee/er who pays lip service to "culture" but is really only interested in salary.
- Tloewald 14y agoVery carefully selected workers managing themselves. Not just any workers.