8 ms·
I'll share a story an interaction with a company that I worked heavily with while we were launching (this is a startup in a fairly niche, non-technical space.
by blhack 14y ago
I'll share a story an interaction with a company that I worked heavily with while we were launching (this is a startup in a fairly niche, non-technical space. A smallish company with around 200 employees):
The "CEO": This guy had a large stake in the company. It was his baby, and while the "CEO" title (which I think gets way over applied) fits him, his official title is "managing partner". While we were in the process of build->launch, he was heavily involved in literally every single department. Not in a micro-managing way, in an "this needs to be done and here, I am going to help" way.
It would absolutely not have seemed strange to me, or anybody else, to see him out on a scissor lift with a hammer drill and some cables mounting something to the wall, if that's what was needed. When we did launch, some things went...wrong.
The night before we opened, he, as well as some of his friends, not even people employed by us, spent until almost-down doing "grunt" work. Dirty, tedious work moving huge heavy things around, and walking all over the place to get them.
That night he slept here (so did I)
The months leading up until that launch, and the months following it, he was here until well after dark because a lot of the people who had been hired were "green", and had no idea how to do their job yet. We were all figuring it out as we went.
The culture here at that time was addictive (and I wish we could get that feeling back of "making it up as we go". We've got everything pretty well dialed now). People throw the cliche of "we were a family" around pretty liberally, and I'm going to throw it around too.
We were a family.
We ate together, we drank together, and the "core" group always left together, meaning that nobody left until everybody's work was done. (including the managing partner, who absolutely didn't need to be, and was the one setting the example).
This has been an absolutely amazing company to work for. The culture here was, or is amazing.
The sad bit is that a lot of the culture that I fell in love with has faded. Yes, we're growing (rapidly! Awesome!), but we've more-or-less all hit our grooves. I know what I'm doing, the "CEO" does to, and there aren't really any scissors lifts or hammer drills left.
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I guess I'll end the story with a question: how do I/we get back to that?
- Mz 14y agohow do I/we get back to that? If I am reading this correctly, you currently have around 200 employees and presumably started with less than that. If that is correct, break it up into two separate groups smaller than 150. Any time any part of the company grows beyond about 150 people, repeat. (Read "The tipping point" for longish explanation why. Short version: The typical human brain is designed for a "tribe" size of about 150.)
- mixmax 14y agoRichard Bransons Virgin group does this, although their groups are smaller. Around 20 people if I remember correctly.
- Mz 14y agoIirc, according to "The Tipping Point", the company that makes kevlar does exactly what I suggested. Their method: They build a building and put 150 parking spaces out front. When people start parking on the grass, time to build a new building.
- rhizome 14y agoIt's called the Dunbar number, and it varies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbars_number http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbars_number
- Mz 14y agoThank you. That is why I said things like typical human brain and about 150. As I understand it, Napoleon inspired such loyalty in spite of how he treated his people because he could greet everyone by name and ask how their wife Elaine was doing, etc. It made everyone feel he caredabout them personally. I had similar talents when I was younger but never really knew what to do with it as I was a homemaker, but I am familiar firsthand with the types of emotional responses it inspires from people.
- AznHisoka 14y agoReminds me of "Beyond Civilization" by Daniel Quinn. In the end, most of us just want to join the circus. We want to be a part of something special, where everyone is working towards a common goal. We join the circus to be a part of something, not to get something from it. What's the modern day version of a circus (the old-fashioned type, not the commercialized circus)?
- Angostura 14y agoThank you. That's exactly it, from my PoV.
- ido 14y agoI guess I'll end the story with a question: how do I/we get back to that? Should you tho? Sure it's a high and fun in a way, but can you really expect people to spend the night sleeping at the office on a regular basis and basically making their workplace their family? What about people who have their own family (kids, spouse)? Would you still want to do this (I presume that also means working very long hours) in your 50s and 60s? Would you want to make everyone working there do it? There are virtues to startup life but I'd get tired living it my entire career.