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"How do you attract those Jobsian A-players?" and "let the culture naturally build itself." I think this is one of the biggest fallacies of "startup culture" a

"How do you attract those Jobsian A-players?" and "let the culture naturally build itself." I think this is one of the biggest fallacies of "startup culture" and possibly of business strategy in general. This idea that you can hire the right people and culture magically comes out of it is ludicrous. Yes, a lot of your culture is based on personalities and people you can't control, and hiring is still important. But it is incredible to me how people will rise to the culture they're a part of, and how culture and the systems surrounding people will enable them to become better. Define your company culture well. Know what kind of company you want, and create that kind of culture. Hire based on that as best you can, with people you believe will fit with your culture. But when you invariably end up with people who aren't those perfect rockstar A-listers you think you need, don't throw them away. Stick to your culture and be emphatic about it. Teach them, allow them to learn. Have a culture of positive personal development, not static employee hiring or firing decisions. Do you think Stripe hires 100% perfect employees? Do you really think that's why their culture works? I think it's the exact opposite. Their employees work because they've figured out a great culture, and they value it highly, and hold it as sacred. That's a company value, not an employee value. It's shared, and it comes from the whole group, glued together by the resolve of a leadership that knows it. Figure that out, and you can achieve what Stripe has. If you think it's just a hiring strategy; sorry, try again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

PStamatiou 14y ago
" culture magically comes out of it is ludicrous" What I was trying to say is that it's well nigh impossible to force a culture to go in a certain way. Most you can do is have a certain type of work process, don't micromanage, have a flat structure, small teams and let people be independent and/or support employees working remotely if they wish (if you want that kind of culture that is). "Hire based on that as best you can, with people you believe will fit with your culture" I was also saying that you can't really determine culture fit in the course of a regular interview process. You can somewhat determine their work ethic from asking them about past experiences and projects. Otherwise, I think we are pretty much saying the same thing.
- calinet6 14y ago
  Awesome. I guess my addition to what you said is basically that you can lead your company culture to a degree, by doing the kinds of things you mention and creating a structure that supports a good culture. Also culture really does affect people once you reach a certain size. I think you're mainly talking about smaller companies, basically how to "bootstrap culture", but it's important to keep it going as you grow and realize not only how your employees affect your culture, but how your culture affects your employees. Thanks, & apologies if I came off harshly.
stcredzero 14y ago
> I think it's the exact opposite. Their employees work because they've figured out a great culture, and they value it highly, and hold it as sacred. That's a company value, not an employee value. It's shared, and it comes from the whole group, glued together by the resolve of a leadership that knows it. I think one can tell a lot about companies and people by the way they hire. Is their attitude extractive or do they act to preserve and create value? I think a lot of people greedily seek A-Listers because they've heard that's the way to succeed and make money. To me, that's sort of like people who start playing a new genre of music because it's now cool. The real value is in people who are passionate for deeper reasons.

PStamatiou 14y ago

" culture magically comes out of it is ludicrous" What I was trying to say is that it's well nigh impossible to force a culture to go in a certain way. Most you can do is have a certain type of work process, don't micromanage, have a flat structure, small teams and let people be independent and/or support employees working remotely if they wish (if you want that kind of culture that is). "Hire based on that as best you can, with people you believe will fit with your culture" I was also saying that you can't really determine culture fit in the course of a regular interview process. You can somewhat determine their work ethic from asking them about past experiences and projects. Otherwise, I think we are pretty much saying the same thing.

calinet6 14y ago
Awesome. I guess my addition to what you said is basically that you can lead your company culture to a degree, by doing the kinds of things you mention and creating a structure that supports a good culture. Also culture really does affect people once you reach a certain size. I think you're mainly talking about smaller companies, basically how to "bootstrap culture", but it's important to keep it going as you grow and realize not only how your employees affect your culture, but how your culture affects your employees. Thanks, & apologies if I came off harshly.

stcredzero 14y ago

> I think it's the exact opposite. Their employees work because they've figured out a great culture, and they value it highly, and hold it as sacred. That's a company value, not an employee value. It's shared, and it comes from the whole group, glued together by the resolve of a leadership that knows it. I think one can tell a lot about companies and people by the way they hire. Is their attitude extractive or do they act to preserve and create value? I think a lot of people greedily seek A-Listers because they've heard that's the way to succeed and make money. To me, that's sort of like people who start playing a new genre of music because it's now cool. The real value is in people who are passionate for deeper reasons.