5 ms·

The title is misleading. The article is really about excess spending. Yes, if you spend excessively you're damned. No, you're not damned if you don't spend e

The title is misleading. The article is really about excess spending. Yes, if you spend excessively you're damned. No, you're not damned if you don't spend excessively.

stanleydrew 17y ago
It's about more than excessive spending: "The new building telegraphed to our employees, “We’ve arrived. We’re no longer a small struggling startup. You can stop working like a startup and start working like a big company." We started to believe that the new building was a reflection of the company’s (and our own) success. We took our eye off the business. We thought that since we in such a fine building, we were geniuses, and the business would take care of itself." Even if you had a modest new building and didn't give every engineer his or her own office you still might observe this. But I think probably by making a serious effort to preserve the culture and values of the company that existed pre-new-building you could avoid the "damned if you do" piece.
- jpwagner 17y ago
  This is absurd: "Now every engineer can have their own office." NOT INEVITABLE--EXCESSIVE SPENDING "The new building needs to reflect that we’re a successful and established company. Lets “do it right” and have a lobby and reception area that projects a professional image." NOT INEVITABLE AND IMPLIES EXCESSIVE SPENDING "Lets get comfortable chairs and great new desks for everyone. None of this used stuff." NOT INEVITABLE, BLATANTLY EXCESSIVE SPENDING "Now we can pick out carpets that look good and feel good and we can have clean walls with great artwork and murals. " ETC "Lets make sure that we have plenty of conference rooms. We need our own cafeteria so employees don’t have to leave the building." ETC
  - stanleydrew 17y ago
    You're missing my point. I definitely agree that excessive spending can be a drain and will affect corporate culture, and you've pointed out some great examples above. But I think what makes this post interesting is the fact that there might be psychological implications to moving into any larger building, even if it doesn't have tons of amenities.
  - zxcvb 17y ago
    Why shouldn't the engineers have new Aeron chairs? Software Engineers spend most of their careers sat down, so you should buy them the best damn chair you can afford, something that supports their bodies and is very comfortable. Look at fogcreek software, they managed to move to AWESOME offices and they are still a lean company hiring great engineers who make great products.
    - derefr 17y ago
      They can have comfortable chairs. There is no reason, though, that they have to be new comfortable chairs.
  - potatolicious 17y ago
    On the contrary, I don't believe excessive spending was the problem - it was the fact that they were spending on things that were counterproductive to the company. Your own office? Great on paper, and as the article points out, deadly on productivity. There's nothing wrong with a nice lobby and reception area - it does help get business, and honestly, assuming the author is right about how well they were doing at the time, well justified. Another point to take from the article: your engineers may know what they want, but this may not be the best for either themselves or the company (case in point: your own office).
biohacker42 17y ago
It's also about bad management. I've been through office moves as well and it's obvious that this is one of those things that can kill a project or even a while company when everybody with the best of intentions starts negotiating with everybody else over where the coffee machine goes. And there are many other examples where if you allow open negotiations it will end in ruin. It's like management 101.

The title is misleading. The article is really about excess spending. Yes, if you spend excessively you're damned. No, you're not damned if you don't spend excessively.

stanleydrew 17y ago

It's about more than excessive spending: "The new building telegraphed to our employees, “We’ve arrived. We’re no longer a small struggling startup. You can stop working like a startup and start working like a big company." We started to believe that the new building was a reflection of the company’s (and our own) success. We took our eye off the business. We thought that since we in such a fine building, we were geniuses, and the business would take care of itself." Even if you had a modest new building and didn't give every engineer his or her own office you still might observe this. But I think probably by making a serious effort to preserve the culture and values of the company that existed pre-new-building you could avoid the "damned if you do" piece.

jpwagner 17y ago
This is absurd: "Now every engineer can have their own office." NOT INEVITABLE--EXCESSIVE SPENDING "The new building needs to reflect that we’re a successful and established company. Lets “do it right” and have a lobby and reception area that projects a professional image." NOT INEVITABLE AND IMPLIES EXCESSIVE SPENDING "Lets get comfortable chairs and great new desks for everyone. None of this used stuff." NOT INEVITABLE, BLATANTLY EXCESSIVE SPENDING "Now we can pick out carpets that look good and feel good and we can have clean walls with great artwork and murals. " ETC "Lets make sure that we have plenty of conference rooms. We need our own cafeteria so employees don’t have to leave the building." ETC
- stanleydrew 17y ago
  You're missing my point. I definitely agree that excessive spending can be a drain and will affect corporate culture, and you've pointed out some great examples above. But I think what makes this post interesting is the fact that there might be psychological implications to moving into any larger building, even if it doesn't have tons of amenities.
- zxcvb 17y ago
  Why shouldn't the engineers have new Aeron chairs? Software Engineers spend most of their careers sat down, so you should buy them the best damn chair you can afford, something that supports their bodies and is very comfortable. Look at fogcreek software, they managed to move to AWESOME offices and they are still a lean company hiring great engineers who make great products.
  - derefr 17y ago
    They can have comfortable chairs. There is no reason, though, that they have to be new comfortable chairs.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  On the contrary, I don't believe excessive spending was the problem - it was the fact that they were spending on things that were counterproductive to the company. Your own office? Great on paper, and as the article points out, deadly on productivity. There's nothing wrong with a nice lobby and reception area - it does help get business, and honestly, assuming the author is right about how well they were doing at the time, well justified. Another point to take from the article: your engineers may know what they want, but this may not be the best for either themselves or the company (case in point: your own office).

biohacker42 17y ago

It's also about bad management. I've been through office moves as well and it's obvious that this is one of those things that can kill a project or even a while company when everybody with the best of intentions starts negotiating with everybody else over where the coffee machine goes. And there are many other examples where if you allow open negotiations it will end in ruin. It's like management 101.