I had a passionate discussion yesterday with one of the guys on the team. It was about getting folks to work a little harder in order to try to collectively get a little more done each week. It turned into an interesting discussion about our company’s culture.
What kind of culture do we want? Do we just let it happen? Or do we deliberately try to develop the culture we want?
I think responsiveness, speed, innovation, agility and nimbleness are good and vital attributes for a startup. Hard work and productivity are crucial as well. But I don’t want to create a culture that values working long, unproductive hours over smartly and efficiently getting things done. We’re in this for the long haul. Burning out and getting nothing done isn’t a viable strategy.
One of the most productive employees who ever worked for me worked almost exactly the same schedule every single day over a 10-year period. He was in the office by 7:30 and on his way home by 6:30 every day. He was more productive than those working 8 to 5. He was also more productive than the folks working 70 hour work weeks. At one point I estimated he was responsible for 50% of the productivity of a 7-person development team. The difference was how he worked, not how long he worked.
We have lots of room for improvement at blist. We can be more responsive. More nimble. More innovative. More agile. More productive. Sure maybe working another hour each day would help some. But the culture I really want to develop is one where we optimize for efficiency, not where we compensate for inefficiency.
Kevin,
There was a great dialogue on the blogosphere not too long ago about this very same subject. I had a few brief comments on my blog if you need a jump start.
http://www.savanrith.com/2008/03/10/life-at-a-startup/
Kevin – we have had similar discussions at NaturalInsight. We have the added issue that our teams are geographically dispersed, including our technical team. We find that with regular communication and face-to-face meetings help keep us productive and we don’t have many of the office time-sapping issues (like the “drop-by” visitor).
Thanks for letting us know that we are not alone!
Paul
You will create a culture – it’s inevitable. The biggest influence you have on what culture you create is how you show up – the you you bring in to work.
As for the specific issue, I don’t blog yet, but you are tempting me. Commenting on that looks like an article. I might have to start being unproductive in the blogging way.
Kevin, I’ve been keeping an eye on blist for some time – a combination of curiosity and excitement about a database application that would facilitate data sharing and storage online.
I appreciate this post about company culture because you show that you’re thinking about productivity, work/life balance, and other intangibles. Your last sentence, “But the culture I really want to develop is one where we optimize for efficiency, not where we compensate for inefficiency.” speaks volumes to your vision for blist, and the type of people who will fit, culturally.