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Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

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Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#102

Post by mojombo »

ben_hall wrote: post #92
mojombo wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do it by building a company so compelling that those people would rather join your company than start their own. You do this by optimizing for happiness and creating a culture that can't be ignored.

Are you recruiting at the moment? I couldn't see anything on github jobs...

Not currently. We usually approach specific people we want to hire and pitch them on coming to work for us.

Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#103

Post by mojombo »

benatkin wrote: post #101

Is github a generic enough name for what you want to do, long-term?

Perhaps not, but the name has served us well so far. Early adopters like to identify with new technology and the name GitHub does that extremely well. I can't predict if we'll need to change the name later on. The next few years should make it clear wether the name is too restrictive or not.

Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#104

Post by mojombo »

icco wrote: post #93

You recommended six good books on founding companies. Would you recommend any technical books or works of fiction?

Code Complete is a must read for professional developers.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is always good for a mind-bending read. All of HP Lovecraft's work is excellent. Anything by Arthur C Clarke or Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury. All of Ayn Rand's stuff (the philosophy is flawed, but the plots and writing are something to behold).

Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#105

Post by cullenking »

mojombo wrote: post #71
cullenking wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Along these lines, thanks for pushing Unicorn (I know you didn't develop it in house, but it was obscure until you used it).

I think Chris was the primary one behind that decision, but I agree. Unicorn kicks ass!

Meant GitHub in general. Can't beat simplistic zero downtime rolling deploys!

Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#106

Post by mojombo »

busterbenson wrote: post #97

To what extent to you implement ROWE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROWE It sounds like you have a few of these qualities... choosing your work hours, for example... but what about measuring results. Do you have any specific tips on how to measure results without getting too confused or attached to the a new incorrect metric?

We implement some of the concepts of ROWE, but we don't really measure results in any quantifiable way. We hire the best, most driven people we can and give them the means to produce awesome things. So far so good!

Re: Ask Tom Preston-Werner, cofounder of GitHub, anything Today, Mon 18 Oct 2010.

#108

Post by busterbenson »

mojombo wrote: post #106
busterbenson wrote: post #97

To what extent to you implement ROWE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROWE It sounds like you have a few of these qualities... choosing your work hours, for example... but what about measuring results. Do you have any specific tips on how to measure results without getting too confused or attached to the a new incorrect metric?

We implement some of the concepts of ROWE, but we don't really measure results in any quantifiable way. We hire the best, most driven people we can and give them the means to produce awesome things. So far so good!

That seems to be the secret trick here, it's more about creating autonomy and encouraging mastery and purpose than about actually measuring anything, or managing anything. And if it works, it's gotta be a nice place to be. Congrats on building an amazing company.
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