Having worked in two disparate offices; a Capital One debt recovery phone bank and Electronic Arts; both of which follow the Zappos model, I'd say that if it doesn't get in the way of production be it code or money collection then why waste time on non-productive issues. To me this is much the same as insisting on suits for programmers...
Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
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Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#12Both have positive notes but I think if the two offices bred the offspring would be closer to what I consider ideal. There is a lot of noise with all the flair at Zappos but the 37s space lacks fun & individuality. So something with the clean aesthetic of 37s with a shot of Zappos individualism would bring it home for me.
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#13The Pixar offices take an interesting middle ground. They have the flair and joy of Zappos but avoid the generic cube aesthetic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/veerles-blog/461586084/
While I like 37signals, their sterile office would drive me nuts, but so would the extreme state of disarray at Zappos'. The Pixar model keeps the craziness slightly organized and not all in view at once.
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#14I wouldn't want to work in Zappos's office. It just doesn't look appealing to me at all. On the other hand, the 37s offices feel cool . The Zappos offices are Office Space-like cubicles covered in random crap. The 37s offices send a very different message; if you're going to work in an office (hopefully, not all the time), I'd much rather be in that environment. I think it comes down to this: the style of the 37s off…
I'd also imagine the people who work at 37s are generally introverted developer/designers while Zappos is packed full of extroverts.
I'd expect different environments for both.
Does the Zappos engineering dept look the same?
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#15Zappos would drive me crazy. I have been in an environment like that. It's "cute" at first, but then you realize you're just living in a messy corporate cubicle. It really inhibits work if your job is something such as development or design, in my opinion... just too much visual noise.
37signals office seems virtually distraction-free. If you need groups of people to work together efficiently in an office environment (that is still comfortable and not a cubicle farm), this is the kind of space works well, I think. Because they have so many remote employees, I think they want their real "office" to be Campfire anyway.
There is a significant difference in philosophy with how the companies operate, I think. Zappos wants people to be comfortable (or 'at home') where they work, and 37signals wants people to work wherever they are comfortable.
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#16Interesting to compare these with http://positivesharing.com/2006/10/10-seeeeeriously-cool-wor... -- especially Pixar's office which is downright beautiful.
Personally, while I'm not so fond of the total mess Zappos's offices look like, I find 37s a bit too tidy, cold and uninviting.
Bottom line - it is more important who are your neighbors (assuming you are working together) than what the place looks like. Smart and friendly coworkers are priceless!
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#17I wouldn't want to work in Zappos's office. It just doesn't look appealing to me at all. On the other hand, the 37s offices feel cool . The Zappos offices are Office Space-like cubicles covered in random crap. The 37s offices send a very different message; if you're going to work in an office (hopefully, not all the time), I'd much rather be in that environment. I think it comes down to this: the style of the 37s off…
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Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#18I think the styles are more similar than Ryan makes it out - both have control over their environments, but in different ways. At Zappos, they have standard half-height cubes and they control their environment by sticking things on the wall and hanging it from the ceiling. At 37signals, I recall that they designed that office - they had a deeper influence on their environment than Zappos. Same thing, but a different style, and each one very much demonstrates the company culture.
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#19Apples to Oranges. Zappos is a support oriented culture whereas folks at 37s need a lot of quite time. I can't imagine Jamis Buck writing all his awesome maze algorithms while surrounded by balloons and tents everywhere.
Re: Office comparison: 37signals vs Zappos
#20Zappos workspace is bad from programmer point of view. Open space with lot of crap, phones on tables. May be this workspace is good for communication, someone could feel more happy in this workspace and so on but it's terrible for hacking. It looks like this envirement encourage interraptions. 37s office much better for productive work.