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Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
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Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#21. How do you handle the logical conclusion of letting your workers do whatever they want, they don't do anything? This may not apply to all employees, but it surely applies to at least one, and I wanted to know specifically how you might handle that situation.
2. What sort of system do you have to address problems with the unconditional hierarchy? For example, if an employee disagrees with Gabe, who wins and how is that handled?
UPDATE: addition to question #1
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#3Is it known that Valve employees frequent HN? I'm not sure why this story is here.
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#4Next up: "Poll: How many people consider switching to Valve organization?"
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#5How many Valve employees does it take to change a light bulb? Who orders the light bulbs and who decides when and where it is to be installed?
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#61. How do you handle the logical conclusion of letting your workers do whatever they want, they don't do anything? This may not apply to all employees, but it surely applies to at least one, and I wanted to know specifically how you might handle that situation. 2. What sort of system do you have to address problems with the unconditional hierarchy? For example, if an employee disagrees with Gabe, who wins and how is…
> they don't do anything
I don't know about you, but not doing anything is boring to me. Working is so often much more fun than doing nothing.
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#7How many Valve employees does it take to change a light bulb? Who orders the light bulbs and who decides when and where it is to be installed?
Do you hire a light bulb changing contractor to change light bulbs in your own home?
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#8Is it known that Valve employees frequent HN? I'm not sure why this story is here.
Sometimes, if you don't know who to ask, it makes sense to air the question as loudly as you can and hope it reaches your audience.
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#91. How do you handle the logical conclusion of letting your workers do whatever they want, they don't do anything? This may not apply to all employees, but it surely applies to at least one, and I wanted to know specifically how you might handle that situation. 2. What sort of system do you have to address problems with the unconditional hierarchy? For example, if an employee disagrees with Gabe, who wins and how is…
> they don't do anything I don't know about you, but not doing anything is boring to me. Working is so often much more fun than doing nothing.
100% this. To herd cats, you open tuna cans.
Real management isn't telling people what to do. It's helping people find the intersection between what they want to do and what customers need, and then supporting them.
That strikes me as especially easy at Valve, where the whole point is to create something that other people enjoy. If you can't find fun somewhere in the vast space of "create something fun," you're dead inside.
Re: Ask Valve employees: How well does the flat organization work?
#10I know this question doesn't have bias, so I'm implying you're saying the organization doesn't work, but to me the results speak for themselves. Valve/Steam is just killing it right now, beating out huge, more established players in the gaming world. Doing something right.