Blogging from the Server Side

The MSNBC website is running a story from Entreprenuer.com about the positive impact of a cool workplace. The article's premise is interesting, but I think it's a mistake to focus exclusively on the fixtures.

Theresa Amabile, a Harvard professor whose research is cited early on in the article, is quoted as saying:

"If you want to spark innovation," she continues, "rethink how you motivate, reward and assign work to people."

The decorations and accessories might be a form of motivation, but the culture of the company is relevant when it comes to the other parts of Amabile's equation: reward and work assignment.

The Engineering Team here at Compendium is a small, cohesive group that has developed a culture all its own. Among its more serious hallmarks:

Meetings that are short, relevant, and rare. There is a daily status meeting capped at fifteen minutes. Other meetings, when needed, are timeboxed.
Commit only to what can be done in the amount of time allocated. Keep the commitments you make.
Keep disruptions to a minimum to reduce the overhead of thought context changes.

We've developed a reputation for being a well disciplined team that gets things done on a fast pace.

But there is a cool side, too...

We're a small organization, and we have to wear a lot of different hats. As the code base grew, we realized that we needed someone in the development team to help guide the process of getting a release cycle through to production. It became a rotating duty, and the responsibilties grew to a point where we decided to come up with a title.

We decided on the term used for guides through the Himalayas... sherpa. And so the position became known as the Release Sherpa.

We tossed around the idea of acquiring a symbol of authority for the role, but we couldn't come to an agreement on anything.

Then, in early August, the Engineering team made a trip to the Indiana State Fair to enjoy the excesses of amusement and deep fried food. We found a stand selling a wide variety of inflatable novelties, one of which was the sword shown on the right.

In October, Randy, our UI Engineer, started the tradition of signing the sword with a marker, bearing the code name for the release and the date of the release, which explains why the sword has all those words all over it.

This is part of what cool workplaces do... They take the challenges that come with growth and change and find a way to inject fun into the process.

Another thing that I like about working here is the location. We're situated in downtown Indianapolis, right on Monument Circle, putting us at a big focal point within the city. It's a lively place, teeming with people both day and evening alike. You're within walking distance of eateries, shopping, and culture. Access to public transportation is readily available.

Contrast this with the majority of software development jobs in this area, which are usually found up on the northeast side or far north suburbs. You're working in a sterile office park where the only thing within walking distance is your car. There is no human interaction outside your office. As someone who once worked for a couple years in one of those office parks before joining Compendium, I can say there is no comparison.

The company at large likes to have fun, too. Late last summer a good number of us went on a whitewater rafting trip in western Pennsylvania. It was definitely not your typical corporate team building exercise! And right now we're engaged in a friendly blogging competition with one of our customers who is practically a nextdoor neighbor.

Spare me the beach chairs and sand, I'll take the inflatable sword any day. :-)