On building of All Trades
Scaling a company where everyone enjoys their work
Although we are convinced that the decision maker framework is the most efficient and productive way to run a company, this isn’t necessarily the root of this change. At the very heart lies the idea of giving people control. Dennis Bakke writes that:
Although we are convinced that the decision maker framework is the most efficient and productive way to run a company, this isn’t necessarily the root of this change. At the very heart lies the idea of giving people control. Dennis Bakke writes that:
“Only if we’re in control, we can have fun doing... See more
Leo Widrich • 24 People, No Managers: Buffer's "Decision Maker" Experiment
Generalists are force multipliers.
Progress is not automatic or inevitable. It depends on choice and effort. It is up to us.
Progress is not automatically good. It must be steered. Progress always creates new problems, and they don’t get solved automatically. Solving them requires active focus and effort, and this is a part of progress, too.
Progress is not automatically good. It must be steered. Progress always creates new problems, and they don’t get solved automatically. Solving them requires active focus and effort, and this is a part of progress, too.
What is progress?
Many concepts can be explained concisely, in simple language, and we should all strive for clarity. But the aphorism is a mistake, for a number of thoughts approximate the carpenter’s craft, and to meaningfully reveal them requires time and attention. Sometimes these cannot simply be told to another at all, they must be grown. For a topical... See more
Simon Sarris • Long Distance Thinking
- Reflect on your progress. While job titles are fixed, your daily accomplishments are not. Writing every day to think about what you actually did today that made you a better version of yourself is a great exercise to ensure you focus on the right things. Journaling is a powerful tool to add to your mental gym.
- Conduct personal experiments. Making
Anne-Laure Le Cunff • The tyranny of job titles: from vanity growth to personal growth
These are direct actions we take internally in our rituals for generalists at oAT — so cool to see this mirrored back to us.
Burnout cultures exhaust us through the week and force us to recharge during our time off. Healthy cultures provide daily space to refuel. - Adam Grant
Culture is what happens when the community insists.
Normalizing selfishness
Every. Single. One. of the startups that I've worked with have some
co-founder (or early team) dynamic that implicitly shapes their lasting culture.
These practices may be well-known and honored, or they may be hard-coded yet unspoken (like the pie in my story above). Either way, they are a part of the company’s DNA — its nature.
As an Ops Leader,... See more
co-founder (or early team) dynamic that implicitly shapes their lasting culture.
These practices may be well-known and honored, or they may be hard-coded yet unspoken (like the pie in my story above). Either way, they are a part of the company’s DNA — its nature.
As an Ops Leader,... See more
Amanda Schwartz Ramirez • Find the sacred pie
Given the pace we are working at, we look foremost for flexibility and initiative. The ability to build constructively in a limited-resource environment (potentially having to wear several hats) is the most important to us.
Lenny Rachitsky • How Perplexity builds product
Perplexity founder’s take on how they prioritize early hires