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GitHub: Distributed, Asynchronous, and Self-directed

John Britton
April 23, 2013
350

GitHub: Distributed, Asynchronous, and Self-directed

It's easy to observe and discuss symptoms of culture. Appealing "perks" like flexible hours and working from anywhere are fun to talk about and are often used to attract and retain employees. Even though it's a common pattern, there are severe problems with blindly appropriating symptoms of culture. Avoid the pitfalls by being intentional with your values and how you and your team work. Take a look at how GitHub derives culture from first principles and to understand why we work the way we do.

John Britton

April 23, 2013
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Transcript

  1. DISTRIBUTED,
    ASYNCHRONOUS,
    & SELF-DIRECTED

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  2. JOHN
    BRITTON

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  5. WHAT DEFINES
    CULTURE?

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  6. FREE FOOD?

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  7. UNLIMITED
    VACATION?

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  8. TOYS IN
    THE OFFICE?

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  9. NOPE

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  10. THESE ARE
    PERKS

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  11. FUN & EASY TO
    TALK ABOUT

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  12. USED TO
    HIRE & RETAIN
    EMPLOYEES

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  13. PERKS
    DON’T DEFINE
    CULTURE

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  14. VALUES ARE
    EXPRESSED AS
    CULTURE

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  15. YOU MAY HAVE
    HEARD:

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  16. WE CAN WORK
    ANYWHERE

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  17. WE DON’T DO
    MEETINGS

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  18. WE HAVE NO
    MANAGERS

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  19. TRUE
    BUT NOT
    CULTURE

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  20. SYMPTOMS
    OF CULTURE

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  21. SYMPTOMS
    LACK
    MEANING

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  22. FREQUENTLY
    COPIED

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  23. DON’T
    COPY THE
    SYMPTOMS

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  24. INSTEAD
    THINK ABOUT
    VALUES

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  25. WHY DO WE WORK
    THE WAY WE DO?

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  26. GITHUB HAS
    INTENTIONAL
    VALUES

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  27. FIRST
    PRINCIPLES

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  28. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  29. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  30. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  31. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  32. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  33. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  34. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  35. SECURITY
    FREEDOM
    OPPORTUNITY
    COOPERATION
    FUN
    LEADERSHIP
    COMMITMENT

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  36. APPLYING THE
    VALUES

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  37. DISTRIBUTED

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  44. ASYNCHRONOUS

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  51. SELF-DIRECTED

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  57. DON’T COPY
    THE SYMPTOMS

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  58. INSTEAD
    THINK ABOUT
    YOUR VALUES

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  59. YOUR VALUES
    DEFINE
    YOUR CULTURE

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  60. JOHN BRITTON
    @johndbritton

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