Why is GitHub structured the way it is?
scalinghappinessTed NymanEngineer at GitHub@tnm
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Most workinglife isinauthentic
Hierarchycreatesinauthenticrelationships
Without authenticitywe become alienated“Work is a kind of vacuum, anemptiness, where I just switchoff everything except the scantintelligence necessary to keepme going.”
Perks are weaksubstitutes foran authenticworking life
Plato on Love
Plato was Wrong
I’ll never quitbecause X perkis just so good“”
A better X willappear, andthey are gone
You can’t truly makepeople happy withbread and circuses“How little our careers expresswhat lies in us, and yet howmuch time they take up”
You can’t buildculture with words“How little our careers expresswhat lies in us, and yet howmuch time they take up”
Token ‘freedomgestures’ are just notenough“How little our careers expresswhat lies in us, and yet howmuch time they take up”
The real way isorganizationalstructure
The lack of formalmanagers createsGitHub’s workingculture
Cultural andtechnologicaladaptations grownaturally from this
Create the structureand let the cultureform. The culturethen reinforces thestructure.
Earthlysoftwarecraftparadise
NothingActuallyScales
Here’s what weactually do
Acceptawkwardness
Embracedisorder
Let ‘teams’form naturally
Propagateculturebottom-up
Technologycreates orderwhen needed
You can’t makeanyone doanything
Consistencycomes fromlibraries
You have toacceptmistakes
Authenticityand autonomyare priceless
MOSTIMPORTANT(META)QUESTION
Who sets these‘policies’?
Everyone
EveryoneCulture
EveryoneCultureStructure