(2021-09-08) Sheridan Joyful Workplace

Heard talk by Rich Sheridan of Menlo Innovations on creating a joyful workplace

• Rich Sheridan https://richardsheridan.com/
  • 2 books
    • from Joy, Inc. If you assemble a team of human beings to create something new and compelling, joy can be described quite simply: Joy is designing and building something that actually sees the light of day and is enjoyably used and widely adopted by the people for whom it was intended. Tangible joy means delivering a product or service to the world that’s so enjoyed, in fact, that people stop you on the street and say, “Really, you did that? I love it.”
  • loved computers, but was miserable in industry
• VP at a company, changed everything
  • company: Interface Systems
  • XP
  • biggest resistance was the devs! (liked working alone, didn't want to share code - "it's my code")
    • did it incrementally
  • also CEO (Bob Nero)
    • told him they'd need funding, there would be due diligence, they would fail
  • but crashed in 2000
• Menlo Innovations https://menloinnovations.com/
  • custom software
  • also does training, tours etc
    • from the very beginning
    • the tour StoryTelling re-sells the team, always re/over-hearing the tours
    • CoFounders did all at first, then paired to hand off
    • free virtual tours 2/week now https://menloinnovations.com/tours-and-workshops/factory-tours
  • started 2001
  • Bossless Office article https://nymag.com/news/features/bossless-jobs-2013-6/
• practices
  • high-tech anthropology
    • what's the real problem
    • who's it for
    • what's the best design/solution for that user/problem
    • often have lived in a different culture
      • for sympathy, empathy
  • interview process
    • interviewers don't see the resume!
    • no questions
    • bring in 30-50 candidates for 2hrs
      • pair candidates
      • "get your partner a 2nd interview"
      • 20min pairing, observed
      • do it 3 times
      • 50% get 2nd interview
      • 1 day to work, paid
      • 2 pairs
      • 3week paid trial
      • weekly rotate as normal
  • pairing
    • full-time, rotate weekly
      • devs and anthropologists
    • google hangouts
    • zoom phone
    • 2 screens
      • 1 for video
      • 1 sharing remote computer physical in the office
  • roughly no overtime
    • scale up teams
      • disbelieve Brooks Law
• metrics
  • 2 emergencies in 20yrs
  • delighted users of the software
• pandemic
  • facing same Great Resignation
    • younger people don't know how good it is
    • remote-to-remote, don't even have to move!
    • had to bump lots of compensation
  • team wants to stay remote
    • (at least so far)
    • commute is like a new/fresh cost
  • founders had to become more visible
    • used to being out on the floor, they have no office; now there's no floor
    • weekly lunch-and-learn
  • meta
    • experiments, try
    • bottom-up
    • not standardized