Non-heirarchy employment at Valve Software

[James]

Recently this has been having a few news posts a day. A lot of their philosophy of no management and creative envrionment is dumped in the following link: http://t.co/xXNWCq3n

[Dae]

Looks very interesting. Thanks for the link.

[Psychotic]

Sounds good in theory, in reality, I don't believe in "no management" philosophies.

I loved the jokes, like the "ten thousandth hat for Team Fortress 2" or the "Definitely panic if there's caviar".

Overall, the handbook is light-hearted and a decent read, more-so if it's real. I like the idea of a heirachy-less system but don't feel it works very well in practice. Certain people have roles not because it limits them or the company but because it's necessary for a productive workflow and to keep the company in check, without these people the goals and general workflow may become so disorganized and chaotic that you forget what you were trying to achieve in the first place. This is why positions like "project manager", "producer" or "director" were created.

Some of their other philosophies I tend to agree with, largely because you find these in areas of education, such as universities and specialised schools, and I find I work better in such environments due to the constant stream of feedback and ideas flowing around.

Can't say I liked their ideas of growth, of course, but that's just a personal thing. I've never liked working in big groups with hundreds of people hanging around, because after so long it tends to get very messy, very disorganized, even with team leaders and the like. Not only this, but the more people doing one project the less important your feel your part really is, to the point where you may end up asking yourself what you're actually contributing to the group in relation to the group itself.

I also hate the figure with the Half-Life lambda logo and a "3" in the corner. Goddamn teasing little shits, whoever made that.

The Glossary is also funny as hell.

"Australia -- A place that's either very near or is New Zealand where more than half of Valve's employees were born." - This just cracked me up.

Also, Fishbowl.

Ultimately though, as great as it sounds, I never trust these things. I'm a cynic and the only way I'm going to believe this is if someone I know who works at Valve tells me (which is nobody) or I somehow end up working there (hah, yeah right).

[Dex]

Interesting read.
Might be related: http://www.gamersbook.com/scene/news/mo ... e-project/

[Psychotic]

Absolutely brilliant article and I totally agree with him on the overall design of a heirachy-less philosophy. As I said, it sounds absolutely fantastic in theory, but in practice you're still going to want to have some people certain specific roles, at least in my opinion.

Is it necessary? No, it's not, but management-wise it may make things easier. Development/design-wise then no, you may not need a heirachy-based system and your company may even thrive off such but it's definitely not what most workers will be used to.

I like the idea simply because it reminds me of how I feel whilst studying. I still have requirements and deadlines, I still have to actually ship a product, but you have more freedom and less restrictions than what you might have in a traditional working environment.

That sense of freedom sounds absolutely awesome for some, and a curse for others, of course. It's definitely something I'd love to experience though, even if it didn't work out.