Information Maven: Greg Meyer

Paul Graham makes some measured points about applying the principles of Open Source to the real world. Specifically, he points out that the workplace is dull and not conducive to work, that the boss-worker relationship is paternalistic, and that people would rather be working for themselves on the things that they’d like to do because they’re cool.

These are wonderful goals. How can they apply to the typical corporate world, where control is important, the managers in the corporation pride themselves on having specialized people who can get stuff done (even if they don’t need to get stuff done at the moment), and meetings are often the only way you can get several people in a room to resolve an issue?

A few things come to mind:

1) Let the employees control some of the workplace. Let them give up some of their cube space (which, as you probably guess, isn’t that productive anyway) in exchange for guaranteed meeting-room space when they need it. Ask them what they want and give them some of it.

2) Pay employees what they’re worth, and demand more production. People are remarkably savvy on this one. Don’t settle for the average amount of work. Put managers in place who can evaluate the work their people do because they’ve done it. If that’s not available, hire an expert project manager and let those employees manage themselves.

3) Telecommute more. Encourage a regular telecommute relationship for those employees who demonstrate that they can get work done offsite. I get more work done on an average half-day at home than I can get done in the typical day at work, because the distractions are so much less acute. For those organizations who just have to have workers in the office, private offices help here.

4) Put people in jobs that engage them, and receive better work. This seems like a no-brainer, but is crucial. Too often people enter jobs, master them, and get bored. For the corporation, this isn’t too bad: a skilled worker! But for many employees, it’s a slow (or slippery) slope to boredom and apathy.

Most techies don’t speak as clearly as Graham about these issues. I wish him the best of luck.