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1-Page Summary of The Year Without Pants
Overview
The authors have built and run their business to the point where it generates millions of dollars in profits. Here, they share some of the lessons they learned along the way.
Next time you’re at work, ask yourself this question: “Can I be sure that my colleagues are wearing pants?” You probably feel secure in knowing that the answer is yes. But think about it this way: if your colleagues are all wearing pants, then they must be in the office with you. That means your company isn’t using flexible working practices and could benefit from them. These points are based on advice from Automattic, an innovative company behind WordPress.com. They’ll show you how most companies stick to traditional ways of working and how we can all change (with or without pants!)
In this piece, you’ll learn how Automattic gets a new product out every day even if it’s not perfect. You’ll also find out why they don’t worry about fixing something that doesn’t work and makes people enjoy office meetings.
Big Idea #1: To ensure that employees are independent, hire people you can trust.
WordPress is a blogging platform that’s popular among web users.
WordPress.com was started by Automattic, a company that is known for being one of the world’s best web developers.
Google is known for its great team spirit and flexible working environment. In fact, developers from all over the world apply to work there.
Automattic places a lot of emphasis on hiring the right people. Other companies might ask questions like: How many ping pong balls can you fit into a 747?
At Automattic, they focus on the concrete skills that candidates need to do their jobs. They assess people’s ability to complete a small project using tools and techniques available in their workplace. That way, only those who can actually do the job get hired, not those who are best at interviews.
After hiring, Automattic trains its employees in customer support. The company believes that the client is all important and therefore makes sure its staff knows how to handle customers effectively. For example, the author was a Happiness Engineer when he first started at Automattic. He learned early on that no matter what role he took in the company, his primary goal would be to make sure clients were happy with their experience.
Big Idea #2: If you want to have a successful team, your leaders need to create an effective culture.
A design company called IDEO went on the popular American TV show Nightline to explain how they were so creative. They revealed that one of their practices was brainstorming, which helped them develop new prototypes and products with incredible speed, such as when they redesigned a shopping cart in only five days.
It’s no surprise that companies all over the United States tried out this idea. If IDEO is successful, then why can’t they be? However, most of these companies failed to achieve any real results. Why?
Although IDEO (a design firm) followed their instructions, they weren’t able to implement them because of the lack of staff. No matter how good your business practices are, if you don’t have enough staff members to carry out those ideas, then it won’t work.
So how do you create the right culture? How do you ensure your staff has the ability to adapt and be innovative? It all starts with management.
A company’s culture is like a plant. The founder plants the seed, then helps it grow and blossom by hiring people who share their values, helping them to succeed in their roles, and nurturing the team with adequate resources. Automattic was founded on open source principles but they faced an obstacle when the software they were using wasn’t working for them. Rather than abandoning those principles, they created WordPress which helped define the company culture of being true to yourself and your values while also being innovative when things get difficult.
