review 2019-10-30 English
Valve - New Employee Handbook
“Valve: New Employee Handbook” by Valve
Backstory
I had heard that Valve has a unique company structure called “Flatland”. I searched the internet to learn more, and I found their new employee handbook. Here’s the link!
My Notes
- Flatland: Valve has no managers, none
- Desk are on wheels, you decide what to work-on and with who
- Any time you interview a potential hire, ask yourself not only if they’re talented or collaborative, but also if they’re capable of literally running this company, because they will be
- Look for “T-shaped” people: that is, people who are both generalists (highly skilled at a broad set of valuable things—the top of the T) and also experts (among the best in their field within a narrow discipline—the vertical leg of the T)
- An expert who is too narrow has difficulty collaborating
- A generalist who doesn’t go deep enough in a single area ends up on the margins, not really contributing as an individual
- When evaluating candidates, ask yourself
- Would I want this person to be my boss?
- Would I learn a significant amount from him or her?
- What if this person went to work for our competition?