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Why We're in Business
by Tim O'Reilly
April 2002
A few times recently, I've had to remind a few people
(including myself!) just why we're in business.
I started O'Reilly because I wanted more control of my life than I
could get in a "normal" job. I wanted work to fit in, not to
dominate; to support, not to lead the pattern of my life.
And when I first started hiring people, I only hired people
with similar goals. What a collection of misfits we were!
People who wouldn't or hadn't or couldn't survive a 9 to 5 job.
Of course, the reality and the dream were far apart. In the
early years, I felt that I was the only one who didn't have the
freedom that I'd started the company for, since I was the glue
that held everything together, the one indispensable person
who was always on duty.
As we've grown large and successful, all that has changed. Now
there are a whole lot of people who feel indispensable and
always on duty! I've had to remind several of these people
recently that the wind will still blow and the sun still shine
if they let down for a bit. At the other end of the spectrum,
I fear there are a few people who are watching the clock, waiting
for their work day to end so they can get back to their "real"
life.
So I thought it was time for a reminder of our beginnings: the
company is a means, not an end. The end is a better life for
those of us who work, for our customers, and (as far as we can stretch
it), for everyone we touch.
If you start dreading coming to work, something is wrong. If
work so consumes you that it's all you think about, something
is wrong.
This is not to say that we shouldn't stretch ourselves, or
ever undergo stress for the sake of the job. Having the
forethought to endure short-term pain for long-term gain is
the keystone of maturity. But it is only the keystone; an arch
(and a life) must be well balanced to stand.
Aristotle pointed out that the pursuit of happiness was the
highest end we could seek. And while modern culture too often
confuses the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of pleasure,
thinking people have always realized that happiness comes from
doing the _right_ things, and doing them in
moderation. There were two inscriptions on the walls of the
temple at Delphi where the oracle of Apollo held sway: "Know
thyself" and "Nothing too much."*
Happiness comes from stretching to reach ideals and from resting
after the stretch, from winning but also from losing, if the contest
brought out the best in you. Challenging, interesting work is
probably one of the most powerful aids to happiness there is,
yet in our culture work is most often served up as either drudgery or
obsession. I want it to be neither; I want it to be something
that gives satisfaction through the day and at the end of the day.
The idea that the people who make up the company _are_ the
company, and that the company exists for our individual and
collective good, is the root of many principles that have guided
me through the years. It is the reason why:
I will always give a job opportunity first to someone
within the company, rather than hiring outside, even when we
might thereby find someone with more appropriate experience and
expertise. As long as the individual has a reasonable
chance of success, and as long as the company is doing well
enough to carry on during the person's learning curve, this
seems to me the only course, since the opportunity for growth
and new challenges is one of the most important benefits I
can offer to every employee. We have an oddball flextime salary system, which allows
people to work when they want, within the bounds
of what is permitted by labor laws, and baseline
requirements of getting the job done. The company is governed not so much by rules as by exceptions.
It's an illusion promulgated by those afraid of life that
a company, a country, or any assembly of humans can be so
perfectly managed that everything will always stay the same.
Life's beauty is its variety, its ability to surprise us.
An organization that expects to succeed must always be flexible. I want everyone to participate fully in the company, with a
sense that we are all empowered to make it the place of our
dreams, to fix things that are broken, to speak up when
something is wrong, and to think, every day, how to make it
work better. Responsibility = Response-ability. I've always allowed people to use company resources for
personal or community projects, and further, have always encouraged
people to consider whether their personal interests could be
turned into company projects. I consider the essence of
entrepreneurial capitalism (ORA-style, at least) to be
finding ways to make our interests pay for themselves!
I think perhaps I'm straying too far from the point. Here it
is, brought back to earth: as long as you work at ORA, I
expect you to enjoy your job. If you don't--either because the
challenges are too great, or because they are too small--let's
work together to find the dynamic balance that enables us to do
great things together.
* Really, there were three, but the third one: an E standing
alone, has everyone baffled. Maybe it was an unfinished
inscription, or a symbol with a meaning long lost, but I like
to think of it as a reminder of the unknown, a zen koan if you
will. There's a humorous but profound Tarot deck called
"Morgan's Tarot" with thoughtful cartoons. My favorite says
"Always Remember This" below a blank box. Like the E at Delphi,
it makes me think: what am I forgetting? what is it that I don't know?
how do I get back to the secret core and wellspring of my life?
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