Geek companies rule? (Sorry I missed it!)

My career was in the tech world, in geek companies. 

Prior to the late 1970's/early 1980's, the word geek had a meaning that wasn't associated with technology. In the least. It meant a carnival worker who "entertained" the audience by, say, biting off the head of a chicken. The word then migrated to mean techies - largely guys - who were totally absorbed in the tech world and, as likely or not, were also social oddballs. (Think Asperger's.) 

The word geek in the techie world initially had a slightly pejorative context. (Think Asperger's.) But over time, it developed into a badge of honor. 

In the early days of the Internet, someone came up with the idea of crowning the Sexiest Geek Alive. It was supposed to be based entirely on brains and tech cred, but the 2000 (I believe this was the inaugural year) winner had the bonus of being pretty good looking. I know this because, in the year 2000, the Sexiest Geek Alive was Tony Northrup, a colleague of mine at Genuity. I can't say I knew him all that well, but we worked together on a few projects, and he was definitely brainy, very easy to work with, and - yes - pretty darned handsome. (I justgoogled and he became a professional photographer. And he's still pretty darned handsome.)

Whether we called them techies, nerds, or geeks, for all their brainy weirdness, I much enjoyed working with them and being part of the tech world. 

But there was nothing that I experienced in that world that led me to believe that a tech company was any sort of paradise. 

I worked for companies that were absurdly bureaucratic. Secretive in their decision making. Deceptive in their communications. At times anything but human or humane. And not exactly open to openness and criticism. 

This was the case whether the companies I worked for were led by geeks, or just employed a ton of them.

In other words, for all the laxity on dress codes, widespread irreverence, and tolerance of oddball behavior, which were hallmarks of the places I worked, those places were pretty much like every other business.

So I was a bit surprised - and maybe even a bit-een skeptical - when I saw a Boston Globe article a while back headlined Why are ‘geeky’ companies winning? It’s about culture, not tech.

The article profiled MIT Sloan School researcher Andrew McAfee who, at a 2009 meeting at HubSpot, where he was doing some consulting. (True confession: HubSpot is a marketing services/tech company where, if I were younger - a lot younger - I would be interested in working.) 

Back in 2009, McAffee, along with Brian Halligan, HubSpot's cofounder, made a presentation to employees. Then came the post-preso feedback/Q&A session. When here's what happened:

“This baby-faced, brand-new hire was the first person to speak,” McAfee recalls. “And he stood up and began by saying, ‘There are a couple things I don’t like.’ And he went on from there.”

McAfee knew this guy had stepped in it. Later, he told Halligan how weird it was that a young employee had contradicted the boss in front of other people. And Halligan looked at McAfee and said: “What kind of company do you think I’m trying to build here?”

Nearly 15 years later, McAfee — who has spent decades advising corporations and executives — believes that meeting at HubSpot was transformative in a way he didn’t understand at the time. The company was part of a new wave of what McAfee calls “geeky” companies, which he believes have outcompeted traditional corporate America — in large part by eschewing bureaucracy, red tape, and boot-licking.

“Standard practice is when the very senior person asks for feedback, what they get is applause,” McAfee says. Their ideas are brilliant, inspired, genius. Even if most people know they’re not always so hot.

With the exception of Wang Labs, I don't recall any company I worked for that expected/demanded applause when the head folks spoke. (Wang was a special case. When I was there, in founder An Wang's final years, there was breathtaking reverence for Dr. Wang that definitely approached boot-licking at its most craven.)

No, most of the places I worked invited direct feedback, however reluctantly, and withstood direct questioning at all-hands meetings and other forums. It was just that anything that the head honchos didn't want to hear, let alone act on, went in one executive ear and out the other. 

But McAfee contends that, just about the time Tony Northrup was being crowned the Sexiest Geek Alive, a "new breed of company" emerged which:

...has proven that its approach is far superior to that of more old-school companies. And he says those who cling to the old ways will soon be eclipsed by cultures that allow people to say what they really think, value data-driven decisions over cults of personality, iterate quickly, and give their employees more autonomy and responsibility.

And these "geek" companies don't necessarily have to be techie companies. Whatever the industry, it's the culture that matters not whether the industry is tech (as in Amazon and Google) or not (even though non-tech companies are increasingly tech-driven).

Anyway, I hope it's true that geek companies rule, and that tech companies are leading the way. 

I'm just sorry I missed it....