Now that I am officially off the gig that I was busy with the last year and a half, I have been pondering what is to come next? There are a couple of ideas that I have been playing with and a few interesting conversations, but I figured it would be a good idea to write down the broad contours of how I would like to work in the years I have left.
- Ethics: In the world where growth-at-any-cost is the popular, investor-friendly option, ethics often go for a toss. Doing the correct and decent thing is not often highly rated. I am actively trying to stay out of environments like these. The environment produced by such companies are toxic and it has an adverse impact on everything important to me.
- Remote-friendly: We are in an age where we at least the newer companies should actively try to shut down daily commute to the workplace. You need not create a workplace that is purely virtual. You can easily keep an office, but you can require your employees to come in only on select days when everyone is guaranteed to be in the office. Otherwise, build a culture that encourages and thrives on remote work.
Of course, this is not going to be easy and culturally it is nearly-impossible to retrofit this once a non-remote culture has really set in. But the modern commute really has to die or reduce drastically. It makes our cities crowded, more polluted, adds stress that produces nothing additional and cuts time that can easily be used for more positive things. - Good people: Find smart, good people to work with at all levels. From co-founders to co-workers it is important find the right kind of people to work with. It is worth it investing in both finding and training the right sort of people to form the core of the company. The right ones tend to stay longer with you, work better and keeps everyone happier.
- Make it better: For the customers you serve, the employees you work with and the industry you work in. This results in happier people and better output all around.
- Work is not everything: Allow people to explore other things when time permits. If times does not permit (for years in a row), you are not planning it right.
