http://www.phparch.com \ December 2018 \ 31Creating a Culture
The Dev Lead Trenches
It is not uncommon to have fitness
centers in larger companies, and
Google had them as well. They made a
big deal about how good their cafeteria
was (and, in fairness, it was delicious).
They had areas where you could take
your laptop and have a quiet place to
work or hang out in a ball pit.
Years later I was able to visit the
Menlo Park campus of Facebook. It was
even more in-your-face about wanting
to keep you on campus. Not only did
they have the same basic extras Google
had, but they also had a movie theater
and other things that might scratch
a hobby itch. It was surreal to walk
around what felt like a tiny city but was
actually a company.
Both campuses were designed to
make you not want to leave. If you
were staying anyway, you might as well
work. You love your job so much you
never want to leave, right? For some
people those extras are nice, but they
only help drive home one important
fact—the company culture is one where
the company gives you everything you
need, why look anywhere else?
These two companies are not cargo
cults; they know precisely what they
are doing. They are creating a culture
that rewards and encourages “stay on
campus and work” by giving employ-
ees all the amenities they need at work.
For some people that is fine, but for
employees with a family, it might not
be a good culture fit.Keys to Real Company Culture
If you want to instill a real company
culture, there are a few topics you
should look at first. These ideas help
you think about the real things that
make up a company culture and bring
the biggest bang for the buck. These
are also inexpensive, both in terms of
time and actual financial value, so they
can be easier to implement without
outside resources or explicit support
and approval.Communication is Key
One of the biggest stereotypes with IT
and developers is this a job for people
who hate to work with other people. If
you want a position where you can sit
and not have to deal with people, IT is
where it is at! Users are dumb, and the
less interaction you have with them, the
better!The reality is communication is one
of the most important things for devel-
opers. Not only do developers need to
have a keen aptitude for code and prob-
lem solving, but they also need to have
the ability to write, the ability to talk,
and the ability to express their ideas
clearly. Developers also need to know
how to listen to others and work with
them to solve problems and complete
their assigned work.
For the first element of good culture,
you must encourage communication.
Make sure your teammates are talking
together when they are working on
issues. Ensure your team works with
the appropriate outside groups on new
features. Have your people write blog
posts to share what they’ve learned,
either on their blog or on the corpo-
rate blog. Encourage your team to get
up and speak at their local user groups.
Public speaking is becoming a lost art,
and being able to present to groups
goes a long way in general day-to-day
work and interactions.
If you take nothing else away from
this article, make it this—a develop-
er’s strongest asset is their ability toWeb Apps ∙ Mobile Apps ∙ E-Commerce
Developers who care about the code they create, the
communities they build, and the solutions the implement