The best way of leaning to swim is to get thrown in the Deep(er) End of the pool. Preferably by someone with the inclination to come rescue you if you start to drown. You either learn to tread water remarkably fast, or you get fished out, calmed down, and promptly thrown in again. So that’s exactly what Red Gate does; it takes people, and sends them barreling, head-first, into the educational pool:

“I thought everyone was really enthusiastic about being here. Like there must be something in the air conditioning. People really loved being here. I’ve never worked anywhere where people have been so happy to work and so proud of their company.

I remember Andras, my manager, saying
“Do you know about SQL Server?”
“No”
“Well then you can read up about it and give us a presentation about it. And do you know about C#?”
“No, not really”
“Well you can give us a presentation on that, too. So is there anything else that you don’t know?”
“I know everything else. All other knowledge.”

That was quite frightening. It’s good way to learn, when you’ve got that sort of pressure on you.”
- Alice Easey

“Pretty much the first thing that happened after I got in was that Neil gave me a massive, thick book on SQL Server and said “Read that, and at the end of the week, I want you to do a presentation on how you’d create a set of command line tools for our SQL Comparison tools”. There was no sense of easing in; although I did get told I had to go home at 5.”
- Bart Read

I was just told, “Write a program, get yourself used to the language”, because I haven’t used C# a lot before.
But I wasn’t told “write this particular thing” which I knew was meaningless, I was told to make up a meaningless job for myself, just to get the training done. And that’s exactly what I want to do, because I’m perfectly capable of thinking up a meaningless job to get myself into the language.
-Alex Davies

Clearly this ‘Deep-End’ style of learning is effective; people keep wanting to buy our products, and we keep growing as a company. Yet just as clearly, venturing into unknown waters is not an induction process that will work for everyone. Many people prefer to be eased into a new role, and shown the proverbial ropes one at a time. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that, it’s just a different style of learning. But it’s a style of learning that makes the ‘Deep End’ system seem like a kind of nightmare.

One of my colleagues mentioned to me that “Deep End” implies ‘drowning’ and ‘overload’, and that’s very much NOT what I’m suggesting is the case here. I’m not saying that, as a new starter, you’re given a desk and PC, told “Go get ‘em, tiger!” and that’s the end of your human contact. Not by a long shot – The open atmosphere in the office means that I can ask anyone for help if I need it (I’ve even had one of the directors lend me a hand on occasion). It’s all about learning-by-doing and getting involved immediately; I have to be self-motivated and passionate if I want to keep up with the energy here. There’s no time for spoon-feeding or hand-holding, only for jumping in, both feet first, with enthusiasm and (we all like to think) creativity.

So should you come prepared with a life-jacket and inflatable dinghy? Absolutely not, but bring a snorkel. Or maybe scuba gear. To thrive in this kind of environment, you need to be someone who gets the best out of themselves when they get stuck in. And to keep the open culture alive, you also need people who are receptive to that kind of collaborative and generous atmosphere. When you find these people, they create a workplace which is both energizing and entertaining. As an added bonus, they also create a strong sense of a welcoming community; importantly, a sense which endures as that community swells and outgrows its original boundaries.

The timeline of Red Gate’s non-stop growth.

All Work and No Play?

If you’re going to have these semi-mythical, self-motivated and creative people as your employees, you have to give them space to play. You try and chain someone like that to a desk and just see how far you get. Recruit the right people (and think carefully about who they are, first). Nudge them into the thick of activity and let them get on with it. Give them NERF guns.

Yes, I’m being silly; but my point is no less meaningful for it. If people are going to thrive in the Deep End, they’re also going to need to act like big kids occasionally.

So, take one portion of motivated and intelligent people, drop into the deep-end with a generous helping of fun, and mix well. The result? A crucible of creative ideas, fuelled by people who are (or are rapidly becoming) incredibly skilled in their chosen fields, and which encourages individuality. Sounds like a recipe for success...

The right people. Empowered.

Post by Chris Massey