Hardware Podcasts

S2E46 How To Build A Workplace People Love | Rich Sheridan

Being an Engineer · 29 Oct 2021 · 1h 02m · Episode 46

What this episode covers

Rich Sheridan, CEO and Chief Storyteller at Menlo Innovations, explains how he founded the custom software company to end human suffering in technology by returning joy to the workplace. He details Menlo's specific operational practices, including mandatory pairing, open office layouts without walls or desks, and the role of 'high-tech anthropologists' who observe users to ensure the team solves the actual problem rather than a perceived one. Sheridan contrasts this joy-based culture with fear-based management, arguing that transparency and collaboration eliminate the emergencies and rework that plague traditional engineering environments.

Most relevant to

established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Menlo Innovations, Pipeline Design & Engineering
Also
Joy Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love, Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear, Simon Sinek, The Infinite Game, Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained, W. Edwards Deming, Tom Peters

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 27m

    Cultural Idiosyncrasies

    Bryan Cantrill, Adam Leventhal, and Steve Klabnik of Oxide Computer Company discuss the company's unique cultural idiosyncrasies, including Demo Fridays, recorded debugging sessions, and a no-meet Wednesday policy. They explain how these practices, born from remote work and pandemic constraints, foster transparency, psychological safety, and effective collaboration without formal performance reviews. The conversation highlights specific operational choices like RFDs (Requests for Discussion) and the decision to avoid engineering metrics, arguing that trust and positive feedback are more effective than quantitative measures.

    Leadership, teams & cultureCareers & education
    9 chapters

  • Oxide and Friends · 31m

    Mr. Leventhal, Come here I want to see you

    Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss their engineering culture, specifically their 'journal club' approach to learning from formal verification papers like seL4 and their rejection of ASPEED BMC chips. They detail a hiring process that screens for past conflicts with management and reveal their unique 'equal pay' compensation model, which eliminates salary negotiation to foster teamwork. The conversation also covers the psychological challenges of hardware startups, the importance of learning from past system failures, and the risks of executive dishonesty.

    Careers & educationLeadership, teams & culture
    6 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 07m

    78: Happy Cows

    Chris Svec, a senior principal software engineer at iRobot, discusses his concept of 'empathy-driven development' for embedded software teams. He argues that engineers should write code with empathy for future maintainers, new hires, and their own future selves, rather than focusing solely on the 'lone hacker' archetype. Svec highlights how imposter syndrome and the 'rock star' mentality hinder collaboration, and suggests that treating code as readable fiction for multiple audiences can improve team dynamics and product quality.

    Embedded firmwareLeadership, teams & culture
    11 chapters

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 45m

    Hiring Processes with Gergely Orosz

    Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss their hiring process with Gergely Orosz, The Pragmatic Engineer. They explain how Oxide uses a written portfolio and RFD (Request for Discussion) documents to evaluate candidates, prioritizing integrity and clear communication over traditional coding interviews. The founders share how past bad hires at Joyent and Sun led them to design a system that forces transparency and self-reflection, ensuring that every candidate, including founders, undergoes the same rigorous review. They emphasize that this approach helps them avoid 'mishires' and build a team with shared values, even at the cost of being time-intensive.

    Hiring & workforceLeadership, teams & culture
    10 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 12m

    297: Mice to Do My Bidding

    Chris Svec, a software lead at iRobot, discusses his philosophy of 'hope-driven development' as a way to improve software quality and workplace culture. He argues that intentionally focusing on positive outcomes—fewer bugs and faster feature development—primes engineers to notice and fix issues rather than succumbing to cynicism. Svec outlines practical steps for individual contributors and leaders to drive incremental improvements, such as using Seth Godin's 'Three Wishes' exercise and maintaining a public 'Airing of Grievances' wiki to socialize technical debt.

    Careers & educationAI & machine learning
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Being an Engineer. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.