Coven Corporate Culture

I had the opportunity the other night to attend an event locally where one of the founders of GitHub, Chris Wanstrath was speaking. He spoke mostly on the amazing wonder that is git (which has nothing to do with the theme of this blog, except that it is nearly magical).

When he was asked about entrepreneurship and making money, he said something that really stuck with me. He said that every time they (he and the other founders) chased after money, it blew up in their faces, but when they made something awesome that they loved and enjoyed creating, the money followed. And even when the money wasn’t amazing, they were happy, so it was a win-win.

This is good advice for many areas of life: follow your passions, and do really awesome stuff, and your needs will be met. Focus on the destination instead of the journey, and who knows what bitterness will happen!

He also talked about the growth of the company. Doing what they were passionate about created growth, not *trying* to grow. He said that he wouldn’t mind being the head of a company with thousands of employees if he did it well, and everyone was still doing great, passionate work.

This sounds a lot like where I come down on the growth of my magical family. I am not opposed to growth, by any means, but I don’t feel comfortable with expansion for the sake of expansion. My concern is to follow my heart, to do what I feel passionate about, and to surround myself with wonderful people who feel similar. Growth may follow, but that is a side effect of creating a positive energy that connects all those involved.

Keeping this purity and positive culture is a challenge. Chris mentioned that as they grow they have to be sure that they can fire people; it’s imperative to maintaining the culture. It’s much the same in a magical clan, therefore there is much testing before someone becomes a member of the Sphinx. Not only knowledge and ability, but also personality compatibility, energy balance fit, etc. This ensures that the “culture” of the clan is always as positive and beneficial as possible!