Jacob Grier

Though I’m not a coder, I’m always interested in what the guys at the 37 Signals blog have to say. A couple of their recent posts deal with their philosophies of employment. Here, this quote stands out for me:

I am perfectly willing to acknowledge that not all of us excel at the same things, but I’m coming to believe more and more firmly that this whole “typical person” entity is a myth. I’ve never met a typical person. There are only people who are passionate about what they do, and people who aren’t. When the latter become the former, they become “atypical”, because suddenly they are self-motivated, insightful, excited, optimistic, and happy.

Another entry explains the workplace experiments they’ve been running, including four day workweeks, funding the development of employees’ outside passions, and discretionary spending accounts.

Oddly enough, the posts remind me of what I miss about working full-time in coffee. Though the pay and the prestige are both lower than I what I enjoy now, the flexible hours, unrationed vacation days, and enthusiasm from management for their workers’ outside interests allowed much more room for personal growth. The passion for coffee that excites many of us baristi makes us more interesting people as a result. PR? Not so much.

My tamper grows dusty on the shelf. It longs to feel those 30 lbs. of pressure.