Sometimes I read my colleague Stephen O’Grady with dread, with a mounting existential horror. He is so good, writes so well, is so insightful, with a dry wit and no lack of charm, that I ask myself: What if he goes somewhere else? But then I remember, and breathe again. Why does Stephen do such great work? Because he can. You can see he loves what he does, and I can’t imagine there is anywhere else he would have the freedom. Stephen has the freedom to leave, sure. He could probably quadruple his salary if he went over to Gartner. But that’s the least of my worries. You can’t chain your colleagues, partners or customers to you. You can only help them love what they are doing, and when people feel like that you’re in good shape.
At RedMonk we fundamentally believe in lower barriers and open networks. No contract will cause people to do fantastic work. Only love works that way.
Craig's Rantings... says:
June 1, 2007 at 11:32 am
Show them you want them to stay……
James just picked up on a thought today, probably because he’s busy doing a bit of Spring Cleaning while he clears out his office in preparation for a new set of diggs. Sometimes I read my colleague ……
Ric says:
June 1, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Good call James. I think it’s because he’s allowed to blog about baseball …
Skrocki says:
June 1, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Amen to that! It’s why I stay at Sun — I work on projects that I’ve chosen/love, my boss stays out of my way, I work with some of the brightest engineers on the planet, and the working from home thing has enabled me to continue with my workaholic shedule while having more time to spend with my family/pets/garden because of the lack of commute time.
stephen o'grady says:
June 1, 2007 at 5:43 pm
got a bit worried when i read the title – thought Nat was going to be after me 😉
in all seriousness, however, the sentiments are appreciated and certainly reciprocated. yeah, i’d like to make money, retire, and follow the Sox all over the country but as long as you have to work you might as well work on what you like with people you like and respect.
i’m very fortunate to have found that spot, and know it.