10 December 2007
One of my favourite jokes is about the Insomniac Dyslexic Agnostic... who lay awake all night wondering if there was a Dog!
I'm reminded of this today because my dog is spending the day with us in the office. Callum (yes, that's him on the right) has had a dull weekend because of the weather was looking at a dull Monday on his own at home... so he has come in to be with us and have some company.
All of which leads me to "The Dog Test", which I've invented this morning, but somehow goes to the heart of what I believe about business. Here it is.
"Does your business allow dogs in the office?"
Don't worry, it's not a test. There are plenty of good, practical reasons for not letting animals come to work. If either Chris or Mike were allergic, or didn't like dogs, or we made garlic sausages for a living... Callum wouldn't be here. It would be simple common sense.
You see whether or not dogs are allowed in your company is really neither here nor there... the Dog Test is a trick. What I'm really interested in is not the answer, but how you come to the answer.
As companies grow it becomes harder and harder to make quick decisions, and harder to let in new ideas... this is often the curse of success. Large companies need to think long and hard... convene committees, get "buy-in" and go through an approval process. Small companies have a guy sitting at home on a Sunday afternoon, looking at a dog.
Small companies look for a reason to do things... large companies look for reasons not to do things... and I think that's quite a profound difference in the 21st Century.
Until today Callum has never been in the office, until yesterday it's never been seriously considered. But now he's here, snoozing at my feet. This is why I love working at Semantic.
Posted by Nick Warren at 9:11 AM
