Re:How Medium is building a new kind of company with no mana...
by jacques_chester on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @11:42PM
(#6170683)
> So things like Valve and Medium try to say they are not "traditional companies"
In Valve's case, it's true. They are so unstoppably profitable that the company can be run in just about any fashion at all. The profitability is now largely due to network effects.
Any system from totalitarian dictatorship through to hippie commune will work, so long as it doesn't decide to dry up the river of money.
Normal businesses have much tighter constraints, tougher competition and far less free cashflow to play with.
Drawing universal conclusions about populations from extreme outliers is generally considered to be a mistake.
In Valve's case, it's true. They are so unstoppably profitable that the company can be run in just about any fashion at all. The profitability is now largely due to network effects.
Any system from totalitarian dictatorship through to hippie commune will work, so long as it doesn't decide to dry up the river of money.
Normal businesses have much tighter constraints, tougher competition and far less free cashflow to play with.
Drawing universal conclusions about populations from extreme outliers is generally considered to be a mistake.