How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO

Re:How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO by shin_lao on Monday September 09, 2013 @03:39AM (#6352278)

At first I thought unlimited vacation would be a good idea. After all, it was in Netflix’s famed “Culture Deck,” and it seemed to work well for them. However, this seemed to put more pressure on employees — the good ones might worry that they were taking too much vacation and not take any.

I agree. It's better to give a generous amount of vacations every year (5-6 weeks) than say "it's unlimited!". Also make sure you "punish" people not taking any vacations.

Also related, we don't have "hours". To avoid the perverse effect of people working 10h/day, I make it clear by showing up at 11h some days or leaving a 15h00.

Working hard is important, working a lot, not that important: I pay you for results, not for presence.

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Re:How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO by middus on Monday September 09, 2013 @04:40AM (#6352400)

Fun fact: "Generous amount of vacations every year (5-6 weeks)" corresponds with European employment standards :).

I have 28 days + Christmas Eve + New Year's Eve (+ bank holidays), which is not particularly exceptional in Germany.

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Re:How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO by shin_lao on Monday September 09, 2013 @07:57AM (#6352906)

I know, I live in France and I lived and worked in Germany. :) But it's generous nonetheless, let's not forget it.

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Re:How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO by samspenc on Monday September 09, 2013 @10:38AM (#6353696)

Hi from the US! Wow, I'm envious of you guys. :p 10 days + federal holidays is what we get!

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