Best of Company Culture — September 2025

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    Article
    Avatar of dhhDavid Heinemeier Hansson·33w

    The great falls of Boeing, Intel, and Apple

    A critical analysis of how major tech companies like Boeing, Intel, and Apple have declined after appointing CEOs without engineering or product backgrounds. The author argues that it takes approximately ten years for company culture to deteriorate under non-technical leadership, citing specific examples of failed products and strategic missteps at each company. The piece advocates for technical leaders who understand the products they oversee rather than purely business-focused executives.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of staysaasyStay SaaSy·34w

    The Trauma You Need To Learn

    Learning from difficult experiences like firing employees and shipping bugs is essential for growth in management and engineering. Shielding people from the emotional impact of their failures prevents them from developing better judgment and practices. Managers who experience the full weight of firing someone become more careful about hiring and performance management. Engineers who directly engage with customers affected by their bugs develop stronger commitment to quality. Organizations should expose people to appropriate levels of discomfort from their failures rather than creating buffer systems that remove accountability and learning opportunities.

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    Video
    Avatar of primeagenThePrimeTime·33w

    this man is a gigachad

    A developer highlights Nirav Patel, CEO and founder of Framework Computer, who actively contributes to open source projects in his spare time. Despite his executive role, Patel submits pull requests and helps improve various projects without leveraging his position for special treatment. The story emphasizes how rare it is to see tech leaders maintain hands-on technical involvement and genuine enthusiasm for coding, contrasting this with typical expectations of CEOs who have moved away from technical work.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of christianheilmannChristian Heilmann·32w

    Time to separate the art from the artist

    Explores the challenge of separating creators from their work in tech, examining how fame and power can corrupt individuals who produce valuable products or content. Discusses the responsibility of communities to address when creators abuse their platforms to spread harmful ideologies, and advocates for focusing on the merit of work while rejecting attempts to hijack technical platforms for political messaging.

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