Conversation

1/ We recently attempted to summarize what the

culture has been over the past 11 years, and what we hope it continues to be. We had a few heated debates and it turns out we have about 20 people out of 3200 who are totally not on board. 👇🧵

Quote Tweet

Kraken Exchange

What does it all mean? It's time to get back to building! We've got 500+ roles still left to fill this year. Bear markets are the best for recruiting talent that is both aligned with our culture and our mission. Check out Kraken Culture Explained for more. blog.kraken.com/post/14372/kra

515

1,477

8,187

2/ 60% have been with the company for < 6 months. So, no biggie, except 20 unhappy people can sap the productivity out of another 400 with little effort. It basically works like a SYN flood DoS. People want to be helpful but it's draining and resentment is often misplaced.

13

43

1,082

3/ How did this happen? Lots of hiring, fast, without enough emphasis on culture + mission fit, and at a time when crypto was super hot. Tons of amazingly talented people were looking for a seat on the next rocket ship, not realizing that crypto's more of a rollercoaster.

17

75

1,627

4/ Great talent, bad fit. When things were rosy, everybody got along. When things started to look grim, sensitivities and the misalignment came through. People focused on minor slights, first world problems rather than our really big, important Mission to help billions of people.

11

59

1,373

5/ What are they upset about? * DEI (Silicon Valley's version) * pronouns, whether someone can identify as a different race and be allowed to use the N-word * whether differences in human sex exist at all * being respected and unoffended * being "harmed" by "violent" words FWP

108

239

1,870

6/ We've got people in 70+ countries, speaking 50+ languages in the company, trying to build products for people in 190. Differing perspectives will be shared. That's DIVERSITY. It's not always easy. You've gotta be resilient, humble, open and highly tolerant of differing norms.

20

87

1,941

7/ I entertained debate for a bit because I'm open minded. I can be convinced. Team should have input in to policies. Problem is I'm way more studied on the policy topics, people get triggered by everything and can't conform to basic rules of honest debate. Back to dictatorship.

54

113

1,805

Honest debate isn't possible. The people arguing aren't standing on whole arguments, just pieces and heuristics they've collected by passively existing. I've been a few steps down this road and did similar. Keep discussions at work about work. Some people left. We survived.

3

2

Debate is probably the worst possible way to obtain knowledge. People who are completely wrong can win debates if they say the right things against their opponent. A debate is just a game. Nothing else. If you want to explore ideas, discussion is far more useful.

2

5

Replying to

and

Yup. New rule is that you have to submit a paper if you want to propose a policy change. One shot.

6:20 AM · Jun 16, 2022Twitter for iPhone

Replying to

and

It seems noble to hear them out and you're a good person for doing so. Company leadership sets policy and shapes culture. People are compatible with that culture or leave. Culture is part of a functioning business strategy. It needs to be safeguarded.

1

Absolutely! Culture needs to be safeguarded. People need to feel safe giving and receiving feedback, vertically and horizontally. Leadership makes that possible and sets the tone.

1

San Fransisco 

@santi_francis_

Replying to

and

Isn’t that another obstacle on it’s own. Rules drive behavior. Life is hypocritical and there’s nothing worth glorify. I know that sounds nihilistic but it is what it is.

2

Close. Incentives drive behavior. Requiring an idea to be thought through and documented as part of the process of adopting it is pretty reasonable. Moving that step to the left should help people discover the holes in their own ideas before wasting other people's time.