The best companies I work with have a heartbeat, they operate on a pace and a cadence and a rhythm that is perceptible to everyone in and around the company.
I am not talking about just product and engineering, although you can’t have a company with a heartbeat if you don’t have it in product and engineering. A company that doesn’t ship product regularly builds clogged arteries and that becomes pervasive in the culture and you end up with low morale, a lack of confidence, a revolving door, and a mess.
There are many ways to get this beat going and sustain it. There are techniques like agile product development, monthly and quarterly OKRs, weekly show and tells at the all-hands meeting, metrics meetings, etc, etc.
What it comes down to in my view is a mindset around getting stuff done on a regular cadence and then letting that rhythm become a wave and riding that wave.
And it starts with the CEO. They are the drummer in the band. They set the beat and keep the beat. And everyone plays around it.
If you have been in a company that has a heartbeat, you know what I am talking about.
If you haven’t, then you need to find one and join it and learn how it feels.
Becuase a heartbeat is what you want in your company.
