gregthompsonjr

I'm an engineer for a well-known media/tech company. The executives are drilling down on company culture, building a clear identity and becoming more efficient. I think that's great.

This year, the company decided it would be great to adopt the OKR system (used at Google, conceived with love at Intel). I'm not a manager, but the push to accurately measure performance and identify pitfalls seems to be reasonable.

We all heard of Amazon's infamous leadership principles. I'm sure there are plenty of tech companies out there that are striving to reproduce Amazon's amazing success (we should be). The sphere of tech leadership where I work (wonderful folk) unanimously decided that we take a page out of Amazon's book of military-grade operation and adopt their leadership principles.

We aren't following the leadership principles verbatim. Those behind the adoption chopped and screwed Amazon's document, manufacturing a customized, Company-esque version of leadership principles. It mostly looks like a summary of the original, with a friendlier, less boarding-school-like tone.

The adoption/adaptation is scary. We aren't robots. We aren't numbers. Not everyone is built to lead (not saying I'm not, but some will take certain things too far). I've already seen the sociopathic nature of those in finance and other industries. More importantly, I'm aware of how depressing the Amazon culture has been to plenty of Amazon engineers (the NYT wrote about it, ask employees of Amazon, and google 'amazon FACE'). While efficiency is important, so is my health. I like where I work, and I haven't been with the company very long, but already, so much has changed—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse if you're at the bottom of the totem pole.

Should I be afraid of these changes? If so, why? Have you dealt with such a transition? If so, how'd it go? I'd ask someone about these changes internally and voice my concerns, but I fear that higher-ups will consider me poisonous to the company for being worried.

Last week, I was asked to cofound what's supposed to become a tech startup. The two idea guys need someone to build out their MVP and orchestrate development.

They want to build the next great communication app. I've been communicating with people on the internet since 1998, and I'm aware of the influx of communication apps hitting the market.

I was offered a third of the company in return, and they're asking for 4 to 5 hours a week of my time (to start out). I know that that's not what it's going to turn out to be, considering development challenges. Plus, I have a full-time position as a software developer.

I'm in the process of launching some of my own projects, and I'd have to put those to the side in order to dedicate my free energy and time to their project. They've pitched the idea. I fear it's not innovative enough and that it's just another chat app. How do I know it's worth the commitment? They want a solid decision (quickly).