Jason Fried, CEO at Basecamp, wrote a very badly received post yesterday about changes he would like to see at the company, which can be summed up as “no more political discussions, just focus on work.”
I just came across a “fan translation” of the post that pretty much captures how I first read it.
This may look like compression. A reduction, an elimination. And it is. It’s precisely that. We’re compressing X to allow for expansion in Y. A return to whole minds that can focus fully on the work we choose to do. A return to a low-ceremony steady state where we can make decisions and move on. A return to personal responsibility and good faith trust in one another to do our own individual jobs well. A return to why we started the company. A return to what we do best.
Look, I’m just asking you to stop thinking about climate change, state murder of black lives, the ever-increasing reach of corporations, and the hollowing out of society and just get back to making me money. Is that so hard?