Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks

Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks

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Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks

21 Aug 2006 6:01 PM
  • Comments 6

Given the title of my blog I couldn't resist linking to this post courtesy of a link I found from Michael Affronti's great Outlook blog.

The top 10

  1. Geeks are curious. Let them feed their desire to learn things
  2. Geeks like to be self-sustaining. Let them figure things out on their own.
  3. Geeks are creative even if they don’t know it. Give them a chance.
  4. Geeks need tools, good ones. Give them more than they need.
  5. Private, yet collaborative. Geeks need to be left alone, but not too alone.
  6. Free stuff. T-shirts, food, desktop widgets, whatever.
  7. Control
  8. Geeks need recognition
  9. Freedom
  10. Compensation - Saved this for last, but geeks gotta live too

That's a pretty good list in my experience - the top 5 are spot on. Some of others play to the Geek stereotype but as a list of 10 it works for me. Maybe I'd add

  1. Geeks blog about a weird mix of stuff
  2. Geeks like attention to detail
  3. Geeks like XBOX 360
  4. Geeks don't only eat pizza and drink Coke :)

Care to add?

Link to Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks · The Retrospector

Comments
  • Michael Garstin
    21 Aug 2006 7:33 PM
    Great suggestions! As a vendor working for MSFT I sincerely hope that all who employ geeks read this.
  • Retrospector
    21 Aug 2006 11:38 PM
    Nice additions Steve, though the pizza and Coke only slowed down for me once I got married.  ;)
  • Rob Herbst :: My Addition to the “Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks” List
    22 Aug 2006 1:35 AM
    PingBack from http://www.robherbst.com/blog/2006/08/22/my-addition-to-the-top-10-ways-to-motivate-geeks-list/
  • 22 Aug 2006 3:24 AM
    Mmmm, Domino's Mighty Meaty...yum ;)
  • Matthew Stibbe (Bad Language)
    24 Aug 2006 4:20 AM
    Having run a computer games company and worked with geeks - in the best possible sense of that word - for many years, I think this list is wide of the mark.  As you say, it plays to many myths and cliches rather than the reality of technically-minded people.

    My list would include:

    1.  Show them respect for their expertise.  T-shirts and stuff are nice but geeks aren't circus monkeys who perform tricks for baubles.  Done right, t-shirts and the like are signs of respect and recognitions of talent.  Actually, t-shirts are the wrong gimmes.  Buy the most expensive fleeces, jackets, bags you can afford.

    2.  Let them work the way they want to work.  Some like working all night.  Some like a strict 9-5 routine.  Some want to work on their own, some in teams.  Find out what works for them.  Also read Peopleware.  Three times.  Do what it says.

    3.  Give them time to pursue their own projects.  The best programmers work on problems because they are interesting problems, not because they are on your project plan or because they are critical to your products success.  You can encourage this kind of curiosity and ambition by giving them time, sabbaticals, days off etc., to pursue their own interests.  Time and again, my programmers came up with stuff on their own that helped future projects.  It was like a mini-R&D department.  They still worked incredibly hard on company projects.

    4.  Try to understand their world.  If you go on holiday to France, you learn to say please, thank you and another beer, please.  You also try to figure out what the locals like to eat and drink.  It's only friendly.  Same thing with geeks.  Don't treat them as units of production.  Treat them as people and understand what makes them tick.  Try a bit of programming yourself, for example.

    There's more but I have to do some work now!

    There's a bit of stuff about this in a post I wrote a while back called <a href="http://www.badlanguage.net/?p=81">'How to write like a hacker'</a>
  • 25 Aug 2006 7:38 AM
    thanks for the comments Matthew. I know some of the stuff was tongue in cheek but I totally agree with your last point. Treat 'em like people, not a subculture or tribe. They're special but not because they're "geeks" just because they're people...and have valuable skills.

    The point on recognition is an interesting one though as most technical staff I have worked with are keener to be recognised (though not publicly) for their work and ideas ahead of more obvious rewards such as financial.
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