Company as Code
Like a lot of things I write about, this is both a new and wild idea and something that's been around for a long time but hasn't really caught on. It'd be cooler if it did.
Governance
How organizations make rules, allocate authority, and hold themselves accountable. Less corporate-board, more lived practice.
21 posts
Anthropic’s AI constitution is an exercise in rule-of-law governance
I solemnly swear that this is not an international relations blog, nor is it an AI blog, but THINGS ARE HAPPENING
Five Org Design Things N° 7
Collaboration edition! Yumemi’s org design; Collaboration is dead; Elbows of data; How to make good documents; How to run good workshops
Why Does DARPA Work?
A few standout practices: Opacity; Outsourcing for stronger internal networks; Deep technical reviews of ongoing programs.
Aragon Court & Decentralizing Justice
Decentralized justice systems... might be the future of corporate governance?
Cooperation & Discord
I'm going back and reading through my old Diplomacy & World Affairs texts. They're useful: > Cooperation is contrasted with discord; but is also distinguished from harmony. Cooperation, as compared to harmony, requires active attempts to adjust policies to meet the demands of others. That is,
Managing August’s Finances
Consulting is a simple business, with few logistical or financial challenges to master. Even so, we take operations pretttty seriously at August. Probably more seriously than most businesses of our size, but that’s what makes us great. Right? Over the last 18-ish months, we have developed five spreadsheets that
Bonuses At August
Occasionally in the course of running our business, we will create excess profits. Excess? Profits? I thought we were a for-profit business! Turns out you can have too much profit. For example, if you’re not expecting to have a big profit at the end of the year (because a
Ownership & Symmetry
Why do founders behave so poorly? Why do they struggle to distribute authority? Why is it so hard for employees to have their voices heard, for their good data from the edge of the organization to be incorporated into decisions? I believe all of this stems from asymmetrical risk. Almost
August's Starter Governance Kernel
Governance is recorded as either Roles or Policies. All of it is changeable with data on a cycle-by-cycle cadence, at open, facilitated Governance Meetings. Policies apply to teams that create them, and to any sub-teams. Everything else is up to your best judgement.
August’s Specific Public Benefit
At the beginning, August had two key goals: making a significant contribution to human productivity growth; being the fuel for meaningful innovation.
The Main Objective: Legitimacy
When it comes to organizing humans, the only thing that matters is legitimacy.