The "Oracle of Silicon Valley" is known for popularizing terms like Web 2.0 and supporting the growth of the Maker movement. His publishing empire of technical and technology–related books, software, and conferences has nearly 500 employees and collective revenues approaching $200 million. But in a reflective, personal post on LinkedIn, Tim O'Reilly writes this week about what he's gotten wrong over the years.
Not listening––to himself and to others
O'Reilly talks and writes a lot, but he says he didn't always practice "reflective listening," including understanding how well people were hearing his messages. "I talked so much about our ideals, our goal to create more value than we capture, to change the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators, that I forgot to make sure that everyone understood that we were still a business...we've had countless struggles to have employees take the business of the business as seriously as they should."
Not innovating as hard in HR as he did in the core business
O'Reilly says that as his organization grew, he drifted away from practices like merit–only raises, and letting his people manage their own time, and toward more conventional HR policies. Mediocre performers sometimes got a free ride, especially when the business was growing.
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via Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com
