Philosophy To Do Business By

When I started my video game development company, Infinite Monkey Factory (IMF), back at the beginning of the century, I was determined that we would do things differently. Apart from just wanting to make good games, I wanted IMF to be an awesome company to work for.

Rather than coming up with just a concrete business plan that talked about product, estimated sales, marketing and finances, I wanted to also have a philosophy that people could buy in to and believe in. I wanted the company to treat the employees well and do things the right way for once.

Philosophy Rules to Live By

Act Different

Look at what traditional companies are doing and analyze why they are doing it. Then you most likely want to do the exact opposite.

Smart

I do not care whether you know C++ or JavaScript or Ruby. I do care if you know at least a half-dozen programming languages and feel comfortable in all of them.

Productive

You have been given a task or a project. Go do it. Make it happen. I am like Captain Picard, I say "Make it so." I do not care how you get us there, just get us there.

Ready! Fire! Aim!

Do not create huge, masterful plans and then try to execute them. Create something simple. Release it in to the wild. Adjust your course and heading accordingly. Keep moving.

Stop! Think! Act!

Stop! Do not jump in feet first. Do not just start doing

Think! Contemplate what needs to be done. Draw up a small plan of how to achieve it. Do not over-think it.

Act! Get to work and deliver results.

I know this looks like it goes against “Ready! Fire! Aim!” but that is really applicable to a different situation than “Stop! Think! Act!”

Do Not Fail

You only fail when you stop trying. Life is full of setbacks. They only stop you when you give up. IMF will never fail, it will never go bankrupt, and it will never be out of business. So long as one person keeps trying, we cannot fail.

Not Beholden

We shall not be beholden to any company or person. When you do business with IMF, you play by our rules or you do not play.

Everything Is Profitable

Every project we undertake we make a profit. We will not work free and we will not work to make payroll. All projects must be paid for up front, we do not finance somebody’s project for them.

No Credit Or Loans

We do not seek credit or loans from any business entity. This ties in to “Not Beholden.” IMF is an independent entity without investors or creditors.

Communicate

The most important piece of business advice I’ve ever been given is that no matter what skill set someone has, the most important one they should have is the ability to communicate.

Evolve or Die

Constantly update your skills, your outlook, and your life. The company is going to be growing and evolving relentlessly and your job will not be the same in two years time, it may not even exist. Make yourself indispensable by growing with us and contributing to our growth, not by filtering and hoarding information so only you have the answer.

So far, our philosophy seems to be working.