So when my business partner DanSheets and I created Tighten in the first place, we really wanted to care for people. We wanted to create great jobs. And it wasn't obviously the most natural thing for people to decide to do, but it just really was what we focused in. And we didn't even totally realize at the beginning that that's what we wanted to do. But we brought in a brand consultant to start start figuring out, you know, like who are we.

But we brought in a brand consultant to start start figuring out, you know, like who are we as a company and what do we really want to do? And as we started talking about kind of all the, the words and phrases that really aligned with us, we started saying, oh my gosh, like we have this shared vision of like doing right and doing good. And a couple years in, we wrote it up and we called it the Great Tighten Experiment. We said we wanted to create a place

and we called it the Great Tighten Experiment. We said we wanted to create a place we actually wanted to work for. And that's a lot to say 'cause we had both worked at places that weren't like that. You know, I want you to come in on the weekend and, you know, do your TPS reports. And we were really tired of living life that way. We wanted to find and help create a better way. But along the way, one of the things we found is

We wanted to find and help create a better way. But along the way, one of the things we found is that if your company and organization is structured around taking care of people and giving them a great place for them, those people who are happy and healthy and a supportive environment are actually the most productive. They're most effective. So even if your goal in creating a company

They're most effective. So even if your goal in creating a company or a development team is to make a high productivity, highly effective, you know, super expert dev team, it turns out this is still the way to do it. So if you build the best system in the entire world, but you put the wrong people in it, it's not gonna do you any good at all. People are the absolute foundation of everything you do in building a dev team and a titan.

People are the absolute foundation of everything you do in building a dev team and a titan. We're really kind of structured around this idea because we understood the people long before we understood the systems. When you look at our core values, the number one core value at Tighten is trust comes first. Because if you can't trust the people you're working with, everything else is gonna fall apart. And that's true for employees, that's true for bosses,

everything else is gonna fall apart. And that's true for employees, that's true for bosses, that's true for your clients or whatever else. If you don't have trust, no other systems will work because people aren't gonna trust that you're gonna follow the system. They're not gonna trust that the system actually was designed for their good. You know, trust really is foundational. And if you think about a, a bureaucracy,

You know, trust really is foundational. And if you think about a, a bureaucracy, a negative experience that you've had a bureaucracy or you've heard from somebody else having, thinking about the worst policies that they have, those policies come from fear, from lack of trust or responses to bad actions that now they have to protect everybody from. Uh, there's a former employee of Tighten named Dave Hicken. He's one of our alumni, is

Uh, there's a former employee of Tighten named Dave Hicken. He's one of our alumni, is what we call our former employees. And he would often talk about the fact that a lot of structure in larger organizations is really just scar tissue. You know, some damage happened, some negative thing happened. At some point in this history, somebody did something and a person looked at that

At some point in this history, somebody did something and a person looked at that and said, you know what I need to do? Do I need to make a policy to make sure that never happens again? And you, you, we could see this jokingly when you say, you know, no shirt, no shoes, no whatever else, you know, lots of places. And we laugh at when those get a little bit more excessive. You know, nobody can come here with the penguin.

And we laugh at when those get a little bit more excessive. You know, nobody can come here with the penguin. Well what story kind of led to that, right? Uh, but when you find yourself in bureaucracies more and more times when something goes the way people don't want, they say, we gotta make sure that this never happens again. They had a person who did something they shouldn't have, which is, you know, obviously a problem in the first place. But they respond to that by saying not, oh,

which is, you know, obviously a problem in the first place. But they respond to that by saying not, oh, let's figure out why that person was here, why they did that thing. They say, let's make sure this never happens again. And more and more and more just kind of systems and structures and processes get built on top rather than identifying the core issue, which is usually about people and how people interact with each other. And one of the most important things about getting the

and how people interact with each other. And one of the most important things about getting the people equation right is to have good people in leadership, good managers, uh, quality culture does come from the top, from the ownership, from the top level leaders. But it can be degraded if it filters through a bad medium. So if you've got this incredible leadership team with all this vision and all these kind of high quality values and then they pass it on to people who are, uh, selfish and inconsiderate

of high quality values and then they pass it on to people who are, uh, selfish and inconsiderate and, you know, make people's lives difficult, doesn't matter the ideals that you have, if it's not actually the day-to-day life that people are interacting with. And I have a pretty small team, you know, a couple dozen people and even then I'm at a large enough size that I'm not interacting with every member of my team every single day.

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A good manager is empathetic and considerate and understanding and trying to make a better experience for the individual people who are under their team. And if you're thinking about kind of creating good manager culture and hiring good managers, you can ask yourself, would you wanna work for this person? Would you believe that they're going to represent you honestly and advocate for your needs up to your boss?

to represent you honestly and advocate for your needs up to your boss? You know, good managers are going to advocate and advocate for and provide for their team. Uh, they can be honest to leadership about the team members' shortcomings for sure. They can say, oh, they might have this problem or that problem, but they're gonna do it in a way that is advocating. And if it is a real big issue, then they will have spent

a way that is advocating. And if it is a real big issue, then they will have spent so much time and energy advocating for the members of their team that leadership will know that, hey, if there's something they said that's wrong, they're not gonna jump to this immediately. So this is something we really need to pay attention to. And a good manager sometimes will even fight the boss. And that's, that's a pretty impressive thing to find, is a good manager who is so strong

And that's, that's a pretty impressive thing to find, is a good manager who is so strong and intent in advocating for their team that if you the boss are saying something, they say, Nope, that's not the best outcome we have here. Uh, that's someone you want who's willing to stand up to you. So you might be saying, Hey, if it's all about bringing in the right people who are the right people, and before you hire anybody

if it's all about bringing in the right people who are the right people, and before you hire anybody or build your team or even evaluate your existing team, it's really important to be able to answer this question of what are we about as an organization? Who are we trying to be? What are we trying to do? You know, what's our kind of long-term values? And it doesn't necessarily have to mean that you're doing like a formal vision casting seminar or a five-year plan, but the company or the team

that you're doing like a formal vision casting seminar or a five-year plan, but the company or the team or the organization should have some sense of why are we doing this? What defines success or failure for our organization? And this will help guide who the right people are because it's gonna be the people who are gonna fit well within that organization, who can be in line with your values. And it can also help you figure out how to evaluate

who can be in line with your values. And it can also help you figure out how to evaluate and reward and guide the people who actually work there because you know what they're supposed to be doing what they're supposed to be about. Um, it also helps the team be on the same page because you could bring in good people, but they have a wide range of how they can possibly be as a person, right? And to say these are the things that we want from you,

how they can possibly be as a person, right? And to say these are the things that we want from you, these are the things that are rewarded and these are the things that are not rewarded. Helps them understand, okay, at this particular place in my life, at this particular company I'm working at, these are the values. These are what I should be focusing on. And it also helps people know what will not be tolerated.

These are what I should be focusing on. And it also helps people know what will not be tolerated. And even a very good person can behave in ways that they don't know are out of sync with the company's values because they might be things that are normal to them. It also knows what helps them know what they're safe from. And you know, you might operate out of some fear because of previous companies. X, Y, Z might happen to you,

because of previous companies. X, Y, Z might happen to you, but at this company that is not viable, that cannot happen, that is not allowed. And so now they can operate out of more safety or they can operate with more creativity and flexibility 'cause they're not worried about those things. You know, and we have lots of examples for this at Tighten, it's gonna be different for you. But for example, at Tighten we tell our team,

it's gonna be different for you. But for example, at Tighten we tell our team, clients can't force you to work over 40 hours. Their stress is not our stress. Uh, we say, Hey, if you are gonna hear bad news in an annual review, you're always gonna know it long before the review. Nobody should ever worry about showing up to a review and, you know, hearing really bad news in the review. They can be really scary things

and, you know, hearing really bad news in the review. They can be really scary things they don't need to be for us. So we're basically just trying to say like what are potential things that can be solved by just communicating what are we about, you know, who are we trying to be? Um, and defining those values in a way that guides our hiring, that guides how we're interacting with our team and guides

that guides our hiring, that guides how we're interacting with our team and guides what they should be doing and not doing as well. So set healthy expectations, be explicit as possible about them. You know, we've got some core values that we have at Tighten that we set so that we can help think about who are we hiring and help those people know what is valued in them. You know, one of them is cancel hustle culture.

know what is valued in them. You know, one of them is cancel hustle culture. We're not trying to hire the people who are the 10 x developers, who are total jerks to everybody around them and ignoring their families. You know, or we have one that says weird means interesting, which helps us focus on the fact that we actually appreciate having people who are different from each other in their values and their experiences.

who are different from each other in their values and their experiences. And also they know that that's something valuable and that they should bring to us. And we have one that's called, you've already made it. You know, we're trying to help people understand that this is not a place where you need to be showing how smart and how bright you are. You're already good enough. So now how can that define how you operate?

You're already good enough. So now how can that define how you operate? And that helps us think who we should hire and help them know how they should behave or, you know, go home after 40 48, you know, some, some sometime in your first couple weeks of Tighten, you're probably gonna have somebody pull you aside and say, Hey, you know, you know, I know that you're kind of focused on this project, but you're limited to 40 hours,

and say, Hey, you know, you know, I know that you're kind of focused on this project, but you're limited to 40 hours, so please get outta here and don't do that next week. Now having and defining your values is great and it's a very important thing to do. However, it's fun to talk a good game. It feels really good. But everyone has had an experience with a boss or heard a story of one who's talked a good game when it's sexy to be the good boss who's like, oh, I'm gonna give you this and well, we'll never do that

sexy to be the good boss who's like, oh, I'm gonna give you this and well, we'll never do that and we'll never, we'll always allow this. And then the moment anything is difficult, they roll all of that back and it turns out it was all just talk. It's almost a tech trope at this point. Some VC bro who's a progressive caring CEO, who treats the team like their family until things get difficult and then they treat the team like their garbage.

until things get difficult and then they treat the team like their garbage. And so this brings us to the concept of integrity. And integrity has a lot of definitions, most of which have to do with, you know, moral uprightness and doing the right thing. But my favorite way of thinking about integrity is if you were to think about a different definition of integrity, this ship hu has integrity or has lost integrity from, you know, naval things.

this ship hu has integrity or has lost integrity from, you know, naval things. For me it's from, you know, its sci-fi, uh, that integrity of the hall means it is consistent throughout. There's no holes anywhere. It's the same level of strength everywhere else. It is, you know, every piece of it is doing what it's supposed to be. It's unified, it's lacking disruption or corruption. And so that means being the same person no matter

It's unified, it's lacking disruption or corruption. And so that means being the same person no matter where you are or who you're with or what circumstance you're in, you know, don't go back on your word but also don't say things upfront that it's gonna be hard or difficult for you to follow through later. If you don't know you can do that, then don't say it when you're not actually being asked to do it.

then don't say it when you're not actually being asked to do it. It means avoiding the temptation to say what people want to hear when you don't know if you can actually back that up. And so we want integrity in our organization at every level. The senior leadership has to show integrity. Our middle management has to show integrity and the individual contributors also have to show integrity. And this all does still come back to trust.

and the individual contributors also have to show integrity. And this all does still come back to trust. Can I rely on you to be who you said you were going to be at the beginning? Now one thing I've found is that all of these things, defining our values, hiring good people, showing integrity, hinge on the culture of communication we've created at our organization on my podcast Business of Laravel, I ask business owners to talk about a lot of things.

on my podcast Business of Laravel, I ask business owners to talk about a lot of things. But one of them is what book or books have helped you get to the point where you are today in your business career if somebody else wants to kind of get there too. And you'd think it would be all these kind of like corny LinkedIn style, you know, business analogy books. But the one book

you know, business analogy books. But the one book that has been mentioned more than any others is one of my favorite business books ever, which is Radical Candor. And if you're not familiar with the word candor, candor is a word that turns into candid. If you can imagine someone saying, can I be candid with you? Which means, can I be honest? Can I be open or direct or forthright? You know, it's about speaking the truth to people,

Can I be open or direct or forthright? You know, it's about speaking the truth to people, not just when it's cool to speak truth, but also when it's not very fun to speak the truth. So this book is very much about, um, how business environments sign do significantly better, uh, when people are able to be open and transparent and candid with each other. And uh, it's very interesting because at the beginning of the second edition of the book,

And uh, it's very interesting because at the beginning of the second edition of the book, I believe it was, she actually mentioned how some VC bros again had taken an advantage of that and said, oh well I'm just being candid, when they were completely awful. And she mentioned in that first version that the original title of the book was actually CompassionateCandor. Uh, because it's not radical in

Compassionate Candor. Uh, because it's not radical in that you're being a jerk even more than you were before. It's radical in that being candid and transparent and open with people can radically transform the amount of trust and care and safety we have in our workplaces. So what does it look like to apply radical candor in our dev shops? Well, we definitely should set our expectations upfront. We should communicate upfront

Well, we definitely should set our expectations upfront. We should communicate upfront what are we about and what are we looking for? And one of the things that we talk about, um, at Tighten, one of our core values is be kind, speak, truth, don't wait. So we wanna focus on, uh, as soon as there's something that needs to be said, whether it's before someone gets hired or it's on their first day, or it's as soon as the problems happened, we're gonna talk about that issue as truthfully and honestly.

or it's as soon as the problems happened, we're gonna talk about that issue as truthfully and honestly and kindly as possible. And a kind doesn't necessarily mean nice, doesn't mean we're dancing around the truth, but we're not being unnecessarily cruel or unnecessarily unkind. We wanna build of culture, of transparency, of trust, of safety, where the members of our team have seen the examples that we've set

of safety, where the members of our team have seen the examples that we've set that we're going to communicate. And communication may not be easy every time, but it is the right thing to do. And if we're doing it openly and transparently, it can be safe because everyone is communicating this way, you know, the leaders are communicating this way and we expect everybody else to communicate that same way.

the leaders are communicating this way and we expect everybody else to communicate that same way. So we're modeling it and we're teaching it and then we're enforcing it. We say this is what we expect of everybody, everybody needs to be open and transparent and communicate like this. And a lot of this, even though it's kind of like had like a little bit of a somewhat positive, somewhat negative kind of spin, when we think about communication,

somewhat negative kind of spin, when we think about communication, we still more often assume positive the negative. But what if we're not talking about creative communication or planning communication? What if there's an actual explicit conflict that comes that's come up? Often what happens is when we're trying to build these safe spaces and these kind of nice places, we end up building these kind

to build these safe spaces and these kind of nice places, we end up building these kind of nice circles where nobody actually wants to bring up the negative thing or the conflict at best because everybody's trying to be kind at worst because they're worried that if they kind of speak up they're gonna get in trouble. And it's funny 'cause every new developer that has joined Tighten has been surprised to learn that Matt Stoffer, the Mr. Rogers

that has joined Tighten has been surprised to learn that Matt Stoffer, the Mr. Rogers of the Laravel world turns out to actually be very direct and frank. And we kind of have this like your first time you get your code reviewed or the first time there's a, you know, you try to work 60 hours that week even though you've been told not to whatever, you know, like we can have a tough conversation and being kind and being a considerate person does not mean not being direct.

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what does it look like, uh, for us to have these hard conversations, not just the easy ones. I'd highly recommend checking out that book. I wish I could do a whole video on it. Um, but having the skill of how to have healthy conflict and healthy conversations that are difficult and even potentially, uh, critical or uh, disagreeing. Um, it's really important to have a healthy dev team culture. When I say all these things about kindness and caring

to have a healthy dev team culture. When I say all these things about kindness and caring and safety, what I don't mean is we all just sit around and say nice to, we thing nice things to each other all the time. What I'm saying is we are all capable of communicating the good and the bad. And think about the least healthy team culture you've been in. It's likely you're frustrated

team culture you've been in. It's likely you're frustrated because there's a lack of communication. Uh, you're frustrated because the communication that's there is bad. Um, you know, sometimes it's a lack of positive communication, but more often than not it's ineffective conflict management. It's ineffective or maybe non-existent communication

ineffective conflict management. It's ineffective or maybe non-existent communication about difficult things. You don't feel safe or free to say what you don't like. Or if you do, it's not listened to. So imagine that exact same scenario for that worst team that you've been in. But in that moment you felt free to speak up 'cause it'd been modeled and improved without threat to your job and you know, it'll be listened to

'cause it'd been modeled and improved without threat to your job and you know, it'll be listened to and hopefully even acted on. Alright, two more components in this video. First one, mutual improvement. One of the things that's a key focus in the Laravel community that makes it super attractive to outsiders is that the desire to help each other is a really high focus in the community. The most popular thing you can do in the community

high focus in the community. The most popular thing you can do in the community that gets gonna give you the most reputation is teach or help or create. And at Tighten we often hear our clients refer to something they often say is the Tighten brain, the way you bring in one developer or two developers, but you get access to the entire team plus the knowledge of people who often used to work there or leadership or whatever else.

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we'll talk about some of them later. Things like pair programming and internal talks in 20% time. But the most important part about creating a healthy developer culture that's relevant here is we do it by encouraging people to be helpful to each other and hiring people who like helping each other. This aspect of developer culture where instead of having to compete with each other to prove that they're smarter and they're better in order to worry about their job, they can instead say, oh, I have a focus

and they're better in order to worry about their job, they can instead say, oh, I have a focus of helping other people. I have a focus of teaching the rest of my team. I have a focus of contributing to my team and to the broader layer of our community allows us to have this tightened brain because when somebody has done something, first of all, they're gonna share it naturally, which means everybody else either knows it

they're gonna share it naturally, which means everybody else either knows it or knows this is the person to reach to. But second of all, even if you're not the developer on the project, you may not be the person getting all the credit you still want to help because everyone is just there building each other up. And so that's a really incredible opportunity and it's also a safety for people to just be able to help without worrying about how it makes them look.

and it's also a safety for people to just be able to help without worrying about how it makes them look. All right, our last one is the most directly practical. You wanna offer good benefits to your employees. These are benefits that allow them to care for their family, like flexible hours and good healthcare things that mean they don't have to worry about their family's health or their family's education or their own health. Allow them to focus more on the job that they're doing.

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of building your own knowledge base and what you're aware of and education. We also send folks to Lyric Con and sponsor them purchasing books and courses and everything like that. Um, and you can also just prioritize the people in the most need when you're making decisions across the company. For example, every single time we have to choose which health plan plan we're gonna work with, there's a little bit of pressure to say let's focus on the

to choose which health plan plan we're gonna work with, there's a little bit of pressure to say let's focus on the healthcare plan that makes it easier for people to handle their investing and minimize their tax advantage. And so far, at least every time we've said, actually we're gonna focus more on the plan that makes sure that people who are in difficult health situations are most likely to be able to take care of themselves versus the tax advent advantageous one. Uh, you really just kind of want

advent advantageous one. Uh, you really just kind of want to think about like in this benefits world, you know, and that's technical benefits, like, you know, Cobra Healthcare, whatever, and also any other benefits. Here are their biggest concerns and try to address 'em. You know, one example of how we're able to do this is we had several employees who were just constantly talking about, they're like, look, this 401k thing is cool,

who were just constantly talking about, they're like, look, this 401k thing is cool, but it doesn't really matter to me to save for the future when I'm still drowning in student loan debts. So we looked into the opportunity for us to be able to give a small amount every single paycheck towards, directly towards, uh, student loan debt, you know, things like that. Or people talking about their difficulty with taking care

debt, you know, things like that. Or people talking about their difficulty with taking care of their pets when they travel or whatever else. Think through the things that matter and are difficult and are important and valuable to your team and look for opportunities to care for those for them. So overall, the trick to creating this healthy developer culture is to focus on creating an environment where you yourself would want to go to work every day.

to focus on creating an environment where you yourself would want to go to work every day. If you were this employee, what would you want in a healthcare plan or in a style of communication or in a way of handling conflict or in flexibility of work hours or whatever else, try to place yourself in their shoes. Imagine what you would want and create the environment you'd wanna work in.

Imagine what you would want and create the environment you'd wanna work in. And that's gonna get you there, that will make it happen and it's worth it.