Mash the Keyboard, Part 2
A story about goals
To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling that others may experience the same feeling — this is the activity of art.
— Leo Tolstoy, “What is Art?”
Lines provide firm definition to an object. Motion effectively blurs those lines. We’re seeing this in the tech industry because Tech Moves Fast. It’s super common to believe that the Internet is total anarchy because of this. The effect that has on people’s psychology is massive; Not paying attention means you can become disengaged. Another way of looking at this is what Facebook used to tout: Move fast and break things. One thing that’s broken is communicating the language of tech, and where it’s going.
In the last article, I talked about the reason Mash the Keyboard exists, and I handed you a model you can use to judge yourself and the interactions you have with the people around you:
Are you a good Leader? Do you give
people reason?
Are you a good Manager? Do you give
people goals?
Are you a good Teacher? Do you give
people tools?
Here, I’ll talk about Mash the Keyboard’s goals, and how we’re trying as hard as possible to be the best Leaders, Managers, and Teachers for everyone who touches tech.
What we do (Teaching)
At Mash the Keyboard, our short-term goals are in building products (colloquially, apps/websites) that focus on solving one societal problem with tangible return.
Typically these are API-centric applications, mobile apps, sites, landing pages, wordpress themes, etc. They need to address a problem, hopefully one that affects a society that we can identify with. They could be mixed-media marketing campaigns as well. We do offer marketing, but we specialize in building digital product.
Atypically, these are mixed-media statements; music, pictures, texts, or videos that we build internally that focus on helping people understand the world we live in.
Our long-term goals focus on making Mash the Keyboard the first Digital Context Agency. I want to build applications that are consumed on more than just a phone, that can help a diverse type of people. Products that have value in the car, shower, when you’re late or way too early for a meeting, bridge cultural or communication gaps. I go into this in deeper detail in part 3, with heavy focus on context and what that really means. Right now, I’m not a good enough developer or business leader to execute this. I’m focused on building momentum while picking up everything I’ll need on the way there.
How we work (Managing)
Mash the Keyboard is 100% about clean, organized, simple, and accessible product with tangible, tracked ROI. The only way to do this is to be extremely mindful and unforgivably considerate, all while working inside firmly defined constraints.
Now, that. is. big. And it needs a diverse team of powerful people.
Architecturally, those goals above cannot be done in an environment where people are labeled. That’s a constraint that shouldn’t exist, I want the absolute best of the people I work with. The only constraints we work with should be the problem we are trying to solve.
We need to face reality ruthlessly here as well. Job titles give you paralysis when it comes to resolving—even mentioning—important tensions that need to be addressed as soon as possible. I want to involve people who are NOT afraid to call out any decisions that are off focus, either with myself, the direction of the company, or the products we build.
At the same time, we need to work as agile as possible. We need to be considerate, but iterate on the product so we can watch people as they use the products and respond. I want to build a place where, in the modified words of Jonathan Rosenfeld: people are in the flow, having fun, and engaging each other in such a way that they’re getting enough done during the day. So much so, that you get the popular variant of the work-life balance.
To be as open, clear, and productive as possible, Mash the Keyboard is holacratic. Generally, this means: We do not have job titles, and we take full advantage of everyone’s perspectives and strengths. Holacracy focuses on clarity, and I love that. We don’t rely on parental heroes. We all move toward one goal, which could evolve as the company grows.
As an aside, my personal focus here is supporting ladies in code. Men dominate this field. The apps you use tend to be built by more men than women. And frankly, anyone classically trained in code has the potential to be ruthlessly unempathetic. (i.e.: Coding in Vim.)
Why we’re doing everything (Leading)
We’re living in a really unique time when lines are blurred, and I want
Mash the Keyboard to help define those lines as we move forward.
Our business goal is to solve local problems with global tech.
Our philosophical goal is to educate people on that tech.
If I could push innovation and education in tech forward even by a couple years, I’ll feel successful.
If you loved this, read part 3, which will be posted soon. In it, I talk about the tool of mind Mash the Keyboard is using to address local problems.
Mash the Keyboard is on Twitter and Facebook. We primarily talk about
Social Discovery Optimization (SDO). We’ll mix up all the stuff we share
to give value to Developers/Designers, Marketers, and Business Leaders.
Our flagship product is Hubdia, a search engine platform focused on finding the stuff you create, that you’ve posted across all social platforms, and organizing it.
