Think Like a Startup, 2nd Edition

Preface

The first job I ever had was in a factory. I was pretty excited about it at the time. The job would leave a permanent imprint on my life. There was something about it I’ve never forgotten; it changed me in a way. Maybe it was to do with all those routines, procedures and outputs, or maybe it was the way people behaved inside this closed system. In hindsight it all seemed a little strange, unnatural, even a little inhuman, but I didn’t really question it when I was starting out — I just took it as the way things were.

Factories are without doubt among the most interesting kinds of workplace humans have created. Most of us have at some point had the opportunity to at least visit one and see it in action from close up. Maybe you were sent to the factory of a company you worked with, so you could get an understanding of how things were done there. Maybe you’ve partaken in a bit of industrial tourism — aviation and chocolate factories are favourites. If you haven’t had such an experience, let me recall my factory job for you.

Most people would arrive for their shift at the last moment. Clad in uniform with the company logo emblazoned on it, we streamed through the factory gate, which was set into an eight-foot-high chain-link fence — I’m still not sure if it was designed to keep outsiders out or insiders in. The plant was broken up into sections, clearly delineated by yellow lines so everyone knew where to go and how to get there. More experienced workers took on more advanced ...