The People-to-Source Code Relationship a Google Firestarters provocation by Ian Fitzpatrick, 3 December, 2014

Operating System: a collection of assumptions and convictions compiled into repeatable routines.

Code compounds. Lines of Code, Windows OS, 1992-2009

1992

WIN 3.1 •

2.5MM

1993

NT 3.1 •

4.5MM

1994

NT 3.5 •

7.5MM

1995

WIN 3.51

• 9.5MM

1996

NT 4.0

• 11.5MM

2000

WIN 2K •

29 MM

2006

WIN VISTA

• 40MM

2009

WIN 7 •

50 MM

So do assumptions & convictions. Publicis Groupe Employees, 2000 - 2014

2000

29K

2005

36K 2006

40K2009

45K

2014

63K

“Products have their attendant bureaucracy embedded within them. It is this that enables them to plummet or soar.” Dan Hill in Dark Matter and Trojan Horses

When we speak of agencies as ‘nimble’, ‘large’, ‘lean’ or ‘massive’, we’re talking about lines of code, not scale or billings.

For your consideration: The new agency OS is defined by the parts of the agency source code we strip away, not what we layer on top of it.

For your consideration: The new agency OS is defined by the parts of the agency source code we strip away, not what we layer on top of it.

the people we hire how we organize the role of leadership the financial model what we deliver

For your consideration: The new agency OS is defined by the parts of the agency source code we strip away, not what we layer on top of it. t-shaped people

acting like a startup tribes innovation labs

What is the people-to-code relationship? Smaller isn’t necessarily leaner. There are plenty of large 30 person agencies in the world.

LEGACY AGENCY OS NEW AGENCY OS

Maximize talent

Organize by role for repeatability and process

Optimize the efficiency of the model

Retainer-based compensation with hourly billing

Serves the hardware: manages cycles, memory and resource

allocation

Advertising

Maximize the talent-to-legacy code ratio

Organize for the capacity to plug into networks and existing client programs

Optimize the capacity of the organization to adapt

Hybrid model with project work and value-based pricing

Serves the user: manages interoperability, contextual relevance and value

Communications products

HIRING & PEOPLE

AGENCY STRUCTURE

ROLE OF LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

OPTIMIZED TO

FINANCIAL MODEL

DELIVERS

A provocation: If you were starting a comms agency today, would you begin by hiring people from advertising agencies? If not:

How would they organize themselves? Would they begin with briefs? Would they divide learning and making into discrete roles? What kinds of client relationships would keep them engaged? What would your agency feel like?

A provocation: If you were starting a comms agency today, would you begin by hiring people from advertising agencies? If not:

How would they organize themselves? Would they begin with briefs? Would they divide learning and making into discrete roles? What kinds of client relationships would keep them engaged? What would your agency feel like?

We are Scott Forstall. Most agencies build down from an existing OS. How, then, do we decode ourselves?

Gum up human resources. Insist that our teams make concerted efforts to hire talented people who aren’t precious about the role or methods of advertising.

Update our libraries and APIs. Replace the oppressive language of means with the language of measurable client business outcomes.

Find open formats. The value of your output will be measured not only by its quality, but by its value both across the client organization and through the client’s networks.

Eliminate peripherals. Add scale and functionality by plugging into new networks, not by growing new operational appendages.

Finally, delete bad code. If someone can’t point to the connection between ‘this is how we do it here’ and a closely-held organizational conviction, then it’s not code worth keeping.

You’re very kind. @ianfitzpatrick