Tag: BookofRedgate

Another of our values is this:

Motivation isn’t about carrots and sticks.

Constant oversight and the threat of punishment are incompatible with great, fulfilling work. We believe in creating appropriate constraints and then giving people the freedom to excel.

We do have some rules, bumpers, guidelines, and limits on what people can do. We’ve added a few since 2010 as the company has grown and lots of people might not have the culture ingrained.

However, we try hard to let people get work done, expect them to do so, and have a few reminders, but without the thread of punishment.

At the same time our bonus or recognition strategies are mostly around group goals or company goals. We don’t push people to compete with each other to get a bigger bonus than someone else.

That was strange to me, coming from US companies, but I have found it more refreshing. There are some commission aspects for individuals, but for most of us outside of sales, we’re all in this together.

I have a copy of the Book of Redgate from 2010. This was a book we produced internally about the company after 10 years in existence. At that time, I’d been there for about 3 years, and it was interesting to learn a some things about the company. This series of posts looks back at the Book of Redgate 15 years later.

Redgate has been known for many useful tools that are easy to use. We’ve tried to do that in all our point tools. We talk about simplicity all the time and when we release something that isn’t simple, lots of people question why.

Perhaps not enough or with enough pushback, but we do talk about simplicity.

One of the pages in the book was devoted to merely expressing ingeniously simple. It’s written in a number of languages.

The goal of ingenious simplicity is to build things that people can use without resorting to complex manuals and example code. SQL Compare is a great example of this. Enter a few database connections and click Compare and you get an easy report. There’s a big Deploy button on top to help you sync your databases.

I think we’ve done a good job of building some simple tools over the years. Perhaps now we’re in a more complex environment, but we are trying to keep things simple and provide clues to help users understand how the tools work.

I have a copy of the Book of Redgate from 2010. This was a book we produced internally about the company after 10 years in existence. At that time, I’d been there for about 3 years, and it was interesting to learn a some things about the company. This series of posts looks back at the Book of Redgate 15 years later.

One of our mission statements in the Book of Redgate says: attempt to do the best work of your life.

I’d like to think that at most points in time, people are trying to go good work. There are always times when you are distracted, ill, new child, etc. However, doing the best work of your life? Do you think you are always doing the “best work” at a new place? Or being the best version of yourself at this current position?

I think I am, and this is a good reminder to strive for being the best you can be at that point in time.

The text alongside this value is: We’d like you to achieve your own greatness and to be all that you can be. We’ll try hard to allow that to happen and we’d like you to try hard too.

That’s comforting and inspiring. I do think we try to allow people to grow and achieve things. It’s a nice environment.

I have a copy of the Book of Redgate from 2010. This was a book we produced internally about the company after 10 years in existence. At that time, I’d been there for about 3 years, and it was interesting to learn a some things about the company. This series of posts looks back at the Book of Redgate 15 years later.

Many organizations list customer testimonials and quotes on their websites or literature. It makes sense to show off those places where you’ve done well in hopes of influencing others to do business with you. We seek this out, and while we get a lot at Redgate, they take effort to put together.

I was surprised to find some of these in the Book of Redgate. After all, this was an internal publication for the employees. We don’t need customer referrals.

And yet, seeing these quotes brings me some pride. I’d hope most employees felt that way, but here are a few samples:

“I raised an issue with Redgate regarding functionality in their SQL Compare product … and a couple of months later the items identified had been rewritten”

“Whenever I show people any Redgate software, it’s like they just escaped from communist Russia and have a new life to live.”

“SQL Data Generator has overnight become the principal tool we use for loading test data to run our performance and load tests”

That last one is from Grant, before he joined us as an employee.

There are many more, and I recently saw a large spreadsheet of quotes from customers that we can use externally. It’s amazing how many people love our tools and have benefitted from them.

It’s nice to work in a successful and profitable business, but it’s really motivating when so many of our customers appreciate what we do.

I have a copy of the Book of Redgate from 2010. This was a book we produced internally about the company after 10 years in existence. At that time, I’d been there for about 3 years, and it was interesting to learn a some things about the company. This series of posts looks back at the Book of Redgate 15 years later.