My [not so] weird [company] goals

On Sunday night, we had some meeting with my co-directors at some start up I work in. I hate meetings; I feel they are redundant and generally time-consuming. That said, what I gained from this particular meeting was significant. We talked about our goals and where we would like to steer the company. This article will discuss my goals in my own voice. My opinions do not in any way represent those of my company. This is a public reference for my future self.

In order to set proper goals, it is important to know why you are setting them; what you stand to lose if you do not accomplish these goals; and finally, your contribution to the achievement of mentioned goals. This post will outline and discuss these things.

So what are my goals for my company? Well, I’ve made my goals systematic. Systematic in this context means that my goals target the way we do things, not getting/ acquiring things. Here they are:
1. The ability to build more complex and diverse systems. I want us to move from basic web design work and go on to make more advance web systems that can scale. Building systems is not only restricted to web design work only. I’d also like for us to be able to design some of our own hardware(and make them FOSS). Things like Lights or studio equipment is what I’m talking about.
2. Adopting standard coding conventions for various company projects. These should be extended and improved with time.
3. Writing and building useful software. The written code should be reviewed by other team members. Tests, if possible, should be written. These projects should be well documented.
4. Adopting Agile in doing projects.

Why are these my goals?

Well here are my motivations for setting these goals:
1. Achieving these goals will make project management easier and less painful.
2. Quality of work will improve.
3. Definite growth of staff and company.
4. Increased revenue due to increased productivity.
5. I will get money to buy toys I like and do stuff I like.

Here’s what I stand to lose if I do not accomplish my goals:
1. Poverty. Yep poverty is real.
2. I’ll have to look for a job. Don’t get me wrong. Getting a job ain’t bad. Thing is… I feel that it’s kinda limiting.
3. Wasted time and money. I’ve already invested shitloads of time and money in this company. Not achieving these goals will make all my efforts seem wasteful.
4. Right now I have access to some amazing people and stuff. Like photography and some crazy design works. I’ll lose all this if I don’t make my stuff work out right.
5. Independence. I’ll be dependent on my folks. I really do not want this.

So what will be my contribution to achieving these goals?
1. I’ll have to plan my time better. I’ll give up binge watching anime[and whiling away at IRC channels] and do some really productive work.
2. I’ll take the lead in projects. I’ll have to formulate structures of doing projects and getting them done.
3. Learn new stuff. Learn shitloads of new stuff. All the time. I have no problem with this.
4. Grow my team. Right now, I only work with one guy. I’ll have to grow this one guy to be a beast in addition to looking for more team members. I do not know how I will do this, but I know I’ll figure this out later.

That’s it. I hope my future self will be proud reading this some time in the future.