Office Utopia

A recent conversation reminded me of a book I read in college titled Famous Utopias. Being a book lover, I still have it, so I got it off the shelf, blew off the dust, and have it sitting next to my laptop as I write this post.

It's a collection of Renaissance-era writings describing how to create a perfect society. It includes excerpts from books and essays like Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, Tommaso Campanella's City of the Sun and Thomas More's Utopia. Each writer proposes a system of governance that would result in a haven of perfect harmony and happiness.

The problem is, none of them would really work. Each writer imagines an ideal community and describes how happy and peaceful the inhabitants are under its wonderful laws. However, if you read closely you realize the writer has only created an illusion through a literary sleight-of-hand. The citizens aren't happy because of a brilliantly-conceived political system, but because the citizenry has been rigged. They don't act and think like a population of normal humans. They're all happy and peaceful simply because they're all happy and peaceful people. The rules of the proposed society are largely irrelevant.

One writer comes close to being honest on this point. In The Abbey of Theleme Francois Rabelais places an inscription above the great gate of the abbey. This inscription specifies who may enter and who is excluded. A welcome is extended to those who are brave, witty, honest, and faithful; "the brisk, the fair, whoever comes with eyes that sparkle." A thumbs-down is given to those who are greedy, quarrelsome, deceitful, and whiny; "sots, imposters, sniveling hypocrites, bigots." Also unwelcome are some mystifying characters: "slipshod caffards, pelf-lickers, and huff-cap squires." Hmm. Not quite sure what those are but they do sound disagreeable.

This same principle is true for those of us seeking to create a utopia in the workplace: The rules matter less than the employees. If we are smart about who we let in and who we keep out, things will be pretty wonderful regardless of the dress code, the disciplinary procedure, or the office supply procurement process. The best people can do great work and enjoy doing it under almost any set of rules.