Desks on Wheels

This company abandoned hierarchy to become the most profitable per employee in the United States

At Valve Corp., desks on wheels can be rolled to any department or project employees are interested in. (Credit: Stuart Isett)

In 1996, former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington formed Washington-based video-game development studio Valve Corp. Two years later, they released a PC game called Half-Life to universal critical acclaim; it was a watershed moment in gaming history, and nearly 20 years later the impact of the game is still influencing modern development. By 2011, Valve was worth billions, and had become the most profitable company per employee in the United States, staffing only about 250 people who all simply work on whatever project they feel like working on.

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Comments

Love the employee handbook!

Excellent coverage of this company, and helpful commentary for context. Most of all I loved the graphical instructions in their employee handbook! Thank you.

Great article

Thanks for sharing your insite on valve. Having been a nintendo guy from back when mom could only afford to get the kids black & white televisions I've been taught there is no other structure to a company. It's pleasantly surprising & also very inpsiring to see that someone had a vision for another way & also showed that way can be so successful. I have since downloaded the new QM for a little inspiration throughout the day when I get to feeling restricted, overmanaged, or make mistakes in my carreer.

I think a big part of the

I think a big part of the successful implementation of a flat organization for Valve is the fact that Gabe had come from the opposite end of the spectrum over at Microsoft (where he was very successful). He experienced it, didn't like it, and did something about it.