Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If low pay, constant lay-offs and cheating the IRS brings Joy, well, then you'll love the book. First, I'll tell you what Menlo does right - they make great software. I was really proud of the software we wrote when I was there. And you'll learn what it is like to work in a collaborative environment. I would recommend any company hire Menlo for software development. That said, workers at Menlo are not as joyous as Rich makes it sound. Like any business, SOME people love it, some people hate it. Any "joy" at Menlo comes at a price. Rich has admitted on a podcast that the pay at Menlo is on the low side. Maybe "joy" is worth it ... but keep reading. For all this talk of "joy", I think most people want a job with consistent work (and pay). For all the hype, Menlo has not been able to keep people employed. Rich tried to open a second office in Chicago - it failed. As a Menlo employee, you'll face constant layoffs as the company struggles to get work. Layoffs are common. Part of this is due to having too much process. Menlo charges a high fee (as admitted by their head project manager in a blog post). The high fee is due to large teams assigned to every project. In theory, the team means high quality, but process is taken to extremes at Menlo. One competitor to Menlo is Thought Works. Both companies have a similar model. They compete in the Agile Software market. Thought Works employs sales people to get work. Menlo has openly shunned a sales force - and the lack of consistent work is the result. The on-again, off-again part was a bit too much for me. When I was being hired, other employees took me aside and told me the contact was illegal. So I had my employment contract reviewed by an attorney. The Menlo employee contract is one sided (like that of most companies), but it has language to cheat the IRS by classifying employees as "contractors." I was not too bothered by that. But other employees - I mean "contractors" - were really bothered by the hypocrisy. And it is the hypocrisy that you'll read in this book. I got my copy at a trade show last week. A lot of the hype that Rich promotes is based on his style to "bend" the truth. Menlo was founded on a study called The "Chaos Report." It's a report that concluded that most software project fail. That caused a movement to try to improve how software is written - which sounds great. Well, it turns out that the conclusion was hogwash. [Search for "Debunking the Chaos Report"]. Rich likes to take a good story and use it to promote what he is selling. The Chaos Report helped him sell jobs. His new book takes the same approach. From someone that worked at Menlo, the book is not really what happens there. We'd all like to work at a wonderful job for an idyllic company. Don't get me wrong, the product is great. People may "love" the idea of the Menlo workplace, but don't confuse the IDEA with the REALITY of working there. People who visit fall in love with the IDEA, the CONCEPT, the DREAM - not the reality of ACTUALLY working there. All the comments posted to date, are people who are falling in love with an idealized workplace. Yes, Menlo gets a lot of press, but a workplace includes the pedestrian also. Things like PAY, regular WORK and the employment CONTRACT. While these are boring, they are the part of the picture not included in the book. All the idyllic prose does not change the fact that - it is a workplace we are talking about. Reviewers don't have to work there. So it is easy to read a nice book and comment on it - without the work part. This book separates WORK from PLACE. This book is about a PLACE, an environment, a dream. But it ignores the WORK - things like pay, hours and how one is treated in the contract. And these items are very low on the "joy"scale at Menlo. So ... if you want a fantasy book about an idealized work environment, get the book. If you're a manager looking to steal talented people with a best-places to work ... avoid this book. Workers exit Menlo for more traditional corporate gigs at a fast pace. Why ... it's not all that joyful to work for low wages. P.S. Since this post first aired, threatening emails have been sent by guess who? I think if you write a book, you should just let people review it. I think it's a bad idea to threaten a reviewer. I'm only saying, this book is a story about an idealized workplace. It's not a guide book.