What made Scotty special was not just that he was an eminently-skilled craftsman, but that he was always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. He was passionate, in the extreme, about his work. Since money didn’t exist in Roddenberry’s fictional universe, he would have to be – the envisioned culture encouraged passion and self-actualisation as driving motivators.
More than passion, Scotty was great because the environment in which he worked allowed him to be. Money matters but tomorrow’s employee evidently needs more than just financial satisfaction, and tomorrow’s captain knows that a fulfilled engineer is a brilliant engineer. An engineer that is always learning is not just a better engineer, but a better person. The captain, after all, was the one who enabled the culture in which a savant like Scotty could thrive.
Kirk knew Scotty was awesome, and he trusted him to do the job right. It was this culture of trust that gave Scotty the freedom to be all that he could be, to grow into his work and beyond it.
I recently asked the staff here at Wetpaint for five words that they feel describe the company culture. While waiting for the responses, and trying to come up with my own five, I found my eyes constantly being drawn to the mural that dominates the wall to my left.
The mural refers to the creative team’s shared office as ‘The Engine Room’ and instructs the reader to ‘boldly go where no designer has gone before’.
I haven’t asked if it was an intentional nod, but the combination of phrases can’t help but bring a Trekkie’s memories of Roddenberry’s utopian universe into sharp focus. And that is where the question of company culture meets the optimistic vision of Star Trek in the nerdy mind of this copywriter. It’s also how I found the resolution to my own attempt at defining the company culture here at Wetpaint.
Working at Wetpaint is about being more than your job title. Like Scotty on the Enterprise, it’s about going above and beyond the call of duty, not just because the captain expects it, but because you are passionate about the work you do. You’re a part of this enterprise, and you have an interest in making sure it flies straight.
It’s not the distant future, and money still exists, but our captain understands that self-actualisation is among the best of motivators, and we, the engineers, understand that freedom, opportunity and personal growth come from at least meeting – but ideally exceeding – expectations.
I’m a new member of the crew, but I didn’t need to wait 200 years to find my five words:
Communication, growth, dedication, creativity, Roddenberry-esque.
