the purpose of the beehive

COWEN: What do you think is the central insight you have about how to build that, that is otherwise under-emphasized?

GODIN: I think that Frederick Taylor’s demise is long overdue, that the purpose of a beehive is not to maximize the amount of honey we produce. The honey is a by-product of a successful beehive. That what we have is the chance to get what we want by connecting with people who have a choice about where they work, who choose to enroll with us, to avoid the false proxies of “You look like me” or “You sound like me” or “I want to have lunch with you” when we hire people, and instead dance with the people from whatever background that are going to make our project better.

When you lay it out that simply, people go, “Well, of course.” Then they go back to work in some place that demeans them and undermines them and asks them to phone it in. It just breaks my heart to see that gap.

Seth Godin talking to Tyler Cowen.