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/company hierarchies

what if

tech companies

were structured like WoW guilds? 1

there are 4 levels:

  • GM/RL (founders)
  • officers (founding team who each multiply themselves on the axes of values and competence 10x)
  • raiders (confirmed ballers, some specialists, some generalists)
  • trials (it’s your first tour with us, we’ll evaluate you for raider status after roughly 6 months [better if milestone-based than put on an arbitrary calendar-driven clock])

cultural differences:

  • there are no direct hierarchies
  • equity is split such that each person on the first 3 tiers has the same amount of equity as everybody else of that tier
  • trials have no equity, just market-rate salary. equity is the prize. 2

would we move faster?

would we be able to do more?

would this be the most effective way to structure a company within a certain size range?

which would be able to do amazing things with faster speed? a 30-person guild-structured business or a 30-person department-structured business a 100-person guild-structured business or a 100-person department structured business? a 300-person guild-structured business or a 300-person department structured business? 500? 1000?

as somebody who yet has zero relevant experience, my intuition: it would be better until at least ~100. beyond that it would probably be a little harder, but it would definitely be a little cooler.

at the very least, it would be fun

Footnotes

  1. specifically, the way my guilds of olde have structured themselves: WWA, Blood Legion, and Limit. I imagine Liquid is still structured in the same way though I don’t know for sure. If they are, that would be a positive signal. Different realm, but it would imply the structure has staying power. They have been high-functioning for a long time, and there are many similarities between hardcore raiding guilds and companies. ↩

  2. what if you offered successful trials an option: this has been great, we appreciate you, we want to convert you to raider. alternatively, you can opt to take this lump-sum of money (~6 months market value salary). we’ve committed the money to this offer contract, you can literally just accept and walk out the door, no hard feelings, thank you for your contribution. if you decide to stay, you will be a raider, your salary will go up ~20% [equal for all] equity distributed equally on 3-year schedule, no cliff, or we’ll pay you 6 months’ market value salary lump-sum? when we present the offer, we’re giving them all the power: we’ve initiated the first move of trust by putting a lot of Instant Money on the table right in front of them. we either pay for really good work (otherwise they would not have gotten the offer) and give the employee a well-deserved reward for their contributions OR the employee truly believes in the work we’re doing and demonstrates his strong conviction by taking equity over money. ↩