Jason Austin's Blog Life and times of a PHP Developer in Raleigh, NC

Integrating Creativity and Entrepreneurship at NC State

I am an entrepreneur at heart.  I usually see opportunity in places where others see problems, which means I typically think about problems outside the proverbial "box".  I think that makes me a better programmer and employee, but it also means I drive myself (and those around me) crazy sometimes.  There are just so many opportunities to create and invent...more than I can sanely do....although I try sometimes.

I'm always looking for ways to integrate those values into our work at NC State, while also promoting web development, PHP, and communal open programming.  That led us to try something new with our part time employees which I think will be very interesting.  We employ 2 student developers, and since they are staying in Raleigh for the summer, they will be working almost full-time for us until school starts back in the fall.  So for the summer, we are going to allow them to work on a 20% project.

20% projects are basically a freedom to work on a project you are passionate about for 20% of the time you are at work.  A few development shops (most notably, Google) have given their employees the freedom to do 20% projects.  If it's good enough for Google, why can't it be good enough for NC State?  We brought the idea up to our guys, and I think they were cautiously excited.  The only direction we gave them was that it should be something that they are interested in and that could help NC State.  The rest is up to them to find an idea and then execute it.

I'm incredibly excited to see what they come up with.  It may be awesome, it may be simple, it may be impossible.  But I think the key is to ignite in them a sense that development can be about creativity and innovation, not just about code.  This is also a chance to instill a culture of entrepreneurship and creativity in our larger work environment (something I feel is missing).  While we can't do this ourselves in our jobs, we can do it for the employees we manage.  The best evidence to implement this at a larger scale is if our guys come up with something truly awesome.  I have faith they can do it, now it's a waiting game.

I'll keep everyone informed about what they do.  Should be fun!