The company prioritizes collaboration by assessing "kindergarten skills" like sharing and cooperation. During interviews, candidates are paired and observed on their ability to make their partner look good, which is considered more valuable than individual speed or dominance.
Menlo's culture operates on the principle that when mistakes happen, the system is at fault, not the individual. This approach removes fear and blame, encouraging the team to analyze and improve the processes that allowed the error to occur, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
At Menlo, peer-driven promotion decisions hinge on a crucial question: "Does the rest of the team perform better when you are part of that project?" This evaluates an individual's value based on their ability to elevate others, prioritizing team amplification over solitary excellence.
At Menlo, PMs foster a fear-free culture by thanking developers who report budget or time overruns. This counter-intuitive reaction encourages early and honest communication, allowing the PM to manage issues proactively with the client instead of having them surface unexpectedly later.
Menlo's pairing system ensures business continuity by preventing knowledge silos. If a key employee "wins the lottery" or leaves, the project doesn't halt. This risk mitigation and increased solution robustness justify the perceived higher initial cost, prioritizing organizational effectiveness over individual efficiency.
This dedicated role studies end-users in their environment to understand needs and constraints before development begins. This preempts building features that are easy for developers but wrong for users, mitigating the risk of creating unused or ineffective software, framing user research as a key risk mitigation strategy.
Menlo's weekly "show and tell" meetings involve the client directly in the development process. By having clients demo the work and plan the next week's tasks, the team ensures continuous alignment and avoids the common pitfall of delivering a finished product that misses the mark after months of isolated work.