โ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒโ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด.โ โจ
Yesterday, I made the tough call to take our production code private. Why? Because publishing everythingโincluding our issuesโfelt like airing our dirty laundry in Times Square. ๐งบ
At sternvoll.com, weโre big on transparency. Thatโs why we share our analytics openly at gdpr.sternvoll.com and even open-sourced our entire repo at github.com/thingylabs/www.sternvoll.com. It was empowering, collaborative, and aligned with our values. ๐ป๐
But hereโs the lesson: ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐. โ๏ธ
Sharing code and data builds trust and drives innovation, but it can also expose vulnerabilitiesโtechnical and strategic. Every issue, bug, and internal debate was out there for the world to see. As we grew, I realized some things are better kept in-house. ๐คซ
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐:
โข ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐. Transparency isnโt all-or-nothing. Decide what to share and what to protect. ๐
โข ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐๐. Like product development, your transparency strategy should evolve. ๐
โข ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ. Public issues can feel like public criticism. Guard your teamโs morale. ๐ช
Our code is now private, but our commitment to transparency remains. Weโll keep sharing what we can, learning as we go, and striving for that perfect balance between open and just open enough. ๐ฑ
Whatโs your take? Have you ever dialed back transparency for strategic reasons? Letโs discuss! ๐
#Transparency #Leadership #StartupLife