Blog » company culture

Dojo4 Playbook

Oct 12th, 2022

Dojo4 Playbook of best technical and operations practices. How to run a small custom tech agency, open-sourced for all to use (and build on).

If You're Reading This, You Are The Best

Sep 29th, 2021

Surviving is the new thriving.

Valuation in 8 Categories: A Broader Picture of Your Company’s Capital

Sep 23rd, 2021

Turns out that financial capital is just one form of wealth worth measuring. Permaculture offers us some classifications for appreciating and evaluating several other forms of capital.

Sharing Is Caring

Oct 15th, 2020

Here at Dojo4, we have been (and continue to be) committed open-source contributors. For example, there's a tasty pantry full of contributions to be found by any of the Dojo4 members.

4 Critical Tools for Creating Social Benefit Through Your Business

May 30th, 2019

Despite that purely mercenary consumerist capitalism still rules the roost of business, the ideas of using business as a force for good and conscious capitalism seem now to have fully entered the popular mindstream.

Generosity Is An Advantage

Jan 19th, 2019

Looking for a strategic advantage for your organization this year? A way to set your company aside, to differentiate it from the rest? Consider further cultivating generosity as a core component of your business.

for a smoother ride, let culture drive & put operations in shotgun

Mar 13th, 2018

It’s a misconception that culture is born out of operations, that the personality of a business (what we usually call culture) could is shaped by its operations. While this may, in some cases, be partially true, more often than not, it’s the other way around and it is useful and prudent to let culture dictate operations. Let nature (culture) set the ground for nurture (operations) and both will thrive.

Leadership: We Did It Ourselves

Dec 6th, 2017

We ask each other a question every Friday at dojo4. It helps us understand ourselves each other better. Recently the question was: what makes an exemplary leader?

Family-Friendly Workplace Manifesto, Now More Than Ever

Jun 30th, 2017

Parents and families make strong, profitable businesses. Instead of asking parents and families to sacrifice themselves to support a grinding work culture, we can adapt our businesses.

Friday Question

Jun 9th, 2017

We do it every week, whether there are 2 of us or 12 of us. We do it with guests. We do it whether we're busy or not. It's part of how we've overcome the inevitable seasickness that comes with the swells and dips of being a small business. No doubt, it's made us a better business.

On the Lip of Shared Ownership: Dojo4 Becomes a Co-op ::: Series >>> #4

Mar 27th, 2017

We did it! We cooperated. We cooperate. We are a cooperative. Almost six and a half years after filing our Dojo4 articles of organization as a Limited Liability Company, we've converted to being a Limited Cooperative Association (LCA).

On the Lip of Shared Ownership: Dojo4 Becomes a Co-op ::: Series >>> #3

Jan 31st, 2017

We're getting close but need to make a foundational decision before the deal can be done - we have to make a choice about what kind of entity this cooperative is going to be. Shall we be Cooperative Corporation or Cooperative Partnership LLC?

ALL IN: Every Person Is Welcome Here

Dec 9th, 2016

The election happened. We looked around and suddenly understood that other people might see us as possible haters; that as far as they could see we could be secretly (or not so secretly) harboring ill will…

On the Lip of Shared Ownership: Dojo4 Becomes a Co-op ::: Series >>> #2

Dec 7th, 2016

Wow, this is taking us a really long time to do. Granted, I had a baby and we bought our building since we first started the process to transition to a cooperative 6 months ago. But, this process takes serious attention, commitment, and buy-in, all of which can be in short supply when you are also trying to run a business, even a small business like Dojo4.

On the Lip of Shared Ownership: Dojo4 Becomes a Co-op ::: Series >>> #1

May 31st, 2016

For years, we've talked about how we might diversify ownership of Dojo4. Ara and I have been 50/50 owners of this little company for several years now, but have recently decided to move ahead and substantively explore transforming Dojo4 into a worker-owned co-op.

Family-Friendly = Business-Friendly OR How To Find Good People

Jan 8th, 2016

One of the most rewarding opportunities we have as entrepreneurs is to build a dynamic, reliable, and resilient team. And yet, hiring and retaining the "right people" is also one of the greatest challenges in business.

Grief As An Entrepreneurial Asset

Dec 7th, 2015

As entrepreneurs, we are often expected to tell a seamless and aggressively positive story about the dauntless progress and profit that our businesses are making and the unparalleled "solutions" we're offering…

Program Like You Give A Damn

Sep 25th, 2015

Technologists hold the keys to the most powerful force in the modern world, but recently they’ve forgotten not only how to wield it, but that they own it. It wasn't so long ago that technology represented hope; that it represented power; and, most of all, that it represented change.