#KEYNOTE

Serendipitous Disruption?

GitHub's Streaming Eagle will describe how they've brought serendipity back to the office.

Other

As many have heard, in the early days, GitHub chose not to have an office for almost 2 years. One of the major drivers for getting an office was to promote what is called "serendipitous interactions." The idea is that by coming into the office, one will encounter a broader set of people than the ones you are working closely with, and have interactions that cross-pollinate and produce unforeseeable innovation. It sounds great, but's completely false in practice.

What really happens? You come in, and say "Hi" to the same people you see every day on the way there. You sit at your desk, near the same group of individuals, and then go to lunch with the same 3 people you always eat sandwiches with.

In "Serendipitous Disruption?", Patrick and Drew, counterparts in Streaming Eagle, will take the audience through their efforts to bring true serendipity back, describing their surprising methods and even more surprising outcomes.