“People work better when they believe in what they are working for.” - Alfred Garcia Alfred is a member of Jamgo, a developer co-op based in Barcelona that has been around for nearly 15 years. On top of that, he lives in a housing co-op. We spoke with him about how a co-op’s structure should be just enough to flex around the complexity of the people within it. In a co-op, you are an active decision maker. You don’t get to externalize decisions to a boss. You are all the boss, sharing the load together. It’s like a bunch of entrepreneurs got together, put their hands in, and created Captain Planet (when will they make a Marvel Universe around him? Please bring Captain Planet back). This interview goes deep. We get philosophical. We ask deep questions like: Why is it so hard to ask for help and how can we change that? If profit isn’t just about money, what else can it mean? What does it look like for a business to honor the whole person, not just honor their productivity? What does ‘transparency’ look like in practice? How does equitable compensation work at Jamgo? How does the concept of ‘speed’ change when you look at co-ops? What is slower, what is faster? What is the difference between community-based support and support based in capitalism? We also answer fun questions like “Why is Barcelona so full of co-ops? Is it… the anarchists???” Oh yeah, this is a good one.   Action items from this conversation: What does profit mean to your organization? What does ‘transparency’ look like in practice in your organization? How do you celebrate the messiness of life?   Listen anywhere podcasts roost.   Watch on YouTube. See Alfred’s web for more about him. Learn more about Jamgo. See all episodes.