Gabe Newell: On Productivity, Economics, Political Institutions, and the Future of Corporations

Gabe Newell, head of Valve Software, gives a talk on productivity, economics, political institutions, and the future of corporations on January 30, 2013 at the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin

[@Itskilo]

I love how perfectly still he stays for the first 30 seconds while being introduced

[@Alex-1997]

i think he do be was a still image doe

[@Itskilo]

@@Alex-1997 Thanks Sherlock

[@bomaniigloo]

I thought it was a still. Lol

[@WiseOwl_1408]

ALPHA MALE

[@raumfahreturschutze]

@@Alex-1997 Bro the cops should hire you with those detective skills.

[@nicholassilva-horvat617]

He drinks the water at 26:35

[@masterTigress96]

Dude no way! After all these years bro fuck! I have been looking for that clip for SOOOOO long :$ Anywayz, thx nicolas!

[@wilfordbrimleypranks]

Gaben is human, believe it or not

[@KingLich451]

​@@wilfordbrimleypranksWow, is that right?

[@noelsoong777]

As the prophecy foretold

[@AgressivePigeon]

thanks

[@Coldsteak]

I have never seen a single game studio who has gone public that DIDN'T go downhill in quality and customer approval after.

[@PaballoKobe-xh9ve]

Because the customer has chamged from consumer to shareholder

[@Pacemaker_fgc]

@@PaballoKobe-xh9veThe customer did that? How so?

[@PaballoKobe-xh9ve]

@@Pacemaker_fgc i mean to say they cater to sharehokder instead of customers

[@marshall3278]

Like the absolutely hideous industry trend of releasing unfinished games in time for quarter earnings

[@gazoinked3546]

@@marshall3278 Money talks.

[@Lotsner]

I watched this while Steam was down.

[@sudarshansingh5806]

i saw this comment literally EXACTLY when i was about to post the EXACT same comment :3

[@brettake2907]

ROLFMAO!

[@mtl-ss1538]

@@sudarshansingh5806 Found he is in New Zealand, - racing GT3 Aston Martin race car, & helping ETNZ to win the Americas Cup...with his mom & dad.??

[@NoorS__]

@@mtl-ss1538LOL

[@marcinoczko358]

10 years later, I watch this video and steam goes down again

[@TheUltimateGun]

29:30 I just burst out laughing because I wasn't expecting Gabe Newell to say that.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

“MY GOD MAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” “You tryin’ to get me into trouble Gordon?” “Get away from there Freeman! I’m expecting an important message.” “Stop that!” “Cut it out!”

[@man2meandyou]

this was filmed in 2013 to be fair lol, wasn't a big deal back then

[@lukkkasz323]

It was 10 years ago, he wouldn't be able to say that now.

[@barryromano0451]

Based Gaben

[@3lH4ck3rC0mf0r7]

As an autistic myself... I lol'd. I can't deny it, that description just fits the way people behave in singleplayer games too well.

[@Prisoner]

as a tf2 player, this is the first time I listen to a talk by Gabe, and it warms my heart to realise he obviously has such a deep understanding about tf2’s functioning.

[@Falsechicken]

Great points that I have intuited over the years. Publicly traded companies are trash and always tend towards maximum profit and the consumer experience be damned due to the fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. They are literally forced by law to be as greedy as possible and cannot make principled decisions without being liable to be sued by the shareholders which always leads to the terrible experience of backwards rules and being nickle and dimed.

[@papaspooks8531]

large component of this is the real inflation rate of USD. 2-3% is commonly quoted for the CPI, but it's closer to 7-8% once you broaden the scope of measure outside of cheap manufacturable goods. cant park your company's wealth in currency, debt becomes far more appealing as a result. it's a terrible thing but it's fundamental to how money works. bitcoin helps fix this

[@christpierre]

@@papaspooks8531 Because the federal reserve is privately owned by the roths child and not the government although people think it's a government institution

[@papaspooks8531]

@@christpierre very true. another major factor in this element of our economic order is the sponsor of keynesian economics in academia thru various government + corporate institutions via grants, scholarships, and other financial support. keynes argued for moderate, but constant, inflation and going against this idea in academia is effectively career suicide. constant inflation benefits the entire financial sector (the rothschilds and their ilk) because it makes currency an untenable place to park your wealth, making all kinds of asset managers, financial advisors, and other fiduciaries a profitable service to hire. if not for inflation, nobody would have any incentive to pay their fees, and the entire financial sector would collapse overnight. a useless multibillion dollar industry ran by some of the most morally bankrupt people on the planet. vampiric. it's a sick world we live in

[@cj22268]

They aren't forced by law to be greedy. They do that by themselves.

[@npaprika1]

Yet valve themselves have become profit obsessed and no longer make video games or tf2 updates

[@Chris-ki2dx]

Listening to Gabe is strangely relaxing and soothing to me

[@therealsmokinpotato]

Chill gabe beats to relax/study to

[@theobell2002]

Gaben ASMR

[@Tyretes]

this will be the longest ever i've heard gaben talking. it hasn't even been 10 minutes yet.

[@AndrewDasilvaPLT]

This is one of the best interviews I've seen with Gabe.

[@EEEEEE1337]

I could listen to this man for hours, really interesting topics and GabeN's nice wording

[@roygaya]

Great lecture! He started his presentation in Hard difficulty, then realised that his audience are still in 'Easy + Auto-aim' phase 😅

[@reemazaljahdali3141]

I like listening to Gabe

[@HappyLittleBoozer]

Genuinely inspirational. Gaben will forever be the God of gaming precisely because of his brilliant mindset.

[@Coldsteak]

his le epic sigma grindset

[@IsolationStreams]

29:27 literally me

[@BusinessWolf1]

The last 5th of this interview I will need to rewatch countless times to understand fully, but god damn it it will have been worth it.

[@HomicidalVocals]

This is bloody interesting. Thanks for uploading this.

[@AUBCodeII]

0:00 Gabe enabled statue mode!

[@neptronix]

Mind blowing dude!!

[@SolDizZo]

The discussion around 39 minutes encapsulates everything I love about Valve's philosophy and everything I hate about Epic Games'. They destroyed Rocket League from the ground up.

[@arturvegis2571]

@@djchristian82 In short, epic wants money, valve wants to provide a good service, which just makes money byproduct.

[@snusinanus]

video length: 1:02:03

[@mozzzzzz1993]

thank you

[@Instab]

Great ! Thank you

[@jessekrynen]

All hail lord Gaben

[@BanterClausGaming]

He says "Peopleware" by Tom DeMarco.

[@alexxx4434]

5:50 And that's when Gabe decided to make a digital platform for distributing Video Games and Porn Video Games.

[@beefyseamus]

Gabe's a market monetarist. My face just melted when he talked about NGDP level targeting.

[@kristiandy2386]

what now?

[@PavltheRobot]

@@kristiandy2386 Yeah, I didn't understand this comment as well

[@alainportant6412]

@@PavltheRobot he is probably dead, nobody will ever know

[@aidonger42069]

@@alainportant6412 I want to know

[@aidonger42069]

@@PavltheRobot Market monetarism is a school of macroeconomic thought that advocates that central banks target the level of nominal income instead of inflation, unemployment, or other measures of economic activity, including in times of shocks such as the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2006, and in the financial crisis that followed.[1] In contrast to traditional monetarists, market monetarists do not believe monetary aggregates or commodity prices such as gold are the optimal guide to intervention. Market monetarists also reject the New Keynesian focus on interest rates as the primary instrument of monetary policy.[1] Market monetarists prefer a nominal income target due to their twin beliefs that rational expectations are crucial to policy, and that markets react instantly to changes in their expectations about future policy, without the "long and variable lags" postulated by Milton Friedman

[@GiantBUThead]

lenght 1:02:03 uploaded on 1.02.2013 => 123 lets try this 123 - 3x33+3x(3+3+1) {where 1 is the number of disslikes on the video} = 123 - 99 + 3x7 = 123 - 99 + 21 = 123 - 120 = 3 => this video mathematicly confirms Half Life 3

[@jaredwilliams2357]

You called it good job

[@Toiarc]

I love Gabe Newell. =)

[@TheSameNameasYou]

33:52 Hilarious moment and realization of creating a new revenue stream that wasn't easy to categorize.

[@alienc]

buy a csgo key every time gaben hits the desk and the mic pics it up

[@seva809]

12:36 this guy in the background looks like Gabe's version from the past.

[@tropicaljupiter]

4000 lines of code a day? Is this man a never nester? Does he put all arguments on a new line? I really want to see this code. I do that in a WEEK and I'm always the first or second top contributor on my team. 4000 lines/day is insanely impressive to me.

[@xaIlGG]

I initially heard 4000 lines of coke a day. After reading your comment, I am now relieved to know that is not what he said.

[@wetfloo]

probably when you're not bogged down by the processes, it's possible to output that amount of code

[@HuehuehueEsBest]

Depends entirely on the project you're working on, the team you're working with, and so on.

[@0ldar]

He probably is only a journeyman vim-user with numbers like those.

[@Mattdotnfo]

Definitely depends on language but I feel like 4 kloc in the 90s was much different than now days.

[@TheHeroineaddict]

One does not simply stop a Gaben...

[@poljakov13]

unstoppable

[@ButtonMasherReal]

You can in theory, but you'd have to take control and press the Gaben, so in practice it's impossible.

[@DoubleclickEB]

Holy shit. This comment is a time capsule.

[@Number12interdan]

Valve are so far ahead of their competition it's not even funny. Blizzard still have to go offline for 8-12hrs every WEEK for "maintenance" on hearthstone, and just released the game when it has more bugs than ever.

[@Zimmerh90]

The maintenance are for Blizzards whole server park. I dont think thats something they do because they find it fun, but a necessary evil.

[@zytolen5356]

hi

[@jooplin]

Blizzard.. hehe

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

Valve also don't drive their employees to suicide because their nudes are being shared around. Definitely way ahead of crappy Blizzard.

[@hamelconsultancyllc]

Oh boy… 9 years ago… blizzard only got worse

[@user-uj7zm1ng5t]

Has anybody saved and downloaded this video

[@omeganter]

genius!

[@cangulec4206]

Sound mind and body, boss.

[@poligrafsferych8193]

well, youtube algoritms want me to watch this, so...

[@dawudmc]

A room full of tech-guy and nerds, and still, the audio-guy can´t even mount a mic with proper dampening.

[@kerryannboyko4175]

Heh - I was literally *not allowed in the room*! Basically I came to film the event as a freelance journalist, the LBJ school of public affairs said that I wasn't allowed to be there. However, they DID allow the UT radio station to be there and they also had a camera. I said: "I acknowledge that as a freelance journalist, I'm not allowed to be here. However, UT Radio, would you like to use a second camera and my sound recording equipment?" "Yes I would!" said the journalist. I shook his hand and said "Thank you, I'll be on my way!" Halfway through the talk they realised they REALLY should have had a recording of it themselves, AND set up a second talk in the auditorium to handle the overflow. They said that I could record the second talk if I gave them my footage. The reason I wasn't able to dampen the mic was because I literally wasn't legally allowed to stay in the room to dampen it!

[@dawudmc]

​@@kerryannboyko4175 Now THIS, is what you call bureaucracy. As an Audiophile, i´m sorry for you. You tried!

[@weekal5515]

​@@kerryannboyko4175New gabe lore.

[@parashkevdraganov2395]

FLAT BUSINESS MODEL

[@Haydenthemaker1000]

00:36

[@vatogomareli]

21:49. here he mentioned something, does anybody wnow what he’s meant?

[@KillzoneAgency]

He's referencing a book called Peopleware

[@vatogomareli]

@@KillzoneAgency Thanks a lot!

[@PinchySkree]

Boom, boom boom. Boom. Boom boom. Boom boom, boom.

[@platinumsun4632]

?

[@masterTigress96]

@@platinumsun4632 He is referencing the microphone that is very unfortunately positioned on the table where GabeN is slamming his gamer arms on. I suspect no one was monitoring the live audio feed for this recording or doing a test beforehand. A shotgun mic on a stand or arm would have prevented this. Heck even if the shotgun mic would have been mounted on the camera that is recording this, it would have been better then what we ended up with here.

[@RADIUM108]

Anyone after cs 2 ?

[@7oki479]

steam is a amazing product. valve is the best gaming company of all time

[@Aivottaja]

January 30, 2013. HL3 confirmed.

[@cjmproduction]

PC master race. Praise be to lord Gaben. /r/

[@abrvalg321]

If Valve is so productive, where is Half-life 3?

[@vaimast]

every game that his reduced company does its brilliance

[@500iq6foot8]

55:18 worst interruption in all of history

[@platinumsun4632]

Indeed.

[@armin6427]

He got really stressed too from that point onward. Prolly had another 30 minutes on his notes.

[@aboldone3991]

This is so fucking sad

[@TrashRat45]

Gaben Claus :D

[@Smart269]

i think he meant battle furies?

[@fortris]

No he meant 5 actives that turn you into juggernaut noob

[@DubElementMusic]

thanks for itemshops and no half life 3

[@felixivanov4173]

gaben

[@vaimast]

oh boy this CNC softwares with IA its gonna be the future of the world, not surprised elon is scard asf

[@mrtwiggy321]

Praise be to the PC master race and the one and only savior, Lord GabeN

[@gddjcat1165]

video length: 1:02:03 so = Hl1,Hl2,HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED video length: 1:02:03 so = Portal1,Portal2,PORTAL 3 CONFIRMED

[@robertprobst3836]

Gabe is not able to count to 3

[@Nostalgia---7777]

man does this aged well

[@mistermista2927]

Autism.

[@BigEyeGuy]

36:30 he shoves 2 fingers in his mouth, never 3 fingers.

[@bloo_genes5073]

I drink Dasani too heehee

[@DreadNawght]

12:29 "Talent is a word I hate, I just mean the ability to be productive" Couldn't agree more. Talent is a fake value. The will to provide a service is where it's at.

[@stt.9433]

being productive and having the will to provide a service are two vastly different things. Being productive is how much value are you able to create for yourself or others that can be within a company or not, having the will to provide a service speaks on the motivation which is sort of meaningless in a pure business perspective as much as the word talent in fact.

[@DreadNawght]

​@@stt.9433 I meant being able to develop usable product material for other colleagues in the chain is more valuable than looking to satisfy the inner introvert with arbitrary selected cognition material, an attitude I associate with talent. To me, his quote dissociates two archetypes of workers, the former valuing their image more than the product, the latter doing what needs to be done for the product to be complete.

[@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708]

Talent is just being ineherntly good at what you are doing, your definition is completely made up. I think the word you are searching for in your original comment is productivity or efficiency.

[@HazardousAnimal]

@@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708 I completely agree with you, this dreadnawght guy is just a dumbass.

[@TheSameNameasYou]

Talent I think has a slippery definition. Gaben cuts away at the possible illusions of it with this sentence.

[@markcorrigan3930]

06:00

[@markcorrigan3930]

12:00

[@markcorrigan3930]

35:00

[@josippetkovic389]

PROVEN! GABE IS GOD

[@arcadealchemist]

valve is how a buisness runs without corperate greed and turning the people in to pay piggies all you need to do is offer a service PEOPLE LIKE and improve it to make it a universal product. if you treat your clients more like friends and just ask them what they want they will thank you gladly for it.

[@predator1296]

DAT BEARD

[@tvpaker2008]

please do not allow questions during a presentation

[@supersonicwilliam]

WHAT THE FUCK video length 1:02:03 HALF-LIFE 1, 2, 3? TF2 1, 2, 3? PORTAL 1, 2 ,3? TELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@reboooot]

That really fucked me up when he started moving lmao

[@qazmko22]

Vales Flat Cooperative Structure is proof that Anarchism can create unique and creative ideas.

[@Toiarc]

How I think it works is that people are not being suppressed by those above them in, creating free creative environment for work place, where ideas can be easily shared and brainstormed with others.

[@CatfishBradley]

The funny part is, nothing came out of valve under this ideal "unique and creative" environment. They had to tighten the reigns to start work on HL:A

[@geraldsmithers9270]

@@CatfishBradley I'm not an anarchist, but i think that the highly relaxed creative environment should be the default, but people can willfully have the reigns tightened over when they want to work on a big project.

[@tropicaljupiter]

Flat structure with caveats. Gabe is still on top. It's like marxism but your dictator is a pretty cool guy. The whole context is important.

[@alexxx4434]

Flat structure has an inerent issue with scaling.

[@shune84]

1000 per year is just under 3 lines of code per day.

[@PEKORASBBCBOYFRIEND]

Does nothing, wins. Never change Valve.

[@yiga4171]

69K view? nice but it should've been 6.9mil.

[@logencreighton5029]

This was posted on my birthday WTF didn't i hear about this darn.

[@EternalGruntSetsu]

5:33 14:50 25:54

[@Coldsteak]

29:32 im autistic and i give gabe the r word pass

[@DrussNL]

DASAN, Gabe Newell drinks it and so should you!

[@ilikecakeandbiscuits]

Everything's a game

[@robertprobst3836]

So far his productivity on Half-Life 3 and Portal 3 is negative 1000.

[@ProMikus]

cringe

[@georgeicarus3874]

@@ProMikusit’s another guy trying to get likes from an overused 12 years old joke

[@Tyretes]

releasing those games are more and more becoming a fan service. they were never entitled to release a sequel.

[@omfgacceptmyname]

bias toward measurability 3:40

[@sharpiemcsharp]

:DendiFace: :BibleThump:

[@vast634]

Annoying woman cutting him short. Let the man speak.

[@omfgacceptmyname]

1:55 brutal self roast. i'm so sorry. recently heard the same horror to a lesser order of magnitude in another successful business owner

[@Kacper42PL]

At the beginning he was watching for victims.

[@Intel-i7-9700k]

how to stop a gaben??

[@poljakov13]

how to kill someone who have no life?

[@aboldone3991]

55:18 ask that woman...

[@GabinRevolution]

Hey Gabe. Where is your so called productivity....on you know what.

[@spektral_yt]

Gaben is getting old I thought that he was younger then he is now :/

[@alienc]

gay ben

[@Vi3tSn8x]

what the fuck, is this dasani advertising?

[@Voicesinme]

/watch?v=S6VnypcjFG4

[@Wyvernnnn]

So many things in the talk aged badly with NFTs having tarnished his "play to earn" idea, Valve not making games anymore, steam doesn't have the possibility to create your own store, interop netween launchers had is being done by GOG, ...

[@professionalspecialist5780]

They made Half Life Alyx a few years ago and released Counter Strike 2 last month dude

[@-dash]

@@professionalspecialist5780we miss Orange Box level of output from Valve.

[@EverSoSlightlySolidSnake]

​@@professionalspecialist5780trash

[@TheShmrsh]

If you look closely at his company and listen what he's saying you'll realise how bad valve at making actual games

[@mtl-ss1538]

Found he is in New Zealand, - racing GT3 Aston Martin race car, & helping ETNZ to win the Americas Cup...with his mom & dad.??

[@Weed]

wow

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

IMO Gabe could probably come up with a solution to solve climate change if he put is mind to it.

[@alainportant6412]

It's a hoax. Only losers believe in it, I'm sure he couldn't give a flying fuck about this nonsense.