--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here's the secret that every successful…" description: "\"Here's the secret that every successful software company is based on: You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers tame bees. You can't exactly c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/orson-scott-card-134_bees_here-s-the-secret-that-every-successful_2479764.png" --- # Here's the secret that every successful software company… ![“Here's the secret that every successful software company is based on: You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers tame bees. You can't exactly communicate with them, but you can get them to swarm in one place and when they're not looking, you can carry off the honey.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/orson-scott-card-134_bees_here-s-the-secret-that-every-successful_2479764.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/orson-scott-card-134_bees_here-s-the-secret-that-every-successful_2479764.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/orson-scott-card-134_bees_here-s-the-secret-that-every-successful_2479764.png) > “Here's the secret that every successful software company is based on: You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers tame bees. You can't exactly communicate with them, but you can get them to swarm in one place and when they're not looking, you can carry off the honey.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Managing programmers is like beekeeping: gather them, guide their collective effort, and reap the results without direct control. **In simple terms:** Lead teams by shaping environment, not by micromanaging. Key Takeaway Create conditions for teamwork, then harvest outcomes. Themes leadership team dynamics productivity Mood inspirational pragmatic Type leadership business When to use this quote - software development - project management - team building Key Concepts Management theory collective intelligence motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you foster collaboration without micromanaging? - What incentives align programmers with goals? A Different Perspective Over‑controlling stifles creativity; balance guidance with autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beekeepers Tame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beekeepers-tame-851595/) [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicate/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Domesticate Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domesticate-programmers-851593/) [Every Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-success/) [Honey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honey/) [Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmers/) [Programmers Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmers-way-851597/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Software company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software-company/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Swarms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swarms/) [Tame Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tame-bees-851594/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Beekeepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-beekeepers-851596/) ## Related quotes > [I think I am very goal oriented. 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The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. 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It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. 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Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-l-shreve/) > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here's the secret that every successful software company is based on: You can domesticate programmers the way beekeepers tame bees. 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