Working from home - one long coffee break?

Marten Mickos, shares some words of wisdom on how he grew MySQL from 12 people to a global company

Throughout the history of humanity, people have worked alone.  Whether it was a fisherman or a hunter, this breed of people basically worked on their own, without set schedules or breaks.

In the midst of our global recession today, we see many tech companies going 'virtual', where those employees work from home and communicate via email and telephone, eliminating the need to pay for office space.  In essence, working in solidarity like those hunters and fisherman of many years ago.

Some argue and question, where's the accountability with working from home?  Is it simply one long coffee break?  

Marten Mickos, who grew MySQL from 12 people to a global organization with employees in 110 locations across 18 time zones, explains that 70% of MySQL employees work from home.  When working from home you can't fake it- your colleagues only see your output and results, nothing else.  On the other hand, working in an office, you can walk around, and be the one who brews the coffee in the morning, doing whatever it takes to stay away from your desk.  

In this interview from the Innovate!Europe conference held in Zaragoza, Spain, Chris Shipley and Marten Mickos discuss the beginnings of MYSQL and how he built a company which began with a handful of people who were working from home and communicating via email, to a global company which was acquired by Sun for 1 billion dollars.