Part 1: What do all day Zoom meetings and CDROMs have in common?
Part 2: How does Basecamp do it?
Part 3: How does Automattic do it?
Part 4: How does Linux do it?
It might seem odd to derive lessons for formal organisations from a self-organising volunteer activity, yet, the practices and skills found in Linux and open source workflows are invaluable when it comes to remote work, especially in times like these.
The open source system advocates trust, compassion and empathy as means for motivation and improved productivity. In its case, people have always been motivated, due to the system’s careful attention to initiative and incentive structures. What lessons can we take from these structures for use in our formal organisations today?
Work/Life
“As much as we want to retain work/life balance, we have to acknowledge that our work and home lives are being forced together in sometimes uncomfortable ways. The current situation isn't normal, and expecting normal productivity and complete focus isn't reasonable.” Stefanie Chiras, VP of the Business Unit at Red Hat Linux.
For many people, it's hard to separate work and personal life when their home is also the office. In these abnormal times, it’s important to consider employees holistically, not just in their work roles. They may be dealing with a great deal of stress that they can't just put down during work hours - this should be respected and understood. For example, avoid sending communications outside “official business hours”. If your new working time happens to be later, consider scheduling your emails to send during normal business hours to remove the expectation of working all the time. Go further, and encourage the team to take breaks during the day, not to eat lunch sitting at their desk, and, if possible, to go outside and get some fresh air.
Trust/ Tracking
“The very essence of open source teams is built upon trust.”
Everyone is accountable for what they need to deliver. Teams need to trust each other to get things done instead of dictating what the next task will be. Through trust, people are empowered, motivated to produce high-quality work.
This snaps the phenomenon of the “all-day Zoom meeting” into sharp focus; feeling secure over monitoring employees’ actions over the last 8 hours, opposed to their level of output over unmonitored hours of the day should raise some concerns.
Allow employees to work flexible hours so they have the chance to perform at their optimal moments. Early risers and night owls should each get their personal opportunities to operate when they work best. This flexibility on how, when, and where employees work, would likely improve their productivity and their loyalty to the company. Forcing everyone into all-day meetings would greatly inhibit this.
Output/Time
“The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organising teams.” 11th principle of the Agile Manifesto
Focusing on results. Output over time. Something we hear a lot, but hardly internalize. An entire day spent at a desk, in an office, or on a Zoom call, would not - by any means - reflect the amount of expected output. Rather, employees must know and understand what they are responsible for (as opposed to how many hours they should work) and know when they've done enough. A system like this, where priorities are communicated and clarified, and employees have the freedom to work through those priorities over a sensibly set time period, would eradicate issues of trust and lack of productivity.
This is how the open source community operates. Developers are not spoon-fed tasks, but simply communicate amongst each other what must be done, and what can be done. Their work is then left in their control, to refocus and prioritize.
So, What?
“The point of all this is to learn from those companies who have been working in a distributed modality for decades, and have not simply ported the pre-COVID method using online tools.”
Ultimately, the rules of remote work discussed in the previous two articles aren’t solely advocated by Basecamp and Automattic, respectively - they are widely accepted in the distributed world. We have all been forced to become distributed companies. The point of all this is to learn from those companies who have been working in a distributed modality for decades, and have not simply ported the pre-COVID method using online tools.
Further Reading
https://www.welcometothejungle.com/en/articles/btc-remote-open-source
https://opensource.com/article/18/9/connected-on-distributed-team
https://www.synopsys.com/blogs/software-security/tips-working-remotely-open-source-community/
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/remote-leadership-how-provide-support-distributed-teams
Say no to Zoom | How does Automattic do it?
Part 1: What do all day Zoom meetings and CDROMs have in common?
Part 2: How does Basecamp do it?
Part 3: How does Automattic do it?
Part 4: How does Linux do it?
The power of asynchronous communication
“You may still want to say it right now, but they can almost certainly hear it later.”
Automattic does not use meetings as a primary form of communication - after all, people should be occupied with their work. If everyone is working on different things, the only way to get them all to break at the same time, is to force them to stop what they’re doing! This is why asynchronous communication is so powerful - it encourages focus. Is forcing people to stop, or postponing their start, really worth what they’re about to hear?
However, Automattic won’t shun meetings altogether. Undeniably, there are situations where meetings are simply unavoidable, and sometimes, even productive.
Two tips to boost meeting productivity
A meeting should only be held in the case that the same outcomes can’t be reached via a phone call, email, or instant message.
Set the meeting to 15 minutes by default, and only make it longer if absolutely necessary (the shorter the meeting, the less time there will be for pointless small talk).
Set a specific agenda and desired outcome before going into the meeting, and only include those whose involvement is absolutely necessary.
Two Automattic-specific habits
“For the high flyers”
Post the agenda ahead of time, so that those who need more time to prepare, or don’t speak English as their first language, get the opportunity to prepare.
Rotate the call host and note takers so that each member of the team gets a go at it. And, when the host is someone in a different timezone, shift the call to accommodate their workday.
These are some ways to maximise meeting productivity in the case that they can’t be avoided. But ultimately, real-time communication encourages distraction, asynchronous communication encourages focus.
“Don’t take people’s attention, give people back their attention so they can spend it in much more profitable ways.”
Further Reading
https://stephyiu.com/2019/02/17/behind-the-scenes-culture-and-tools-of-remote-work-at-automattic/
https://stephyiu.com/2019/02/17/behind-the-scenes-culture-and-tools-of-remote-work-at-automattic/
Say no to Zoom | How does Basecamp do it?
Part 1: What do all day Zoom meetings and CDROMs have in common?
Part 2: How does Basecamp do it?
Part 3: How does Automattic do it?
Part 4: How does Linux do it?
There is no “Now”
“Now" is often the wrong time to say what just popped into your head. It's better to let it filter it through the sieve of time. What's left is the part worth saying.”
Basecamp abolishes the notion of 'Now', ‘Immediate’ and 'ASAP'. We need to understand that the immediate is often the worst time to share thoughts, as our mental processes are underdeveloped. Letting what popped into our heads ‘Now’ "filter through the sieve of time", would help greatly in communicating the point more concisely, articulately, and with the least risk of error or offence. The second thing we need to clarify, is the superiority of asynchronous over real-time communication. "Chat dissolves, while writing solidifies". Zoom meetings are classic examples of chat sessions, where important points and actions are lost through chatter and catch-up. Writing takes longer, feels more distant, and has become almost a last-resort for many, but it brings to the table much more than it takes away, and is the method Basecamp uses and recommends. In with the old, out with the new.
Long form writing over Meetings
“Eight people in a room for an hour doesn’t cost one hour; it costs eight hours.”
Basecamp prefers long-form writing as a method of communication allows for better quality relations where things are thought through far more carefully than if they were verbally transmitted. It also happens to be far more inclusive and benefits everyone - especially those who cannot make a meeting due to time or internet restrictions. Communication shouldn’t require schedule synchronization. Writing instead of meeting is more direct, and is independent of any kind of schedule. Furthermore, this kind of communication allows deeper discussions and conversations to develop and ‘sink in’, prior to judgement being made. Real-time meetings where calls to action are expected to be resolved immediately often result in rushed decisions.
Centralized communication
“There may not be a perfect time, but there's certainly a wrong time.”
Basecamp also has a solution for company-wide announcements; they don’t send emails or have fragmented meetings, instead, they use a centralised ‘message board’ where all employees can see and hear the same thing. This is crucial in upholding consistency, as no information is altered via different communication channels; nothing is lost and nobody is left out. Replacing live meetings with public written updates saves dozens of hours a week and affords people larger blocks of uninterrupted time, affording them good stretches of time to immerse themselves in work - which is crucial in order to allow employees to complete a ‘proper’ job. If this is not achieved, people are left scrounging for focused time, and are forced to squeeze project work in between all the other nonessential, yet mandated, things they’re expected to do. Meetings break time into “before” and “after.”
Further Reading
https://basecamp.com/remote-resources
https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-we-structure-our-work-and-teams-at-basecamp/
