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Working asynchronously

blog.remote.com

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Re: Working asynchronously

#71

Post by lukethomas »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #43

I want to call BS on the statement "Most meetings can be replaced with documentation." Maybe in an ideal world, but no. Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes? It's like a freshman essay -- lacking in cohesion, vision, context. It's usually completely unstandardized across teams. And 9 times out of 10 the most fundamental questions aren't answered by the documentation e.g. "Why don't we j…

It really depends on the meeting. Meetings that revolve around basic information sharing (typically the recurring ones) like status updates or daily scrum can 100% be replaced with a written update. These are the meetings people hate.

A great meeting is when the right number of people discuss an ambiguous problem that requires a fast feedback loop (body language, tone, etc) in order to achieve the desired meeting outcome.

I'd also argue that poor documentation is a result of lack of structure (something asynchronous communication can provide much better vs. synchronous comm)

Re: Working asynchronously

#72

Post by eeZah7Ux »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #43

I want to call BS on the statement "Most meetings can be replaced with documentation." Maybe in an ideal world, but no. Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes? It's like a freshman essay -- lacking in cohesion, vision, context. It's usually completely unstandardized across teams. And 9 times out of 10 the most fundamental questions aren't answered by the documentation e.g. "Why don't we j…

> Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes?

Yes. Don't hire the average engineer.

Re: Working asynchronously

#73

Post by benatkin »

marcelo_lebre wrote: post #37
benatkin wrote: post #31

I get the idea that remote.com is trying to trademark the term "remote". F that. The best way to stop that is to prevent remote.com from getting a lot of brand recognition. I don't care how much they want to contribute to the remote worker community - there's no way it will make up for stealing the identity that we have for ourselves.

Love that you feel so passionate about it! We are part of that community, and we're doing this so that more people can enjoy working remotely as well. It changed my life in many positive ways and there's nothing we want to take away from it, quite the opposite. We own the domain, we don't own something that is a way of life for which we have tremendous respect.

You own a domain. That domain doesn't give you ownership of the term remote. You seem to be trying to appropriate it and I hope that doesn't happen.

Re: Working asynchronously

#75

Post by serpix »

jerf wrote: post #46
coldtea wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When it works, it's a great experience. However, async communication isn't appropriate for every situation, as the article admits. Some times, the most efficient way forward is to schedule a call where all parties can work out the solution in 15 minutes of real-time conversation rather than 3 days of back-and-forth e-mails. I always hated "15 minutes of real-time conversation", not because of being an introvert or…

"I always hated "15 minutes of real-time conversation", not because of being an introvert or anything, but because it's fuzzy, nobody remembers what it was exactly said, and usually ends up with people wasting each others time (like Diltert-style meetings)." I'd say the solution is to attack those problems directly. There are some things that just work poorly asynchronously. I find heavy-duty explanations of somethin…

4 managers to one dev is a ratio that warrants a very quick change of jobs.

Re: Working asynchronously

#76

Post by [deleted] »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #9

I've managed multiple remote, asynchronous teams across multiple countries. When people work in opposite time zones, asynchronous communication is mandatory. When it works, it's a great experience. However, async communication isn't appropriate for every situation, as the article admits. Some times, the most efficient way forward is to schedule a call where all parties can work out the solution in 15 minutes of real-…

[deleted]

Re: Working asynchronously

#77

Post by scruple »

thrower123 wrote: post #64
tonyarkles wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is tongue firmly in cheek, but I think it really drives home your "Communication is hard" point. Have you tried reading the meeting agenda and minutes the average engineering manager makes? It's like a freshman essay -- lacking in cohesion, vision, context. It's usually completely unstandardized across teams. And 9 times out of 10 the most fundamental questions aren't answered in the meetings e.g. "Why don't we…

Agenda? Minutes? I've heard tell of such a thing, but I've yet to meet a manager that actually performs these arcane acts. I've gotten very used to walking into meetings with no more idea of what's going to happen than I can glean from the participants list and the subject on the calendar item...

Oh, cool, we must work together.

I pushed my team hard to get some discipline around meeting agendas. It lasted for a week or two. I threatened to stop attending meetings otherwise. My Director told me to knock it off. So, the signal is clear, right? We're all just fucking around and playing pretend at being professionals.

Re: Working asynchronously

#78

Post by marcelo_lebre »

benatkin wrote: post #73
marcelo_lebre wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love that you feel so passionate about it! We are part of that community, and we're doing this so that more people can enjoy working remotely as well. It changed my life in many positive ways and there's nothing we want to take away from it, quite the opposite. We own the domain, we don't own something that is a way of life for which we have tremendous respect.

You own a domain. That domain doesn't give you ownership of the term remote . You seem to be trying to appropriate it and I hope that doesn't happen.

Remote to my grandmother is what she uses to change channel. To us is a way of life. It means different things to different people. There's no appropriation being done here, nor do we plan to do so. We fundamentally respect what it means to be remote and we're only a way to improve it and make it more mainstream, nothing more.

Re: Working asynchronously

#79

Post by 1MoreThing »

eeZah7Ux wrote: post #72
alexandercrohde wrote: post #43

I want to call BS on the statement "Most meetings can be replaced with documentation." Maybe in an ideal world, but no. Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes? It's like a freshman essay -- lacking in cohesion, vision, context. It's usually completely unstandardized across teams. And 9 times out of 10 the most fundamental questions aren't answered by the documentation e.g. "Why don't we j…

> Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes? Yes. Don't hire the average engineer.

Or raise your bar for average. If communication ability is important to your org, hire some folks to mentor and coach your engineers. Measure them on their communication and documentation abilities, and reward them when they meet or exceed the expected level.

Re: Working asynchronously

#80

Post by wisty »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #43

I want to call BS on the statement "Most meetings can be replaced with documentation." Maybe in an ideal world, but no. Have you tried reading the documentation the average engineer makes? It's like a freshman essay -- lacking in cohesion, vision, context. It's usually completely unstandardized across teams. And 9 times out of 10 the most fundamental questions aren't answered by the documentation e.g. "Why don't we j…

A lot of engineers hate documentation and meetings. It's their managers job to make sure they do the boring stuff that the organisation needs.

If a manager says "remember to do some meetings" at the start of the year then never follows up on ensuring those meetings are actually effective, those meetings might be a waste of time. If they say "remember to do some documentation" at the start of the year and never follows up the documentation will be a waste of time.

If managers are spending more time making meetings a big priority, maybe it's because unlike documentation they get to feel like a real leader because they are running effective meetings. Maybe managers just like meetings more than documentation. Maybe it's higher value to the organisation as a whole, but I doubt it.

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