How mature is your remote team?
How remote could kill Silicon Valley and hundreds of windows to cast to your TV
Greetings!
Our handpicked selection of readings for this week features a rare piece from Matt Mullenweg, Wordpress's founder. He has been a strong believer in remote teams operating his company, which powers 60-percent-ish of the entire internet with a 100% remote team.
In this article, he shares a framework based on team autonomy to measure the maturity level of a remote team. Spoiler: it comes all down to the level of asynchronicity in which a team can operate.
On the opposite of the "Remote Trend", Steve Levin argues that most of Silicon Valley's success is (was?) based in the serendipity of close encounters and the opportunity to discuss and collaborate organically. In his words, Remote Work, will be the end of Silicon Valley as we know it. Yet taking the current state of affairs and the abuse of power of platforms, it might not be a bad thing after all.
Finally, WindowSwap is a beautiful project that will allow you to temporarily travel to a random and remote window. It works by showing you a 10 min video of someone's window in HQ. This way you can feel that you are at least moving from one shelter to another while this shelter at place period lasts.
Pro Tip: Cast this into your largest TV for maximum results.
See you next week
// Your Reading List
Distributed Work’s Five Levels of Autonomy
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sam Harris, author and host of the Making Sense podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation. Given the moment we’re currently living through, we naturally.
I’m Too Old to Learn a New Career, and Too Young to Retire
Are you a frontline worker dealing with new stresses or irresponsible management? Is working (or not working) from home starting to take a psychological toll? How are you coping with reopening? Submit a story using this Google form or send me an email with the subject line “My Covid Story” and provide as much detail as you’re comfortable with.
The Biggest Startup Strategy Myth (and How to Deal With It)
As a startup founder, employer, teamleader or businessman, you essentially have three types of questions to answer each day: Why? What? How?
3 science-backed methods for convincing your boss of something
When you’re trying to persuade your manager to do something differently, here are three strategies you need to consider
Ways to Stay Calm During Quarantine: Candles, Plants, and Other Tips
It’s hard to keep calm and carry on when we’ve entered not-losing-your-mind territory. Here are a few ideas and things to help you cope.
How to retool remote work for the long haul
It’s time for a more systematic approach to working from home.
5 ways to get better at trusting your gut
Instinct can be a powerful decision-making tool, as long as you’re using it right.
An Evangelist for Remote Work Sees the Rest of the World Catch On
Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Automattic, which runs the publishing platform WordPress, says working remotely is “good for the environment” and “good for the economy.”
5 Zoom tools you need to take your virtual meetings to the next level
Pro tip: one of these features will practically guarantee you won’t have an embarrassing mishap with a hot mic.
How Remote Work Could Destroy Silicon Valley
The tech industry is built on serendipity. If workers flee the Bay Area, what’s left
How to rethink your home office: 4 tips from a renowned furniture designer
You’ll probably be working from home for a while. Knoll Design Director Benjamin Pardo has some ideas for optimizing work-life balance.
Why You Should Embrace Your Impostor Syndrome
Instead of trying to conquer self-doubt, use it to your advantage
Leaders are Coaches; Start Acting Like It
Management isn’t management, it’s just friendship. Can we stop acting like business isn’t the same as the rest of our life?
How Great Leaders build Strong Teams?
The commitment of the leader to a team, the quality of the leader to share the success with the team, and the intellectual & emotional capacity of the leader to have an appeal to a variety of personalities, are all critical ingredients.