Remote - a book review

remote - office not requireda review of the book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson@darylhemeon

why should we listen to these guys?

sections● the time is right● excuses● collaborate● beware the dragons● hiring and keeping the best● managing remote workers● life as a remote worker

why is the time right?work doesn’t happen at work anymore“super early before anyone gets in”

“I stay late after everyone is gone”“I sneak in on the weekends”

the day is chopped into tiny bits - conference call, meeting and more meetings

thoughtful, creative work requires long stretches of interrupted time - this does not happen in the office anymore

why now?commute technology

ibmsince 1995reduced office space by 78 million sq ft58 million sold at 1.9B gainsublease income at 1B$100 million per year in annual savings386,000 employees 40% telework

excuses

I need an answer now!First you need to recognize that not every question needs an answer immediately.

Hours = emailminutes = IMhair on fire = telephone

hiring and keeping the best“Given how hard it is to find great people you should do your utmost to keep them. That sounds self evident, yet plenty of companies are willing to let their stars disappear when life forces them to move. That’s just plain dumb.”

“Keeping a solid team together for a long time is key to peak performance. People grow closer and more comfortable with each other, and subsequently do even better work.”

-the authors of remote

hiring well for remoteshow you the work - it is all that matters

send them a programming test that is part of your real project

you need to be able to write well - examine the cover letter

We’re going to have to have you come in on Saturday? Which translates to will people work hard if we are not watching

them all day?

access to everything - remove roadblocks

managing remote workersYou don’t have to hire people that are near your office.

Compensate as you would anyone else.

The cost of losing someone is 30k.

on motivation...

the tools● everything available to everyone at all

times - the cloud● Basecamp, GitHub, shared calendar,

Dropbox, Google Docs, Google Hangouts, Skype, single permanent chat room for social, access to social media

Life as a remote worker (image copyright directly from REMOTE)

when I was remotesome suggested strategies● separate space● separate computer● once a week work

somewhere else● walk at lunch

Basketball at 5pm with my son - or go for a swim with my daughter

Say No to office politics - all that matters is the work

time and moneya cube charge back is $2400 per year

setup costs $99 to $300

company pays for internet connection

Numbers● 654 company wide● team 2 full time

remote● 1 part time remote● most of us work

remote sometimes

what could we do with the $$ if we gave up our desks

● your Delivery Team could go to conference yearly, together as a team

● fund our our FWK 3.0 project● create a true collab work space where people

could drop in when they needed to

Why couldn’t we have this?

where does the book fall shortbetter examples of HOW they actually manage their projects and with what methodology

are they agile as they cascade down the waterfall of death?

conclusion<smart/><funny/><mostly right />

<questions? />

@darylhemeonnext up - a book that should change how we manage projects, spend money and ask for money - “the lean startup” by eric reis