Async agile 1.0, is distributed agile 2.0!
This blog expands on the ideas from “The Async-First Playbook”. You can either browse through the posts using the grid below, or start at the very beginning. Alternatively, use the search bar below to find content across the site.
A tale of externalised costs
Many decisions execs take for their employees, ignore externalised costs. Mike Hopkins of Amazon claims their RTO policy has “no data” to back it. Lyft CEO, David Risher can only advocate for snacks in the office, while batting for RTO. Meanwhile, employees and other stakeholders pay for such decisions through costs to their health, productivity and happiness.
First draft of the async-first manifesto explained
The async-first manifesto is a work-in-progress. This post explains the five values of the first draft. This should help everyone who wishes to help shape the draft, understand the initial thought process.
Time is the secret ingredient
We pay too much attention to the idea of skill and talent. Often, time on task, trumps talent. Could this be the secret to doing excellent work, having a resilient career and building excellent teams? We explore that question in this article.
Patterns to build trust and cohesion on distributed teams
Teams needn’t be groups of BFFs. Trust and cohesion are far more important attributes. You don’t build trust and cohesion by accident though. Leaders must employ attentive design and intentional actions.
What if I don't want a BFF at work?
Workplace friendships have value for businesses, and arguably for employees as well. But it’s should also be perfectly OK, if employees wish to keep work and friendships separate.
From junior to Jedi - cracking the leverage code
Most tech companies want to run well-leveraged teams; i.e a few senior people and a bunch of junior people. But many of us lack the process discipline to do this well. How do you design a team environment that’s inclusive of junior people? That’s the million dollar question I address in this article.
Would you do that to your CEO?
The “CEO test” is when you ask yourself “Would I do that to my CEO?”. That can often help you spot behavioural anti-patterns you must correct, when interacting with your coworkers.
Extreme flexibility needs great maturity
If you adopt asynchronous work, everyone should be able to work on a schedule that’s convenient to them. But that may not be the case from day one. You must first build your deep-work muscle.
Don't let group chat become a toxic time sink
Group chat can be both a helpful tool and a distraction in the workplace. While suitable for quick exchanges and simple information sharing, it falls short for more important discussions and tasks.
You don't need a face to face for a brainstorm
Advocates of in-person work often say they need to get their teams together for brainstorming sessions. This is a waste of time. The effectiveness of brainstorming is a corporate myth.
The async worker's guide to reading
Want to be a better async worker? Check out this guide on how to read effectively and provide feedback. It's shorter than the writing guide, but just as helpful!
Cohesion at work through prosociality
Can random acts of unsolicited kindness bring us together at work? Let’s find out in this post.
The async worker's guide to writing
If writing is the number one remote working superpower, then we must all get better at it. Here’s how to level up your writing game.
Busy people must collaborate differently
Well intentioned, busy people want to be collaborative. But they often end up as bottlenecks. I argue that busy people must change their model of collaboration.
Don't let your training be an epic fail!
We often reach for training as a solution for behaviour change or skill development. But most training programs don’t achieve their objectives. How do you facilitate learning then?
7 deadly sins of knowledge management - part 2
We continue exploring the seven deadly sins of knowledge management in this week’s post. I explained three of them to you last week. Here are four more.
7 deadly sins of knowledge management - part 1
In a massively distributed world of work, effective knowledge management is a superpower for your people. On this site, we’re already discussed many things you must do, to foster knowledge sharing. This post is the first, in a two part series about things you shouldn’t do.
How I like to organise team retreats
I recently went out for a mid-week retreat with colleagues on my new team and as a fortuitous coincidence, I was one of the event hosts. The experience brought back into view a few of my principles and practices when organising such an event. In today’s post, I want to share these thoughts with you.
Reframing our relationships with employment
The recent slew of layoffs should give us all pause for thought. How should we view our relationship with employment? I’d like to share my perspective.
Form your team right
Poorly formed teams are woefully ineffective, but I see it so often that I’d be remiss not to state the problem. In this article, I’ll call out two common problems I see leaders repeat when forming new teams. I’ll also describe a few simple ways to avoid these problems.