It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy at Work

Suggested by careercutler; it covers many of the questions you wish you could ask. Somewhat utopian, the two creators talk about Basecamp (similar to an internal Notion) and their philosophy for making work more humane without overselling. It is an inspiring read that builds confidence: there are places where people simply want to live well, and we should take cues from that. At times it feels so intentional that it risks coming across more like a group of friends than a company, but there are many takeaways I will borrow if I ever manage people.

Notes

• Meetings are a waste of time. Use asynchronous communication first, then 1:1.
• The company is the product; treat it as such.
• Basecamp does not chase targets; they are often artificial. Results follow from doing good work.
• A major obstacle to productivity is fragmented time during the workday. They avoid interrupting others and protect large chunks of uninterrupted focus time.
• It should be hard to access others’ calendars. Meetings should be hard to schedule, as a last resort.
• As a boss, set the example of a healthy work-life balance, or people will feel pressure to match you.
• Good questions for a boss: “What’s something nobody dares to talk about?” “Are you afraid of anything at work?”
• Working tired and burned out is never a good deal.
• The fastest way to ruin expectations is to set impossible goals in the first place.
• Slow down if it’s important. There is no point in rushing; better to ship a well considered big update that truly moves things. For minor updates, be fast and nimble and ship when you can.
• Setting timelines and budgets is notoriously hard. So they say “You have 6 weeks to build this feature,” staying broad and objective, then do the best possible within that time. Not the reverse.
• Before meetings, circulate a written document with objectives and content to save time.
• Ship on Mondays.
• Politics: often it is impossible to get everyone to agree. Embrace “I disagree, but let’s commit” to keep projects moving. You will never get everyone to agree, and you do not need to.
• Teams of 3 are the magic number. More than that and things get messy.
• Their business model is flat to avoid mega clients that dictate the product.
• It’s taken us a long time and a number of missteps to learn this core truth about selling: Sell new customers on the new thing and let old customers keep whatever they already have. This is the way to keep the peace and maintain the calm.
• “It’s no big deal” or the token that says “It’s the end of the world.” Whichever token you pick, they’ll take the other.
• Act. Set the example and change things starting with your own life.