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I think this is the most frustrating paradox of Silicon Valley : we're living in a time where humanity is connected via virtually instant communication services

I think this is the most frustrating paradox of Silicon Valley : we're living in a time where humanity is connected via virtually instant communication services more so than any other time in our existence, building tools to enable this in real-time and even through video (!), but no: you need to be centrally located physically in the most expensive place to live & work on the planet for...reasons? And yet, you'll be doing exactly the same stuff, using the exact same tools, that you would be if everyone were remote. /rant

frozenport 8y ago
In the future we'll learn that pheromones interactions are essential for productivity.
carleverett 8y ago
It's the classic "butts in seats" theory of management.
Skunkleton 8y ago
Personally, I think you are right and have similar feelings about the subject. That said, the big success story companies have been mostly (all?) been built on the butts in seats model. Maybe there is something to it that we are missing?
- loco5niner 8y ago
  > That said, the big success story companies have been mostly (all?) been built on the butts in seats model. Not sure about that claim... but certainly they weren't built on the open-office model.
  - Skunkleton 8y ago
    Yeah, that is a good point.
foolfoolz 8y ago
sure we spend a lot of time on our computers. but we have meetings too. we talk to people around us. we eat together and get coffee together. no one goes to work and stares into their laptop all day. and doing this remote is great from time to time. but you will spend 5-10 or 15 mins getting the VC set up. you will hear 7 words out of 10 and infer the rest or rarely ask to repeat. you will be alone and have less personal connection to your coworkers. i’ve done both extensively and prefer going to work a lot. i WFH often, but it’s not optimal to work remote every single day. we have people who live out far for cheap and come in every few months. no matter how much of a “rockstar” they are, their organizational value is less than one in the building. whether it’s on merit or just humans liking humans they see, face to face contact is important and has real value
- scottlegrand2 8y ago
  I find most meetings to be superfluous opportunities for the biggest egos to exercise their vocal cords as everyone else writes emails or sends messages... I have suggested that one gets a weekly word budget and if one exceeds it, one loses a dollar of compensation per word.

frozenport 8y ago

In the future we'll learn that pheromones interactions are essential for productivity.

carleverett 8y ago

It's the classic "butts in seats" theory of management.

Skunkleton 8y ago

Personally, I think you are right and have similar feelings about the subject. That said, the big success story companies have been mostly (all?) been built on the butts in seats model. Maybe there is something to it that we are missing?

loco5niner 8y ago
> That said, the big success story companies have been mostly (all?) been built on the butts in seats model. Not sure about that claim... but certainly they weren't built on the open-office model.
- Skunkleton 8y ago
  Yeah, that is a good point.

foolfoolz 8y ago

sure we spend a lot of time on our computers. but we have meetings too. we talk to people around us. we eat together and get coffee together. no one goes to work and stares into their laptop all day. and doing this remote is great from time to time. but you will spend 5-10 or 15 mins getting the VC set up. you will hear 7 words out of 10 and infer the rest or rarely ask to repeat. you will be alone and have less personal connection to your coworkers. i’ve done both extensively and prefer going to work a lot. i WFH often, but it’s not optimal to work remote every single day. we have people who live out far for cheap and come in every few months. no matter how much of a “rockstar” they are, their organizational value is less than one in the building. whether it’s on merit or just humans liking humans they see, face to face contact is important and has real value

scottlegrand2 8y ago
I find most meetings to be superfluous opportunities for the biggest egos to exercise their vocal cords as everyone else writes emails or sends messages... I have suggested that one gets a weekly word budget and if one exceeds it, one loses a dollar of compensation per word.