3 ms·

[Citation Needed]

treyd 3y ago
Anecdotal but my otherwise-entirely-remote (small) company just finished a 5 day week of all-day in-person meetings and did an incredible amount of planning for the next ~year that would have otherwise taken at least a month if we tried it over video calls and didn't work at a pace that would have burned us out. It was not particularly exhausting as one would expect.
- jen20 3y ago
  So get people together once a year for an offsite in a central-ish city. Not that hard. Almost every team which is naturally distributed (sales is a good example, where regional coverage is required) do this once per quarter.
  - j45 3y ago
    Once a quarter is not nearly enough for any group executing vs planning all the time. Once or twice a month? Sure. Once or twice a week? Can be ideal especially as a company is finding it's repeatable and scalable path. I love remote, but it's just a tool. Same for hybrid, and being in the same office.
    - jen20 3y ago
      Remote detailed planning on a weekly basis is fine. Quarterly meet-ups is perfectly sufficient for setting a roadmap. That's how my entire team operates (since before the pandemic!) and have never had an issue with it.
- erik_seaberg 3y ago
  I've seen planning marathons, but not the way I would do them. How much peace and quiet did people have to think about the plans and take notes, before the talking? Did they record the final decisions and reasons to refer to next year?
j45 3y ago
There's plenty of citations available at a quick search. I've worked primarily remotely for north of 10-15 years and love it. But it isn't 100% effective or the best choice for every situation and continuously. Especially for people at the start of a career or position. Lots of meaningful mentoring and coaching that can't be measured or limited to text chat or video calls. As someone who mentors their fair share of juniors starting out in software and product development, meeting my mentees in person after mentoring them during the lock downs did not compare. Mostly, the smiles, the genuine happiness for the success and learning that has been happening, and most of all knowing there's openness to talk about what's next and a challenge to learn. The very starts of projects and startups can often be much cleaner and faster in person, until you don't need to be. I understand and also don't like commutes. There's also no shortage of people who report the value of getting out of the house and seeing things differently Beginners often onboard much easier in person, and quicker to be productive and feel like valued members of the team. Understanding and designing new things, for example is one. Discovery or design sprints can be another. There is a good amount of merit for hybrid work and teams for producing results faster that can create profitabilty quicker, and pay those raises quicker.

[Citation Needed]

Anecdotal but my otherwise-entirely-remote (small) company just finished a 5 day week of all-day in-person meetings and did an incredible amount of planning for the next ~year that would have otherwise taken at least a month if we tried it over video calls and didn't work at a pace that would have burned us out. It was not particularly exhausting as one would expect.

jen20 3y ago
So get people together once a year for an offsite in a central-ish city. Not that hard. Almost every team which is naturally distributed (sales is a good example, where regional coverage is required) do this once per quarter.
- j45 3y ago
  Once a quarter is not nearly enough for any group executing vs planning all the time. Once or twice a month? Sure. Once or twice a week? Can be ideal especially as a company is finding it's repeatable and scalable path. I love remote, but it's just a tool. Same for hybrid, and being in the same office.
  - jen20 3y ago
    Remote detailed planning on a weekly basis is fine. Quarterly meet-ups is perfectly sufficient for setting a roadmap. That's how my entire team operates (since before the pandemic!) and have never had an issue with it.
erik_seaberg 3y ago
I've seen planning marathons, but not the way I would do them. How much peace and quiet did people have to think about the plans and take notes, before the talking? Did they record the final decisions and reasons to refer to next year?

j45 3y ago

There's plenty of citations available at a quick search. I've worked primarily remotely for north of 10-15 years and love it. But it isn't 100% effective or the best choice for every situation and continuously. Especially for people at the start of a career or position. Lots of meaningful mentoring and coaching that can't be measured or limited to text chat or video calls. As someone who mentors their fair share of juniors starting out in software and product development, meeting my mentees in person after mentoring them during the lock downs did not compare. Mostly, the smiles, the genuine happiness for the success and learning that has been happening, and most of all knowing there's openness to talk about what's next and a challenge to learn. The very starts of projects and startups can often be much cleaner and faster in person, until you don't need to be. I understand and also don't like commutes. There's also no shortage of people who report the value of getting out of the house and seeing things differently Beginners often onboard much easier in person, and quicker to be productive and feel like valued members of the team. Understanding and designing new things, for example is one. Discovery or design sprints can be another. There is a good amount of merit for hybrid work and teams for producing results faster that can create profitabilty quicker, and pay those raises quicker.