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So in other words, it's harder to play corporate politics when working remotely. That I would agree with. Whether or not that's a bad thing, I'm not sure. And

So in other words, it's harder to play corporate politics when working remotely. That I would agree with. Whether or not that's a bad thing, I'm not sure. And honestly, if you're not spending time on preparing precise specs or writing and interpreting clear and precise emails while working on location then you're doing something wrong. Most of the communication and project management still happens on computers whether or not there are remote workers involved.

webwright 14y ago
If you're going to say, "in other words", it's an interesting exercise to wonder if the person you're paraphrasing would agree with you that you're accurately paraphrasing them. I'd say that's not remotely the case here... Though it certainly is harder to play corporate politics remotely. Written communication is lower bandwidth than oral communication. And phone conversations are lower bandwidth than face-to-face. Relationships/friendships are part of work (for most people) and can help you be more effective on a team. And work ideas often get discussed during "non-work work time" (lunches/watercoolers) -- often leaving the remote team member out of the loop.
- marknutter 14y ago
  > Written communication is lower bandwidth than oral communication This is not necessarily true, especially if you have fast typers on your team. And typing out conversations means you have a written record of everything that was said. Important points are no longer lost to the ether. > And work ideas often get discussed during "non-work work time" (lunches/watercoolers) -- often leaving the remote team member out of the loop. It's true, you do miss out on some of these types of conversations. But if your team makes heavy use of online communication tools, you often have conversations springing up during non-work hours. Also, missing out on 30 minutes of semi-casual discussion during lunch isn't that compelling of a downside for me, especially when weighing it against the upsides of increasing your potential labor pool.
mfringel 14y ago
Glib dismissal of large swaths of human interaction as "playing corporate politics" isn't the most airtight of analyses of the human experience.
- munger 14y ago
  Well crafted. =)

webwright 14y ago

If you're going to say, "in other words", it's an interesting exercise to wonder if the person you're paraphrasing would agree with you that you're accurately paraphrasing them. I'd say that's not remotely the case here... Though it certainly is harder to play corporate politics remotely. Written communication is lower bandwidth than oral communication. And phone conversations are lower bandwidth than face-to-face. Relationships/friendships are part of work (for most people) and can help you be more effective on a team. And work ideas often get discussed during "non-work work time" (lunches/watercoolers) -- often leaving the remote team member out of the loop.

marknutter 14y ago
> Written communication is lower bandwidth than oral communication This is not necessarily true, especially if you have fast typers on your team. And typing out conversations means you have a written record of everything that was said. Important points are no longer lost to the ether. > And work ideas often get discussed during "non-work work time" (lunches/watercoolers) -- often leaving the remote team member out of the loop. It's true, you do miss out on some of these types of conversations. But if your team makes heavy use of online communication tools, you often have conversations springing up during non-work hours. Also, missing out on 30 minutes of semi-casual discussion during lunch isn't that compelling of a downside for me, especially when weighing it against the upsides of increasing your potential labor pool.

mfringel 14y ago

Glib dismissal of large swaths of human interaction as "playing corporate politics" isn't the most airtight of analyses of the human experience.

munger 14y ago
Well crafted. =)