Reading Notes: 'REMOTE: Office Not Required' by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, translated by Riko Takahashi
I read “REMOTE: Office Not Required” (リモートワークの達人) by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, translated by Riko Takahashi, so here are the insights I gained from the book.
I want to become a master of remote work, so I read this book.
Below are quotes from impressive passages and my notes.
The purpose of remote work isn't to live far away. Just because you don't need an office doesn't mean you need to sell it immediately. Just because you don't have to be in the same location doesn't mean everyone needs to move to different cities. The purpose of remote work is for everyone to work in the way that works best for them. There are no "must-dos."
👍 The purpose of remote work = everyone working in the way that works best for them.
Everyone succumbs to temptation sometimes. And it's true that compared to a sterile office, homes have more temptations. But that doesn't mean you can't work from home. You need to find solutions. To avoid succumbing to temptation, the most important thing is to have interesting work.
👍 Provide interesting work.
Requiring all employees to come to the office every day is like a Single Point of Failure (SPOF) for the company.
👍 I think the same way.
If you're used to remote work from the start, you won't have problems no matter what happens. Whether a big storm comes or you have to wait for workers at home, you can work the same as always. Stopping office dependency becomes a big strength in keeping business operations running.
👍 Being accustomed to remote work means you won’t have problems no matter what happens.
They're not bad in themselves. Meeting management is necessary for work. However, if there are too many, they become harmful.
👍 Too many becomes harmful.
Meetings and management are also necessary in the remote work world. However, since everything is recorded online, you become painfully aware of how often you're doing them. If meetings and management could be reduced, everyone should be happier.
👍 I want to reduce meetings and management.
The first tip is to let them know from the sales stage that we're in distant cities. (...) The second tip is to have them talk with past customers. "You can ask anything," and we provide contact information. (...) The third tip is to frequently show results. (...) The fourth tip is to always be reachable. Since we can't meet directly, we respond to calls and messages frequently. (...) Finally, the fifth tip. Involve customers more and work together on projects. Have them participate as stakeholders in the project.
In remote work, human connections become more important than working in an office. High-quality communication is essential to overcome distance.
👍 In remote work, human connections and high-quality communication are essential.
The basics are simple. Don't hire jerks. However, in remote work, it's important to be more careful about thoroughly eliminating "nasty words," "emotional conflicts," and "bad moods."
👍 Simply, don’t hire people you don’t like.
Our company pays city-level salaries to people in areas with low cost of living.
👍 I think the same way, and our company practices this.
Writing skills are essential for remote work. Since discussions happen through email, chat, and message boards, you need the ability to communicate through writing. If you're on the hiring side, you should include candidates' writing skills as evaluation criteria.
👍 Writing skills are important for remote work.
The best way to know a candidate's work quality is to actually try them out. Before making a full hire, do a trial hire for a week or two and have them complete a small project. Of course, it's not free work - you pay them properly.
👍 Our company also implements “trial contract work.”
If there are few members at headquarters, you can do something similar remotely. For example, gather on group video chat (like Google Hangouts) and have casual conversations. Meeting directly is ideal, but if that's not possible, online works somehow.
👍 I used to do “seeing personality through lunch” frequently in the past, not just for selection but for building human relationships.
Even if you don't have a fixed office or employees work wherever they want, that doesn't mean you never need to meet. Sometimes it's necessary for everyone to gather. In our company, we make sure everyone meets face-to-face at least twice a year for about 5 days.
👍 I also make sure to meet offline several times a year.
It becomes easier to communicate remotely with people you've interacted with directly.
👍 I agree.
Just because you work remotely doesn't mean you always have to be apart. Sometimes meet directly, have fun, and recharge your motivation.
👍 Important.
(1) Voluntary motivation (...) When you're working on exciting work, the work progresses even without a manager watching every move.
👍 Create a state where people do it because they love it.
(2) Open information
👍 Keep information as open as possible for companies to succeed.
(3) Real interaction When open source projects gain momentum, conferences are held where developers gather. Study sessions are also held in various locations.
👍 Reference open source conferences and study sessions.
If you're feeling anxious about remote work, think about it this way: "At least we're not trying to create something with 3000 developers from around the world." Your own project should seem very manageable.
👍 Anxiety about remote work depends on how you think about it.
However, reality isn't that sweet. When work becomes everything, people quickly burn out. Even if it's work you love, you can't endure a life of only that. People who love work are especially at risk of going too far without seeing limits.
👍 When work is everything, you’re likely to burn out.
You don't need teams that don't work, but teams that are only about work are also problematic. People who can take good breaks tend to produce stable results for longer. Don't overwork, don't under-rest. About 40 hours a week is a good guideline.
👍 Build teams that take good breaks while consistently producing results.
When working from home, the distinction between work and play becomes ambiguous. If you use one computer for both work and play, this is fatal.
👍 I practice separating work and personal devices for both PC and mobile devices.
A more realistic solution is to use separate computers for work and personal use. Use a dedicated device for work, and use a different device when relaxing. This way, you can avoid working during private time or playing during work time.
👍 To bring out motivation, you don’t need carrots and sticks, but fun colleagues and work.
That’s all from the Gemba - I want to become a master of remote work.