When working at a company, a common follow up is to find a time
- you talk on slack and then have to "find time" with them on google calendar to dive deeper
- you talk to someone on slack they have to "find time" with someone else on the team on google calendar
- the list goes on. results in unnecessary meeting bloat, especially for small teams
Key to moving fast in a startup is to reduce this notion of "finding time"
In an IRL startup, you walk up to someone at their desk and talk to them. You overhear a desk conversation and join in. In remote startups, it's best to architect this in ways to keep things fast.
At Neynar, we are big practitioners of "desk conversations" (we use Gather, find the tool that works for you)
- hire only in timezones that are within a few hours of each other (we do US only)
- enforce (yep) working physically from within that timezone (occasional travel or extenuating circumstances okay), expect them to be "in office" during work hours; see more on this here
- get people to virtually walk up to each other's desks and talk like they would in a real office (this is not normal in remote work and requires a specific culture to enable) so not only text but even voice conversations are open by default
As a result, we have no scheduling for later. Instead of talking about something day after, you ship it today. The way I like to describe it is: "we are not a tomorrow company"
Q: "why can't you just message on slack and get on a call/huddle right away?"
A: you can but the real missing piece is presence. How do you know if the person you're trying to reach is available? Their slack bubble is green but they could be on an external call. You want to just look and see if you can tap on the shoulder, need zero friction.
Q: "voice conversations are open by default?"
A: yes similar to in-person offices e.g. hallway conversations or desk conversations that anyone can hear and join. In our office, you can overhear other people talking and join in as needed. For private conversations, you can walk into a conference room.
Q: "does this result in a mechanical clock in clock out culture?"
A: Not at all, it results in the same thing that going to office does. Main part of the day is dedicated to being in office and people do things on their own time outside of those hours
Q: "what about personal appointments like doctor's etc.?"
A: also no changes to how you would deal with them in-person. Just mark that on your calendar in advance and be out of office at that time. We have a slack channel where people share when they are going to come in and out of the office.