Getting Closer With Remote
“Remote”, one of the books by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, has been primarily acclaimed as a messenger of the work-at-home culture. By the way, the authors have published one more book recently, called “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy At Work”, and… I completely agree with them:) It often happens that the latest published book by a certain author/-s gets most attention — that’s currently the case with “It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work” — and this is the reason why I would like to retrieve “Remote” from the public’s oblivion, so to speak. It’s been 5 years since the book started turning on the light in the readers’ minds, and I think that “Remote” is one such book that is worth going back to time after time, because the culture of remote work hasn’t yet been as broadly accepted as the culture of working on-site, despite the numerous benefits of the former. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about reading “Remote” at first, back in the day, because I thought the book would hardly have anything new to say. With so many blogs on working remotely, it seemed there’s no need to go over its pros and cons again and again. Still, I decided to give it a try, and I’m glad I did. Even more, I’d recommend this book to anyone who has the same skeptical expectations about the book, that I had.
Indeed, in “Remote” they thoroughly explain how office is not required for doing good work. One can only admire Basecamp’s ability to stay bootstrapped, profitable and proud through many years. However, there’s more to this book than pitching the advantages of remote work. To me, “Remote” provides a first-hand account on how attention to subtle things can be converted to big-time success. The philosophy of Basecamp — or 37 Signals, as in their original name — is based on the common sense approach to their company as a delicate ecosystem of talented individuals.
The “bootstrapped” thing reminds me of extensive and intensive agriculture. With extensive farming, they need to cultivate more and more new land to get more in return. This approach works if land is not a scarce resource. They do intensive agriculture if there’s no way to cultivate new territories. The goal is to get the optimal output from this one field, so, like it or not, farmers have to nurture what they have. Now, some IT companies stick to the habit of extensive *cultivation*, as it goes about new hires. The competition for alpha geeks is fierce, especially in the hub venues such as Silicon Valley, and when there’s a need for a ramp-up, the last thing they think about is maximizing on the current staff. The well-trodden track is to take part in the race, hunting for new heads. In the world we live in, a wiser approach would be to master the skill of the *intensive farming*. Extensive head hunting is a luxury only too few can afford. Prior to joining the hunting race for more heads, it’s worth to consider if the desired results can be obtained with the current team/-s, by way of simple common sense moves. “Remote” provides the building blocks for that philosophy. The productive flow of individuals is the core ingredient, and this flow needs a special care. The founders of Basecamp generously share their bits of practical wisdom in this guide for running an intensive IT company that cares for individuals, and that’s what makes “Remote” such an indispensable reference.
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This story is based on one of my earlier articles.
