Summary
You'll come away knowing How to collaborate without borders — workflows and tools to successfully execute high quality designs (Dropbox, Sketch, Figma, etc) Management techniques for remote leaders and how to establish trust and goals. Best practices for team alignment, particularly when you’re not in the same office or time zone. What work-life balance means to Ana, particularly now that WFH is the global norm.
Key Insights
-
•
Trust is fundamental and is more effective than tracking software or online presence indicators.
-
•
Flexible work hours increase productivity by allowing employees to align work with their personal rhythms.
-
•
Asynchronous communication prevents notification overload and supports global teams across time zones.
-
•
Building custom communication tools tailored to company values can solve common remote work challenges.
-
•
Meetings should be minimized, purposeful, and used mainly for brainstorming and relationship-building.
-
•
Documenting every feature, specification, and decision shared publicly encourages cross-team knowledge sharing.
-
•
Open conversations about burnout and mental health normalize vulnerability and improve team cohesion.
-
•
Evaluating output and results rather than hours worked leads to higher retention and job satisfaction.
-
•
Deep focused work time, protected from notifications and meetings, drives real progress.
-
•
Starting with default trust in employees tends to yield responsible behavior and reduces managerial overhead.
Notable Quotes
"Remote work is totally different from working from home during a pandemic."
"We expanded our regular work cycles by 50% without expanding the scope."
"We don’t track work hours or computer screens; we evaluate the work, not the hours."
"Everyone designs their own schedule that works best for them."
"Asynchronous communication allows us to communicate on our own terms and frees time for deep work."
"Meetings are for brainstorming, catching up, and one-on-ones, not for decision making."
"Almost all channels and leadership discussions are public to avoid blame and improve transparency."
"Burnout happens, and we make it public to remind everyone we are all vulnerable."
"We document everything so that anyone—from support to marketing—can understand the work."
"Start with implicit trust, and most people won’t disappoint you."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Play invites curiosity, and curiosity allows us to imagine and create new worlds."
Zariah CameronReDesigning Wellbeing for Equitable Care in the Workplace
September 23, 2024
"You can have more than one priority at a time because they might have very different value and urgency profiles."
John Cutler Harry MaxPrioritization for designers and product managers (1st of 3 seminars) (Videoconference)
June 13, 2024
"A connection that I made when I was 14 years old helped me to fund my college education, find my wife, and get the job at ExxonMobil that I still have today."
Nick CochranGrowing in Enterprise Design through Making Connections
June 3, 2019
"You should assess feedback before making decisions; implementing feedback right away can cause the wrong solution or disruptions."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024
"Breathing and resisting the urge to rush is essential because rushing will not help."
Magdalena ZadaraZero Hour: How to Get Far Quickly When Starting Your Digital Service Unit Late
November 16, 2022
"We didn’t exploit the knowledge gap. Everyone was willing to say I don’t know. Can you help me?"
Nova Wehman-BrownWe've Never Done This Before
June 4, 2019
"We human researchers can help go way beyond proxy metrics such as button clicks and provide true validation of model accuracy."
Liwei DaiThe Heart and Brain of the AI Research
March 31, 2020
"We made changes in the last three weeks that would normally have taken three years. Could we expect a COVID dividend?"
Gordon Ross12 Months of COVID-19 Design and Digital Response with the British Columbia Government
December 8, 2021
"The biggest secret to building trust with other people is vulnerability."
Tutti TaygerlyMake Space to Lead
June 12, 2021