Photo courtesy of mackz 12 New Rules of Working You Should Embrace Today
The workplace, more and more, is changing, and with this change comes a whole new set of rules.
The traditional office work environment and tools are still around, but at a very rapid pace, they’re being supplanted by newer and better tools, newer and better ways of working. The old rules are being broken, and new ones are emerging.
You could call this the Workplace of the Future, as not all businesses have adopted these models, and it will be a few years before these new rules are the norm. But for many people (myself included), this is the Workplace of Today — there’s no need to wait for new technologies or tools, because they’re already here.
So you could wait a few years, resist the new trends, talk about how great things were back in your day … or you could embrace the new rules, and be a part of the change.
Transitioning from Electric Typewriters
I love my grandfather, a journalist of more than 50 years, but I always remember when the local newspaper (he’s the former managing editor) changed from typewriters to computer terminals and a mainframe. Instead of typing his columns with an electric typewriter, which he’d done for 25 years, my grandfather had to learn to type on a computer … and save it, and pull it up from a directory.
It proved to be a pretty difficult change for him, and while he can still crank out an amazing column with the best of them, the technology of newspapers passed him by.
It can pass you by too, if you let it. That’s why my philosophy has been to embrace change, be a part of it, help direct it, rather than just resist it. If a new technology or way of working is better, let’s go with it. That doesn’t mean we should just adopt things because they’re new and shiny and trendy — sometimes the old is actually better. But if the new ways are better, let’s embrace them.
Google, Wikipedia, Linux, and Freelancers and Bloggers … oh, my!
A number of companies and projects embody the spirit of the New Rules of Working, but my favorites are Google, Wikipedia and Linux. And the rise of freelancers and bloggers is another trend that shows these New Rules.
1. Google: While the company itself seems either cool or scary, depending on your point of view … but the tools that Google is making are not only perfect for the New Rules of Working, but in many ways they are driving these changes. The archive-and-search philosophy of Gmail, the easy collaboration of GDocs, the ease-of-use of Gcal and other online tools, the innovative uses of cloud computing. Google tools embody the new ways of working.
2. Wikipedia: In a few short years, this has become one of the most useful tools ever. It is more useful than regular encyclopedias by an order of magnitude. And it was created by opening things up to the public. Despite massive criticism for this open process, it has worked beautifully. Collaboration works.
3. Linux: Another tool that has been created through an open, collaborative process. While it still has a ways to go, for many it is already better than Windows, which was created using massive funds but a closed system.
4. Freelancers and bloggers: More and more, people are breaking out of the traditional workplaces in favor of more freedom and independence. This means they are working using mobile computing and technology, they are collaborating with others but not in the traditional heirarchical authoritarian structure, and they work where and when they want, as long as they produce good-quality work.
The New Rules of Working
With new tools, new models of collaboration, and new freedom and mobility in working styles, some New Rules of Working are emerging. Not all of these have asserted their dominance yet, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll ever totally supplant more traditional rules and ways of working. But they are emerging, and in my mind, they’re all positive and exciting developments.
1. Online apps and the cloud beat the desktop and hard drive. While the majority of workers use desktop applications such as Microsoft Office, that’s rapidly changing. Today, people like me use apps that are almost all online, such as Gmail, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Gcal, WordPress, Twitter, Zoho Office, High Rise, Backpack and many others.
The advantages of online apps: you can use them on any computer, and never have to worry about where you saved documents. With desktop apps, you have to save the document to a folder and either email it to yourself or put it on a USB drive if you plan to work from home or on the road. And if you use another computer, you have to make sure you have the necessary desktop app. Mobile workers such as myself want to be able to use their key apps from anywhere, anytime.
Of course, there are disadvantages and limitations to online apps, but the gap is narrowing more and more. Many people also worry about being disconnected from the Internet. Well, that’s becoming less and less of a problem — I can’t remember the last time my Internet was down, and it’s never been a problem in more than a year of using almost exclusively online apps.
Using the cloud instead of your hard drive has similar advantages — and one of the best being that you don’t have to back up your info on your hard drive. In the cloud, the data is already backed up. And again, it’s available everywhere — a very important factor in the emerging mobile workplace.
2. Collaborate on documents, don’t email them. I won’t name names, but recently I had to work with a group of people on a draft of a book. These people are intelligent people, but they are used to their old processes, and one of those is to use the Microsoft Word format for drafts, and to email revisions of the draft back and forth. In one case, they actually printed stuff out, marked up the printout, and FedExed it to me for further revisions.
But that’s outdated! With online apps such as Google Docs, real-time collaboration is so easy these days. You can be working on the same document at the same time, and changes are autosaved. You can see who made what changes, you can go back to previous versions of the draft, and you don’t have to worry about who has emailed the latest version. Best yet, if one of the collaborators is a Mac user (as I am), you don’t have to worry about whether he has a copy of Microsoft Office (which I don’t and never again will).
You can chat while collaborating. You can invite others to collaborate, and give them specific permissions.
There is no reason to email documents anymore when you collaborate, and for goodness sakes, there’s no reason to print and mail them to each other!
3. Collaboration is the new productivity. It used to be that we tried to work our butts off to produce, but mostly individually. Sure, there were meetings, and there were teams, but in the end we mostly did it individually. It’s still that way mostly.
But consider Wikipedia: if each of those articles were written by a single writer, and then went through the traditional editing and publishing process, it would’ve taken forever to publish that many articles. Not to mention the headaches and cost of coordinating such a vast project. But using collaborative technology (wikis), Wikipedia was able to do it at relatively low cost (mostly computers, not many people), and a massive project has been accomplished by collaboration. Groups of people collaborating in a smart way are way more productive than those people could be in the traditional way, individually.
I could name many more examples of open-source technology, from Firefox to Linux to OpenOffice to Gaim and so many more — these are excellent examples of software, done collaboratively. This model can be spread to almost any industry, and it’s vastly more productive.
That said, there will always be a need for individual work. Sometimes the best software is written by one genius, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But to get really massive things accomplished, use collaboration.
“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” - Charles Darwin
4. People don’t have to be in an office. This is the one I wish most businesses would get, right now, right away. It’s so obvious once you get away from the traditional mindset. Traditionally, people worked in offices (and of course most still do). They go into the office, do their work, go to meeting, process paperwork, chat around the watercooler, clock out and go home.
These days, more and more, that’s not necessary. With mobile computing, the cloud, online apps and collaborative processes, work can be done from anywhere, and often is. More people are telecommuting. More people are working as freelancers or consultants. More businesses are allowing people to work from anywhere — not just telecommuting from home, but literally anywhere in the world. People are forming small businesses who have never met, who live on different continents. People have meetings through Skype or Basecamp group chat. They collaborate through wikis and Google apps.
If you are stuck in the traditional mindset, think hard about what things really need to be done in an office. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for working in an office, but often those barriers have other solutions you just haven’t explored yet.
The advantages of a decentralized workplace are many. Workers who have more freedom are happier, and often more passionate about their work. They enjoy collaborating with others who are smart and talented, and work is no longer drudgery. Flexible schedules work well for many people’s lifestyles. Mobile computing is actually good for many types of businesses where people need to be on the go. And what really matters isn’t that the worker is present, but that the work is being done.
5. Archive, don’t file. Traditionally, people filed paper documents in folders, labeled the folders, and organized them in cabinets. With more and more documents being stored in computers, this way of organizing carried over to the computer desktop, with folders and files all being organized (or disorganized, if you aren’t careful). This meant that either you spent a lot of time filing and organizing, or you lost things.
Today, many people still work that way, even if it doesn’t make the most sense. What makes more sense, with the power of computers and speed of today’s apps, is the method popularized by Gmail: archive and search. Instead of creating folders for everything, and then diligently filing, you could now just hit “archive” and then use Gmail’s very fast search engine to find what you need. Of course, you could still “tag” things which is almost like folders but more versatile, but even that is optional.
Why is this better? Think about how much time is saved, when you don’t have to file. It’s much easier, less headaches. You don’t have to remember to file and then lose things if you get disorganized. You can just search and find it.
This applies not only to emails, but to everything. Bookmarks are searchable in Delicious, my blog posts are searchable in WordPress, files are searchable on the desktop (on the Mac, Quicksilver and Spotlight both work very well; on the PC, Google Desktop also works well) or in an online server. Nothing needs to be filed — everything is searchable, and finding things is much faster through search than having to browse through files or directories.
Some people say they have trouble finding stuff sometimes through search. I haven’t had that problem yet, and it’s all I do these days. I think it just takes a bit of a shift in mindset.
6. Small teams are better than large teams. I know I said collaboration is the new productivity, but for many projects where a team is defined (as opposed to collaborative efforts like Wikipedia, where anyone can get involved), a small team works much better. It’s faster, nimbler, smarter, less bureaucratic, more creative.
Think of a large corporation like Microsoft, trying to start up a new enterprise. Microsoft has never been good at that, because of its size. It’s better at taking the innovation of other companies and leveraging existing dominant markets to make its new software or service successful. Or buying smaller companies who do something well and merging it with existing businesses. But when it tries to start something new on its own, the team doing so is well-funded, with the full force of the mega-corporation behind it … and yet has to go through so many bureaucratic steps, it’s like going through the old USSR government. The new product ends up having tons of features (most of which aren’t needed) and takes forever to launch.
New startups of just a handful of people — sometimes just 3-4 people — can create brilliant new products by keeping things small, lean and simple. They don’t included a bloated feature set, don’t have to worry about writing up technical specs and getting approval, don’t have to go through bureaucracy. They just write the code and make it work, as fast as possible, because otherwise they die. Small teams are lean and hungry, with more freedom and creativity.
7. Communication is a stream. This is something I still have trouble with. In the traditional model, paperwork comes into an inbox, and you process things sequentially until you’re done. Phone calls came in and you took them as they came, and took care of each one. Letters and faxes came in, and you dealt with them one at a time.
So when email became the norm, the same top-down, sequential processing applied. Getting Things Done uses this method — start from the top, and work to the bottom until you’re finished. Unfortunately, this is a bit overwhelming to many people these days, because there’s just too much coming in to handle this way.
So the new way of working sees communication as a stream. You go in and bathe in the stream, and then get out. It’s never-ending — think about when emails and IMs and Twitters and RSS feeds and forum posts and other types of things you read ever stopped coming in. It doesn’t happen. And because it’s never-ending, you can’t process from top to bottom, sequentially.
How do you work with the stream? You know it’s never-ending, and you don’t try to process it all. You take what you need, go in every now and then to see what’s going on, and don’t worry that you’re missing things. You’re always missing things — everybody is. No one can fully process this stream — it’s too overwhelming. Who can read all the blog posts out there? Who can respond to every email and Twitter and forum post? Who can read everything on Digg or Delicious or Stumbleupon? No one.
So you find what interests you, search for what you need, and pick and choose the things that matter most to you. Can you answer every email? No — so answer the important ones, and archive the rest. Can you know everything going on in your field or industry? No — so monitor what interests you, and when things really matter you’ll find out from your network of friends or blogs you read.
Don’t process everything — focus on what’s important to you.
8. Fewer tasks are better than many. With the overwhelming amount of information coming at us, there’s also an overwhelming amount of requests and things to do. While the old way of thinking said that we should Get Things Done, that’s just not possible anymore. And it’s not even desirable to do a huge task list — you’re just spinning your wheels.
Instead, focus on the few tasks that make the most difference — to your company, to your career, to your life. Simplify your task list.
9. Meeting (usually) suck. The traditional way of doing business includes company meetings throughout the day, taking an hour or more usually. This can eat up half of your day or more. Add to that individual meetings — at lunch, or having drinks, or just a one-on-one in the office — and you’re meeting more than you’re producing.
If you’ve sat through a lot of meetings, like I have, you know they’re almost always useless. Sure, sometimes they’re good, but most of the time they’re boring, full of chit-chat or useless information, and really can be accomplished through a simple email or phone call. They’re a waste of everyone’s time, and worse yet, most people know it. And nothing changes.
Instead, learn to accomplish the tasks of a meeting through an email, a quick phone call, a quick and focused IM, an online group chat if necessary. Collaborate through online tools, such as those mentioned above. Keep meetings to a bare minimum. Sure, you still need to socialize with people, and have actual conversations, but boring and useless meetings aren’t the best way to do that. If you control your company or division, do yourself and your company a favor by eliminating most of your meetings.
“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” - John Kenneth Galbraith
10. Open-source is better than closed. This is related to Rule 3, where collaboration is the key to productivity, but it goes a step beyond that: instead of being closed and protectionist, open things to the public. Be accountable, release copyright, allow people to share, and allow others to contribute.
The traditional way was to keep things a secret, and not let others be privy to your inside information. Only those on the inside were allowed to collaborate. If people tried to share without paying, you sued.
The open-source model works much better in many cases. It allows people to contribute, recognizing that not just a select few people have good ideas or talent. It allows people to share, recognizing that an idea grows in value as it becomes more widespread, and an artist grows in worth as he reaches a wider audience, and a program becomes more successful as it becomes more popular.
This model can be applied to many businesses, from publishing to online apps to information workers and more (even blogging!). It can even be applied to governments, if we open the spectrum of ideas a bit wider. Imagine a government where all information is available, making things more accountable. Imagine a government not just “of the people” in words, but action — the people are actually contributing to it and making it work. Imagine a government where everything is distributed, and democratic, and shared. It’s idealistic, but it’s something that can happen if we embrace the open-source model.
11. Rest is as important as work. In the traditional model, people worked long hours to accomplish as much as possible and get ahead in their careers. However, there is a high rate of burnout and job dissatisfaction and employee turnover in this model.
The new model recognizes that we’re people, not machines. That we have lives and interests outside work. That we need a good nap now and then (or even every day). That when we’re well rested, we work better, and we’re happier.
I’m not saying you have to rest just as much as you work, but that you should recognize that not only is nothing wrong with taking a nap, it’s actually a good thing. Work doesn’t have to be monotonous and done in 8-hour shifts — it can be fun, and done in productive bursts. See this article for more.
12. Focus, don’t crank. This is a corollary of Rule 8: instead of cranking through a lot of tasks and multi-tasking, learn to focus on important tasks and single-task.
In recent decades, multi-tasking has been seen as a productive thing — although the more traditional model, dating decades earlier, said that doing one task at a time was a good thing. Today, more and more people are realizing that when you constantly switch between tasks, you get very little done. You actually tend to procrastinate on the important stuff, and use multi-tasking as a way to postpone doing things. You can crank through tasks all day long, GTD style, and not get anything real done.
Instead, simplify, identify the essential, and learn to focus on one task at a time.
A Few Final Words
Not all of these “rules” are accepted by the majority of people today — in fact, most aren’t. But a growing number of people are working this way, and I think a majority of people will work this way in the near future.
Not all of these ways of working will work for you or your company. Some businesses and people are better suited for the traditional models, and that’s OK. Figure out what works for you, and what you do.
However, at least give these points some consideration. In some cases, they’ll be a better way of working, and can be good changes. I think this is exciting stuff, and I hope you’ll embrace these changes as I have.
“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” - Harold Wilson
Also see: Open Sourcing Your Creativity on LifeDev
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- Posted on 20 August 2008 in Productivity & Organization, Technology |
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Comments (120)
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:11 pm
@Leo: You stated, “More and more, people are breaking out of the traditional workplaces in favor of more freedom and independence.”
That’s absolutely 100% what I’m all about!
Great post, I really enjoyed reading this one.
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:18 pm
Thanks! I’d like to apologize — this is a pretty long post. I kinda got carried away with the topic. :)
I hope people enjoy it. I anticipate that there will be some disagreement, but that’s OK.
funkright Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:24 pm
People don’t have to be in an office… but having worked out of a home office for the last 2 years I have to tell you.. there are many times it would be nice to be in an environment with more people and with more water cooler talk.. you’d be amazed at how much stuff actually gets done around that ‘water cooler’. Every call or conversation that’s related to my work right now is with intention, e.g. it is done with a specific purpose in mind, and not to just shot the sh*t type of thing.. this is what I miss about the office environment.. or at least the ability to stop by an office occassionally (this is not possible for me, as my office is 1500 miles away). I see my customers often, but they can’t replace coworkers… So, it’s a good and bad thing.. I am still trying to find a happy middle ground..
Jonathan Mead Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:28 pm
I think it’s great that a lot of these new “rules” are emerging and the workplace is transforming rapidly.
Like you, Leo, I am most excited about the collaborative possibilities the trend in technology is heading towards. It just keeps getting more and more exciting.
http://illuminatedmind.net - The less boring side of personal development
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:30 pm
Leo, you really struck a cord with me on this post! Every point you’ve made is one that I’ve been trying to get across to my technology consulting clients for the last couple of years. From cloud computing to “no office” work environments, things are rapidly changing for the better. But from my perspective with hundreds of clients that prefer “the old ways”, we are a few years (I would guess at least 2 or 3) before a lot of this becomes REALLY main stream. For now, those with a little more than average tech understanding are utilizing these new resources. This has been a huge advantage for some of the smaller more flexible companies as compared to the bigger corporations.
By the way, I really like that you are an Open Source proponent! Keep getting the word out!
Shanel Yang Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:31 pm
Embracing new trends is great if your company rewards it or even allows it. If not, it’s best to go with the flow in your own environment. If you want to stand out in any corporate environment — especially if you tend to be too nice, hardworking, or not self-promoting, see “Success in the Corporate World” at http://shanelyang.com/2008/02/13/success-in-the-corporate-world-self-test/
I worked in law firms for more than 10 years and most of those were not open to new ideas even though they all said they were. Don’t believe everything you hear! ; )
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:36 pm
@Jonathan: It’s good to see you on zenhabits. By the way, I took your advise and got a guest posting opportunity at dumblittleman.com/ I appreciate your email and your willingness to help a new blogger!
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:36 pm
@Shanel Yang: You’re right — I am speaking more to the level of people who are able to control their working environment — freelancers, consultants, bloggers, entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, etc. I’m hoping more companies will embrace these changes, but in the end I think most will eventually — some sooner than later.
@funkright: I completely agree! It’s nice to be able to connect with people in a human way. I think you should try to work that into your working style — meetings from time to time are good, as long as they don’t take up most of your day.
pavs Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:41 pm
This is something I can relate to. I myself work from home, recently I hired a writer for my tech blog who not only works from home but also always on the move, he is a globe trotter. :) Every few months he moves from one country to another, he is somewhere in south-east asia at the moment. But I think he is originally from England.
It would be nice if I could work like that :).
I think Collis (freelanceswitch), also on the move to different countries. Not because of work, but because that’s what he and his wife always wanted to do.
Jin Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:42 pm
I think it’s interesting that you mentioned your grandfather’s transition from type writer to computer.
Recently I almost bought a macbook, hoping to be able to write blogs during my long commute ride. It’s an expensive investment to consider. After much thought I realized a fancy tool won’t make me a better writer. So I sticked with the good old pen ‘n notepad. I actually enjoy writing in this old fashioned way a lot better. It feels a lot more intimate, and a nice way to get away with computers.
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:47 pm
@funkright: My consulting business has been a great way to keep a healthy balance of human interaction and independent living. I’m able to meet with clients for short spurts throughout the week and still have a flexible schedule and plenty of time to work on my blogs. I do plan on pushing for a more full time blogging situation (Leo, you inspired me in this area) but I hope to keep some of my clients if even just for some of that “out of the home office” experience. So I think that it’s very possible to have the best of both worlds.
Scott McIntyre Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:47 pm
Flexible working arrangements are definitely becoming the norm, Leo.
This suits both the individual and the organization- or, indeed, the freelancer.
The days of the traditional 9 - 5 office environment are gone.
However, with these new ways of working comes an even greater danger of our work / life balance becoming out of kilter.
Finding a healthy balance is now more crucial than ever.
Do you find that you have to work harder to achieve this balance in your own life since you’ve followed these 12 rules, Leo?
Marshall Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:55 pm
Maybe all the emerging technology will make it easier for young guys like myself to survive in this new environment. I often hear others talking about how difficult it’s going to be for the younger generation to find work, but somehow it seems like it’s only those who are stuck in the past who can’t find anything to do (I mean no disrespect here).
As always, it’s the creative who survive, whether young or old.
janelle Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:57 pm
Great post….Number 4 is so true….I wish more companies and employers would embrace the idea of actually working off-site. Especially with the stress that is sometimes associated with being in a “traditional work environment” as well as the cost of gas it takes to transport yourself to and from work- I think it would save a lot of money and undue stress in the end. After all, how can an employer lose if their employees are happy? After all, happier employees tend to perform better!
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 15:58 pm
@Scott: That’s definitely a challenge when you can work anywhere and anytime — that you will work everywhere and all the time!
But I find a balance through:
* taking frequent breaks to spend time with my family, who are at home with me usually these days.
* setting work limits
* not taking work with me when I go places.
But it’s a good point!
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:03 pm
@Leo: I’ve always wanted to ask you (and since it seems appropriate in this particular post) have you found full time blogging/writing to be as satisfying and rewarding as you thought it would be when you were first starting out? Are there anythings that you didn’t expect that you don’t like or have to work hard to adjust to? I appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. Eric.
Frugal Dad Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:04 pm
I think one of the few remaining things keeping us office slaves slaving away is the issue of benefits. This is a particularly tough problem for one-income marriages because the working spouse doesn’t have the option of coming home and transferring the responsibility of carrying benefits to the other spouse.
I’d like to see an expansion of eligible group benefits for freelancers and bloggers. Then even more of us could escape the rat race!
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:08 pm
@Motivate Thyself: Great question. Short answer: I love being a full-time blogger.
It’s my passion now, and I’m extremely grateful that I’m able to do it. I love the flexibility, love writing for an audience, love being able to control what I do.
Are there things I didn’t expect? Sure. The non-writing stuff ends up taking more of my time than I expected. Now that I have more time I find myself working on new projects, and sometimes spreading myself too thin.
But overall, I’m enjoying my life! Thanks for asking.
Jin Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:14 pm
Leo, do you find yourself still being able to write whatever you want, like when you started out. or do you feel like you’re obligated to write things, or more conscious about the quality of writing to please a much larger audience now? Does writing a blog full time ever feel like a job?
Thanks
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:35 pm
@Jin: I still feel like I can write whatever I want, but with such a large audience I am definitely conscious of the quality — I feel that I have to produce the best content I can to meet the expectations of so many.
However, I think this is a good thing. I enjoy a challenge, and when my writing isn’t up to snuff, my readers let me know. :)
@Frugal Dad: I agree — a benefits package for bloggers and freelancers is a great idea. There are many other benefits to blogging, but yes, financial stability would be a good addition to those benefits.
Writer Dad Says:
August 20th, 2008, 16:51 pm
My wife and I live together, yet we still communicate through email and online docs. It’s just more efficient.
Theo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:08 pm
If properly managed meetings are an invaluable tool to properly collaborating. A face to face meeting is much easier to manage than a group chat session and provides a level of personal feedback that is non-existent in the online world. There is a very human side to running a successful business (I know because I have been running one for years) and the current trend of working from home, quick emails, and less employee interaction worries me.
Technology can be a great productivity driver but if it is used just for the sake of using it then it will destroy your business faster than anything else. People need to interact with one another in person simply because of the lack of body language feedback in digital communication. Try negotiating on the phone versus negotiating in person and you will quickly see what I mean.
While I agree that times are changing business people must be very careful that the changes they are making are creating long term value for their corporations. Many of these “new rules” are untested and the few that seem to work should be looked at skeptically until they are proven. So far they seem very specific to a niche industry and definitely not applicable to a wide range of businesses, at least not in their current state.
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:11 pm
@Writer Dad: Lol! So do my wife and I — we chat via Gmail, 20 feet from each other. It’s fun to flirt with your wife like that too. ;)
deepali Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:11 pm
Good post, but we can’t use google docs to collaborate sadly. There is some concern about privacy for confidential drafts. That being said, why can’t we have something in-house..
Writer Dad Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:18 pm
Totally! And what’s funny is that ever since I started Writer Dad last month, it’s become my new nickname. I’m totally in love with how she says it. Even when I’m not in the room, but I here her calling “Writer Dad,” from across the house, I can FEEL her smile. When she calls me Writer Dad in an email, it’s exactly the same thing.
Matt Good Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:21 pm
Yes, online apps are valuable, but even better is tools that let you work offline and sync them with an online version. I agree that worry about your home connection going down is not much of a problem, but what do you do when you’re on the road and have no connection? As you said, the workplace is becoming more mobile, and I can do work pretty much anywhere with just my laptop, but Internet access is not always accessible when I’m in the park, on public transit, or on a plane.
Google Gears is starting to make this possible for web-apps, but it’s not supported by all sites, and Safari support is not as far along as the others.
Now that I can access GMail via IMAP and Google Calendar via CalDAV in iCal I have good online/offline support for those. And as a coder tools like Git and Mercurial make offline work easier for software projects.
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:24 pm
@Theo: I hear what you’re saying, and you’re right. As I said, meetings *usually* suck … but if done well, they can be a good tool. Unfortunately they’re usually overdone, and management doesn’t realize this most of the time. Meetings should be kept to a minimum so that actual work can get done. A good balance can be found, however.
I also agree about human interaction — and I think that some degree of human interaction can be worked into a decentralized workplace (where people are working from different locations). It’s all about finding the mix that works for you and your workplace. I think the problem is that most employers aren’t open to looking at these issues — they assume the way they’re doing it is the best (or only) way, and don’t realize that there are many, many other options.
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:38 pm
I’ve worked in many different positions and I’ve never been to a meeting that everybody didn’t just want to “get through”. Not exactly the pinnacle of productivity.
Marelisa Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:46 pm
Paul Zane Pilzer–a brilliant economist–explains in his book “The Next Millionaires” that big companies were created because they were more efficient: the “transaction costs” of individuals doing business together who weren’t under one roof were so high—with transportation costs, communication expenses, delays, and so on—that costs would exceed their economic output.
However, today, with technological advancements such as the ones you describe in this post, Leo, it is becoming more cost-effective for corporations to decentralize and dismantle themselves, giving way to an environment of independent contractors. So he predicts that the future belongs to home-businesses.
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 17:49 pm
@Matt Good: I completely agree — Google Gears is a big step forward for online apps. I tend to use TextEdit to write offline when I need to, then paste the text into an online app when I go back online. These kinds of things will smooth out in the next couple years I think.
Shawn Petriw Says:
August 20th, 2008, 18:18 pm
This post is just about perfect. I’m snagging it to use as the starting point of my operations plan where I describe “how we do things here.”
It’s such a good summary of what I’ve been noodling with lately I think you might want to consider creating a wiki for others to colaborate and create a complete “new rules of work.”
Shawn Petriw Says:
August 20th, 2008, 18:25 pm
I am going to be experimenting with a new way to use a filing cabinet. Instead of having folders by category, etc., I’m going to stamp items with a serial number and use a simple filemaker database to categorize it. Stuff everything in the filing cabinet ordered by SN - find it with search.
Archive your physical documents just like you suggest in #5.
Malcolm Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:09 pm
I have to say I disagree with 5. (Archive, don’t file)
While I absolutely love Gmail’s system, I use many labels in it that allow me to see a list of things that are related. Search can’t do that if there isn’t a common keyword.
This applies even more to local files: if I want to see a big list of all of the files that go to a certain project I’ve worked on, I can’t properly do that with search unless I name them all something like project001_FILENAME.EXT, in which case I might as well put them in a folder.
I also don’t really like the cloud because files get separated. Think about projects again: If I’m working on something, I don’t want to have documentation on Google Docs, pictures on Flickr, and other stuff elsewhere. How would I copy it quickly to give to somebody? I could give them sharing rights, but I’d have to do that for each individual web-app. I can’t just zip it then email it or put it on a USB drive.
If you had something like icloud.com (private beta right now I think) then (and only then) might you be talking.
But i agree wholeheartedly on collaboration: I just don’t like the current cloud system for my personal files. I don’t think I’ll use it until we have ubiquitous internet (sateillite or something)
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:27 pm
@Shawn Petriw: Interesting idea — I’d love to hear how it works out. Another approach would be to see if you can reduce or eliminate the need for paper altogether. I know it’s not possible for some offices, but I personally don’t use paper at all anymore. It’s worth a look.
@Malcolm: You make a couple of good points. To respond:
1. Sometimes labels or tags are useful, like when you are doing a project and want to keep things together. Even then, adding a tag is much easier than filing in the appropriate folder, and in most cases a file or email doesn’t need a tag — only some of the time. Either way, search is still usually more useful than having to find what folder you put something in.
2. I haven’t run into these types of problems with the cloud, but I can see where you’re coming from. I think we’re still in the early stages of this stuff, and problems like you mentioned will be solved in the next couple of years. Things are becoming more and more integrated. Google is among the leaders here — Gmail, Gcal, Reader, Notebook, Picasa and other services are integrating better and better, one step at a time.
Christo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:31 pm
Cloud computing = Collectivist Dependency. So sorry: wrong on #1. Collaborate, don’t email? Too general and ambiguous to be seriously taken. Wrong on #2. Collaboration = Productivity? Are you living on another planet? I guess you never really worked with committees. Just more collectivist nonsense. So, wrong on #3. The rest are fluff and filler (or just “duh”). Better to be Independent and have your own, than to give in to the new Gulag hype, which this blog is obviously a part of…
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:35 pm
@Christo: I use these kinds of online apps on a regular basis and they are by no means hype. They just make sense. I know that some people have a little trouble getting used to the different way things are done in the cloud and then I could see it as unproductive but what you are saying just makes no sense to me. Maybe you’ve experienced something different than I have.
Shawn Petriw Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:35 pm
Leo - part of the reason it would work for me is there isn’t that much paper in my case. I will have to see if the cost of indexing is worth it.
Her Ticking Clock Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:36 pm
My goal is to be able to travel around the world. Working on my laptop gives me the ability to do that.
I LOVE TECHNOLOGY, and I you are right LEO, the workplace is changing.
As I blog at the beach, I meet savvy business entrepreneurs who work from the laptops.
Take care Leo, drink lots of water!
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:44 pm
@Leo: One of my tech consulting colleagues were playing with Puppy Linux awhile back (a 100mb version of linux that is super simple to tweak) and turned it into a browser only OS. I then made a simple web page (this isn’t a blog or anything) tccville.com that is just made up of icons linked to some online apps. It was basically a prototype setup for what peoples computer experience might be in a couple of years. It’s the idea of having a computer with nothing more than a browser with a home page that is the main hub to all the users online apps. Since then (that was about a year ago) they’ve been coming up with more and more simple (usually Linux based) mostly browser OS’s. The advantage here is not only the things you already stated but the fact that the users local OS and apps are so minimal that there’s less to break and it’s less complicated to troubleshoot when it does. And coming from someone who works on thousands of Windows based computers every year you can see why this excites me.: )
Sorry for the long comment.
Torley Lives Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:46 pm
Leo, fresh insights here! I’m thrilled you blogged about these new rules of working, as I can personally relate to most of them, having had extensive personal experience. A few observations which I hope fellow Zen Habits readers will find useful:
* While it’s true Wikipedia has succeeded largely due to collaboration, it often takes a single person to overcome the initial obstacle — start the bulk of a page and encourage others to refine it in subsequent passes. The original “seeder” may come back later to tend to what is now their “group baby”, but it’s easier to build on someone else’s work than beginning from blank, which psychologically seems like a bigger hurdle. I’ve seen this on other wikis too: people will *wish* for a page on a given topic to be started, but it doesn’t happen until a rare individual (since wiki writers are still far outnumbered by readers) boots it up and rallies others.
* A benefit due to the “new rules of working” happens to be “green meetings”. This is especially true in virtual worlds, like the leading one called Second Life (I work for Linden Lab). Not only do we not have to drive (ugh, gas is $$$!), we’re spatialized via avatars and inworld voice chat, giving us an environmental context which is more effective than, say, being on Skype alone. We can collaborate by using virtual presentation devices, and walk around and give guided tours — great for, say, educators prototyping a new academic facility. Definitely aligned with #4, and other movements I’ve heard of like ROWE.
* “Small teams” tie into the mythical man-month and how throwing more people at a problem, even if they’re brilliant, won’t necessarily get the job done faster. Furthermore, vision gets diluted when there are many: design by committee steps in and poisons the clarity and elegance of unencumbered ideas. Lightweight, agile — words like “guerrilla” also come to mind.
* It’s definitely a lot easier to focus when you’re working remotely/telecommuting than if you’re being buzzed in an office. I love this.
Alvin and Heidi Toffler saw many of these years ago, and while antiquated thinking continues to fog our progress into the future, the more companies and the key people in them adopt this, the better along we’ll be.
Leo Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:50 pm
@Motivate Thyself: Very cool! I like the concept a lot, and the page is pretty nice.
@Christo: It might be better if you elaborated a bit more on your reasoning. Labeling something as “collectivist” doesn’t really prove it wrong. It would be more useful if you expanded and gave examples maybe.
Kelly Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:57 pm
Leo and Malcolm:
I LOVE Gmail and almost always find things just by searching. I do still tag things, though, for the reasons Malcolm mentioned, although it’s only occasionally that I have to use the tags to find something.
But I still tend to put files in folders, also for the same reasons Malcolm mentioned. Leo, I agree that tagging would be much nicer than a hierarchical folder structure. But how to actually do it and browse your tags? I would love to find a program that operates kind of like itunes - except instead of songs it’s all your files in your mydocs folder or something - then you could search, tag, etc. Anyone know of anything like this?
"Motivate Thyself" Says:
August 20th, 2008, 19:59 pm
@Leo: Thanks. The web page was more of a concept than anything else but it’s actually turned out to be pretty useful. My wife and I mainly use the WebTV page for easy access to all of our online viewing sites. We have a computer hooked up to our LCD TV and I just locked the Web TV page into the desktop of XP. We’ve found online viewing to be a great alternative to cable or satellite. I guess this is just another example of the cloud filling another need that used to be on a per-client basis.
Tippy Hedren Says:
August 20th, 2008, 20:56 pm
Why do all you people’s blogs look identical?
Daryl Kulak Says:
August 20th, 2008, 20:57 pm
This is such a great post, Leo. I follow your blog religiously.
I do have some differences to what you are stating here, but the important thing is that you’ve gone the step of rethinking what we see as regular work life. I like that a lot.
Thanks for posting this. Keep it up.
Daryl
Lisa | Finding Balance, Naturally Says:
August 20th, 2008, 21:50 pm
Thanks for the info on online apps like Google Docs, which I didn’t know much about and which will save time when I’m doing collaborative work on my blog.
Thomas Wanhoff Says:
August 20th, 2008, 22:39 pm
You are so absolutly right. Its excactly the way I try to organize my work now as a freelancer with a laptop and wifi places. “yes, I can come to your office, but we can also just chat about this topic”, I try to explain, and after the third level of email conversation I usually stop and say “Where is all this information stored later?”. Its a hard way, but I think people (especially CEOs) must be a bit educated about how things are goin on these days.
Bob Andrews Says:
August 20th, 2008, 22:41 pm
Great post! Thanks, all of you, for providing an enlightening evening’s reading!
In my current situation, if there weren’t endless meetings, the mid-level managers wouldn’t have anything to do!!
Cheers!
CMaxx Says:
August 20th, 2008, 22:42 pm
I liked this article, and point #9 reminded me of one of my favorite sayings:
It takes a really great meeting to be better than no meeting at all.
Keep up the good work!
Daniel Richard Says:
August 20th, 2008, 22:49 pm
Huge post there Leo! The good thing about having such a long post there shows a huge interest in this topic, and got me to wanna read it all slower. Cos it’s great!
Thanks Leo :D
Chris Says:
August 20th, 2008, 22:58 pm
Now if we can just get the entire American Educational system to actually adopt these new ways of doing business, traditional schools might be able to serve all our students more efficiently and effectively.
Interestingly, our school just moved to using Google Apps and Docs for teacher lesson plans, parent communication logs and so on and so forth.
The key to embracing “new ways of doing business” is also the willingness of the management to bring in “new perspectives.” If the same tired people are running the shop, then change will not occur.
Concerned Citizen Says:
August 20th, 2008, 23:26 pm
Love your blog Leo! :) As always, plenty of good and interesting advice. As an (ex) IT guy who still follows technology with a keen eye … the following statement needs to be considered very carefully:
“Using the cloud instead of your hard drive has similar advantages — and one of the best being that you don’t have to back up your info on your hard drive. In the cloud, the data is already backed up. And again, it’s available everywhere — a very important factor in the emerging mobile workplace.”
You ALWAYS have to back up your data. It’s boring, it’s a pain, it takes time … but there are now and will be in the future stories of how lost their entire digital / online life because happened … and who knows what that might be …
Services like those provided by companies such as Google, who have super-redundant-redundant arrays of their entire system, seem now to be like a panacea to all of our woes … but … two things spring to mind …
First, “If it is too good to be true, it probably is”
Second, I don’t offer a neat solution … just a cautious word to the wise … “never put all your eggs in one basket” :)
Peace!
Andy.
p.s. sorry if all I did was express my own fears ;)
Valtteri Says:
August 21st, 2008, 0:35 am
Working from home could also help save the planet. How much CO2 is being produced by people driving to the office and back?
What we need is better telepresence tools. Every home worker should have a big screen on the wall, where you’d see your co-workers sitting right there. And you could talk with them like the screen was just a window to another room.
Not some chunky webcam video, but hi-def with decent framerate. The technology is here, but it’s still expensive. Don’t know how our networks could handle all that hi-def stream though…
Charles Says:
August 21st, 2008, 1:50 am
Excellent Post. I slightly disagree with the cloud thing though. I think it is a good idea for collaborative computing, but what I would like is something that just syncs my stuff automatically. I still prefer most desktop apps over cloud apps though. With the exception of Google Apps, most cloud apps feel clunky and slow.
I also don’t really have to much trouble keeping track of my documents. (Spotlight and Windows Search are very nice helpers though) Again, what I would really like when it comes to file management is something that syncs multiple versions of files across different computers simply and easy.
The archive and search method is awesome though. I love Gmail for things like this. Even though I can’t seem to stop myself from organizing my files, I still love the ability to search and find things more quickly than clicking through a folder tree.
Devan Says:
August 21st, 2008, 2:07 am
Like the bit about ‘change’. Always reminds me of Douglas Adams’ definition of adapting to change:
1. Anything that is new in the world between your age of 0 an 18 is just a natural part of everything.
2. Anything new in the world between the ages of 18 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary.
3. Anything new in the world after you are 35 is just not natural and is plain wrong.
Alexander Says:
August 21st, 2008, 2:34 am
@ Leo - There are two things I would like to know your opinion on, or for that matter the opinion of your readers.
1) after reading about the future of work being open-source, online apps based in the cloud what is your opinion on “netbooks”. A previous article had you discussing your preference for an iMac because of its minimalist design however if you use mostly online apps wouldn’t a compact device with a small SSD instead of a capacious hard drive suit your “principles” better?
2) While you and many of your readers are themselves bloggers I would be interested to hear about how using online apps such as Google calendar and Google docs works in other professions. My one example is based around your principle of archive and search - if you maintain client files how can the same level of organisation be used through archive and search?
Thanks for an excellent article.
Regards,
Alexander
Leo Says:
August 21st, 2008, 3:26 am
I love these perspectives, everyone! A couple responses:
@Concerned Citizen: You’re probably right — we should still back up. I do know that data in the cloud is already backed up, but you’re probably still right. Overall, the cloud is still better than desktop imo.
@Alexander: 1. Yes, “netbooks” would suit my principles better. I like the big screen of my iMac though (even if I don’t use very much of my hard drive). I’d like to get something that combines netbooks with the iMac.
2. Many businesses are adopting Google Apps (among other such online apps) as their main office suit — businesses of all kinds. I don’t know how they deal with client file organization — I suspect people are still feeling their way around this issue, and no one method has emerged.
BurningR0m Says:
August 21st, 2008, 5:01 am
I’m a skeptic of “working at my online-office”, because my customers are providing me confidential information. So I maybe get into trouble if I store these information online.
A very good alternative is to use portable apps [www.portableapps.com] instead. You can use application like openoffice, right from your usb storage. And you can encrypt critical documents by using TrueCrypt. So you’ve a secure office at your usb storage.
Remember at the online office:
For google, everything is only a sql query away…..
daily5list.com Says:
August 21st, 2008, 5:27 am
Great post, I completely agree with the “be part of the change” thinking, it can be not easy, but we don’t have to move with the masses trying to accept the changes, we have to be part of the changing itself…