MorePraiseforRemote

“Whatyou’llfindinRemoteisprofoundadvicefromguyswho’vesucceeded in thevirtualworkforcearena. This is amanifesto fordiscarding stifling location- and time-based organizational habits infavor of best work practices for our brave new virtual and globalworld.Ifyourorganizationentrustsyouwiththeresponsibilitytogetthingsdone,thisisamust-read.”

—DavidAllen,internationallybestsellingauthorofGettingThingsDone:TheArtofStress-FreeProductivity

“Remote is the way I work and live. Now I knowwhy. If youwork in an office, you need to read this remarkable book, andchangeyourlife.”

—RichardFlorida,authorofthenationalbestsellerTheRiseoftheCreativeClass:AndHowIt’sTransformingWork,Leisure,Communityand

EverydayLife

“Inthenearfuture,everyonewillworkremotely,includingthosesitting across from you. You’ll need this farsighted book toprepareforthisinversion.”

—KevinKelly,seniormaverickforWiredmagazineandauthorofWhatTechnologyWants

“Leave your office at the office. Lose the soul-sapping commutes.Jettison the workplace veal chambers and banish cookie-cuttercorporate culture. Smart, convincing, and prescriptive, Remoteoffers a radically more productive and satisfying office-lessfuture,betterforall(well,exceptcommerciallandlords).”

—AdamL.Penenberg,authorofViralLoop:FromFacebooktoTwitter,HowToday’sSmartestBusinessesGrowThemselves

“Shows how remote working sets people free—free fromdrudgery and free to unleash unprecedented creativity andproductivity.ThefirstgiftcopyIbuywillbeformyboss!”

—JamesMcQuivey,PhD,VPandprincipalanalystatForrester

Research,andauthorofDigitalDisruption:UnleashingtheNextWaveofInnovation

“Justlikewecouldn’t imagineacellphonesmallerthanatoasterinthe 1970s, some companies still believe that they can’t get greatperformance from theiremployeesunless they showupatanoffice.Virtualworkisthewaveofthefuture,andJasonandDaviddoabrilliant job of teaching best practices for both employees andemployers.”

—PamelaSlim,authorofEscapefromCubicleNation:FromCorporatePrisonertoThrivingEntrepreneur

“JasonandDavidconvincinglyarguethemeritsofremotework,bothfrom the perspective of manager and of worker … Remote workgives you the power to craft your own life, and this book is aroadmaptogetthat.”

—PenelopeTrunk,authorofBrazenCareerist:TheNewRulesforSuccess

“The decentralization of the workplace is no longer fodder forfuturists, it’s an everyday reality. Remote is an insight-packedplaybookforthrivinginthecomingdecadeandbeyond.”

—ToddHenry,authorofTheAccidentalCreative:HowtoBeBrilliantataMoment’sNotice

“Remoteshowsyouhowtoremovethefinalbarriertodoingtheworkyouweremeanttodo,withthepeopleyouweremeanttodoitwith,inthemostrewardingandprofitablewaypossible—thisbookisyourtickettorealfreedom!”

—JohnJantsch,authorofDuctTapeMarketing:TheWorld’sMostPracticalSmallBusinessMarketingGuide

“Remote isnot justapowerful toolbox… It’s fullof fascinatinginsightsintocollaboration,innovation,andthehumanmind.”

—LeoBabauta,authorofZenHabits:HandbookforLife

Cover

Authors’Note

Introduction

THETIMEISRIGHTFORREMOTEWORK

Whyworkdoesn’thappenatwork

Stopcommutingyourlifeaway

It’sthetechnology,stupid

Escaping9am–5pm

Endofcitymonopoly

Thenewluxury

Talentisn’tboundbythehubs

It’snotaboutthemoney

Butsavingisalwaysnice

Notallornothing

Stillatrade-off

You’reprobablyalreadydoingit

DEALINGWITHEXCUSES

Magiconlyhappenswhenwe’reallinaroom

IfIcan’tseethem,howdoIknowthey’reworking?

People’shomesarefullofdistractions

Onlytheofficecanbesecure

Whowillanswerthephone?

Bigbusinessdoesn’tdoit,sowhyshouldwe?

Otherswouldgetjealous

Whataboutculture?

Ineedananswernow!

ButI’lllosecontrol

Wepaidalotofmoneyforthisoffice

Thatwouldn’tworkforoursizeorindustry

HOWTOCOLLABORATEREMOTELY

Thoushaltoverlap

Seeingisbelieving

Alloutintheopen

Thevirtualwatercooler

Forwardmotion

Theworkiswhatmatters

Notjustforpeoplewhoareoutoftown

Disasterready

EasyontheM&Ms

BEWARETHEDRAGONS

Cabinfever

Check-in,check-out

Ergonomicbasics

Mindthegut

Theloneoutpost

Workingwithclients

Taxes,accounting,laws,ohmy!

HIRINGANDKEEPINGTHEBEST

It’sabigworld

Lifemoveson

Keepthegoodtimesgoing

Seekingahuman

Noparlortricks

Thecostofthriving

Greatremoteworkersaresimplygreatworkers

Onwritingwell

Testproject

Meetingtheminperson

Contractorsknowthedrill

MANAGINGREMOTEWORKERS

When’stherighttimetogoremote?

Stopmanagingthechairs

Meetupsandsprints

Lessonsfromopensource

Leveltheplayingfield

One-on-ones

Removetheroadblocks

Beonthelookoutforoverwork,notunderwork

Usingscarcitytoyouradvantage

LIFEASAREMOTEWORKER

Buildingaroutine

Morningremote,afternoonlocal

Computedifferent

Workingaloneinacrowd

Stayingmotivated

Nomadicfreedom

Achangeofscenery

Familytime

Noextraspaceathome

Makingsureyou’renotignored

CONCLUSION

Thequaintoldoffice

TheRemoteToolbox

Acknowledgments

Epigraph

Dedication

Copyright

ThankYouforReadingOurBook

About37Signals

AUTHORS’NOTE

Whenwe startedwriting thisbook in2013, thepracticeofworkingremotely—or telecommuting, as it’s often referred to—had beensilentlyontheriseforyears.(From2005to2011remoteworksoared73percentintheUnitedStates—to3millionworkerstotal.*)

ThesilencewasloudlybrokenattheendofFebruary2013,though,when Yahoo! announced that they were dismantling their remote-workprogram, just aswewere finishing thisbook.Allof a sudden,remote work moved from academic obscurity to a heated globalconversation. Hundreds, if not thousands, of news articles werewritten,andcontroversywasintheair.

Ofcourse,wewouldhaveappreciatedYahoo!’sCEOMarissaMayerwaiting another sixmonths for our publication date. That said, hermoveprovidedauniquebackdropagainstwhichtotestallofRemote’sarguments. As it turned out, every single excuse you’ll find in theessay titled “Dealing with excuses” got airtime during the Yahoo!firestorm.

Needlesstosay,wedon’t thinkYahoo!madetherightchoice,butwe thank them for the spotlight they’ve shinedon remotework. It’sour aim in this book to look at the phenomenon in a much moreconsidered way. Beyond the sound bites, beyond all thegrandstanding, what we’ve provided here is an in-the-trenchesanalysis of the pros and cons—a guide to the brave new world ofremotework.Enjoy!

*http://www.globalworkplaceanalytics.com/telecommuting-statistics

INTRODUCTION

Thefutureisalreadyhere—it’sjustnotevenlydistributed.

—WILLIAMGIBSON

Millions of workers and thousands of companies have alreadydiscoveredthejoysandbenefitsofworkingremotely.Incompaniesofallsizes,representingvirtuallyeveryindustry,remoteworkhasseensteadygrowthyearafteryear.Yetunlike,say,therushtoembracethefax machine, adoption of remote work has not been nearly asuniversalorcommonsensicalasmanywouldhavethought.

Thetechnologyishere; it’sneverbeeneasier tocommunicateandcollaborate with people anywhere, any time. But that still leaves afundamentalpeopleproblem.Themissingupgrade is for thehumanmind.

Thisbookaimstoprovidethatupgrade.We’llilluminatethemanybenefitsofremotework, includingaccesstothebesttalent, freedomfromsoul-crushingcommutes,andincreasedproductivityoutsidethetraditionaloffice.Andwe’lltacklealltheexcusesfloatingaround—forexample,thatinnovationonlyhappensface-to-face,thatpeoplecan’tbe trusted to be productive at home, that company culture wouldwitheraway.

Above all, this book will teach you how to become an expert inremotework.Itwillprovideanoverviewofthetoolsandtechniquesthatwill helpyouget themost out of it, aswell as thepitfalls andconstraintsthatcanbringyoudown.(Nothingiswithouttrade-offs.)

Ourdiscussionwillbepractical,becauseourknowledgecomesfromactually practicing remote work—not just theorizing about it. Overthe past decade, we’ve grown a successful software company,37signals, from the seeds of remotework.We got startedwith onepartner in Copenhagen and the other in Chicago. Since then we’veexpanded to thirty-six people spread out all over the globe, servingmillionsofusersinjustabouteverycountryintheworld.

We’ll drawon this richexperience to showhow remoteworkhas

opened the door to a new era of freedomand luxury.A brave newworldbeyond the industrial-agebelief inTheOffice.Aworldwherewe leave behind the dusty old notion of outsourcing as a way toincrease work output at the lowest cost and replace it with a newideal—oneinwhichremoteworkincreasesbothqualityofworkandjobsatisfaction.

“Office not required” isn’t just the future—it’s thepresent.Now isyourchancetocatchup.

CHAPTER

THETIMEISRIGHTFORREMOTEWORK

Whyworkdoesn’thappenatwork

If youaskpeoplewhere theygowhen they reallyneed togetworkdone, very few will respond “the office.” If they do say the office,they’ll includeaqualifiersuchas“superearlyinthemorningbefore

anyone gets in” or “I stay late at night after everyone’s left” or “Isneakinontheweekend.”Whatthey’retryingtotellyouis that theycan’tgetworkdoneat

work. The office during the day has become the last place peoplewanttobewhentheyreallywanttogetworkdone.

That’s because offices have become interruption factories. A busyofficeislikeafoodprocessor—itchopsyourdayintotinybits.Fifteenminutes here, ten minutes there, twenty here, five there. Eachsegmentis filledwithaconferencecall,ameeting,anothermeeting,orsomeotherinstitutionalizedunnecessaryinterruption.

It’s incredibly hard to get meaningful work done when yourworkdayhasbeenshreddedintoworkmoments.

Meaningfulwork,creativework, thoughtfulwork, importantwork—thistypeofeffort takesstretchesofuninterruptedtimetoget intothe zone. But in themodern office such long stretches just can’t befound.Instead,it’sjustoneinterruptionafteranother.

Theabilitytobealonewithyourthoughtsis,infact,oneofthekeyadvantages of working remotely.When youwork on your own, faraway from the buzzing swarm at headquarters, you can settle intoyourownproductivezone.Youcanactuallygetworkdone—thesameworkthatyoucouldn’tgetdoneatwork!

Yes,workingoutside theofficehas itsown setof challenges.Andinterruptions can come from different places, multiple angles. Ifyou’reathome,maybeit’stheTV.Ifyou’reatthelocalcoffeeshop,maybe it’s someone talking loudlya fewtablesaway.Buthere’s thething:thoseinterruptionsarethingsyoucancontrol.They’repassive.They don’t handcuff you. You can find a space that fits your workstyle.Youcantossonsomeheadphonesandnotbeworriedaboutacoworker loitering by your desk and tapping you on the shoulder.Neitherdoyouhavetobeworriedaboutbeingcalledintoyetanotherunnecessarymeeting.Yourplace,yourzone,isyoursalone.

Don’t believe us? Ask around. Or ask yourself:Where do you gowhenyou reallyhave togetworkdone?Youranswerwon’tbe “theofficeintheafternoon.”

Stopcommutingyourlifeaway

Let’s face it: nobody likes commuting. The alarm rings earlier, youarrivehome thatmuch later.You lose time, patience, possibly evenyour will to eat anything other than convenience food with plasticutensils.Maybeyouskipthegym,missyourchild’sbedtime,feeltootired for ameaningful conversationwith your significant other. Thelistgoeson.

Evenyourweekendsget truncatedby thatwretchedcommute.Allthosechoresyoudon’thavethewilltocompleteaftersluggingitoutwiththehighwaycollectintoonemeanlistdueonSaturday.Bythetimeyou’vetakenoutthetrash,pickedupthedrycleaning,gonetothehardwarestore,andpaidyourbills,halftheweekendisgone.

Andthecommuteitself?Eventhenicestcarwon’tmakedrivingintraffic enjoyable, and forget feeling fresh after a triponmosturbantrains and buses. Breathe in the smell of exhaust and body odor,breatheoutyourhealthandsanity.

Smartpeopleinwhitecoatshaveextensivelystudiedcommuting—thissupposedlynecessarypartofourdays—andtheverdictisin:longcommutes make you fat, stressed, and miserable. Even shortcommutesstabatyourhappiness.

According to the research,* commuting is associated with anincreased riskof obesity, insomnia, stress, neckandbackpain,highbloodpressure,andotherstress-relatedillssuchasheartattacksanddepression,andevendivorce.

Butlet’ssayweignoretheoverwhelmingevidencethatcommutingdoesn’t do a body good. Pretend it isn’t bad for the environmenteither.Let’sjustdothemath.Sayyouspendthirtyminutesdrivinginrushhoureverymorningandanotherfifteengettingtoyourcarandinto the office. That’s 1.5 hours a day, 7.5 hours per week, orsomewhere between 300 and 400 hours per year, give or takeholidaysandvacation.Fourhundredhours is exactly theamountofprogrammer time we spent building Basecamp, our most popularproduct. Imagine what you could do with 400 extra hours a year.Commuting isn’t just bad for you, your relationships, and theenvironment—it’s bad for business. And it doesn’t have to be thatway.

It’sthetechnology,stupid

If working remotely is such a great idea, why haven’t progressivecompaniesbeenpracticingitallalong?It’ssimple:theycouldn’t.Thetechnology just wasn’t there. Good luck trying to collaborate withpeopleindifferentcities,letalonehalfwayaroundtheworld,usingafaxmachineandFedEx.

Technologysnuckuponusandmadeworkingremotelyanobviouspossibility.Inparticular,theInternethappened.ScreensharingusingWebEx, coordinating to-do lists using Basecamp, real-time chattingusinginstantmessages,downloadingthelatestfilesusingDropbox—theseactivitiesallflowfrominnovationspioneeredinthelastfifteenyears.Nowonderwe’restilllearningwhat’spossible.

But past generations have been bred on the idea that goodworkhappens from 9am to 5pm, in offices and cubicles in tall buildingsaround the city. It’s nowonder thatmostwho are employed insidethatmodelhaven’tconsideredotheroptions,orresisttheideathatitcouldbeanydifferent.Butitcan.

Thefuture,quiteliterally,belongstothosewhogetit.Doyouthinktoday’steenagers,raisedonFacebookandtexting,willbesentimentalabout theolddaysofall-hands-on-deck,Mondaymorningmeetings?Ha!

The great thing about technology, and evenworking remotely, isthat it’s allup toyou. It’snot rocket science,and learning the toolsthat make it possible won’t take that long either. But it will takewillpowertoletgoofnostalgiaandgetonboard.Canyoudothat?

Escaping9am–5pm

The big transition with a distributed workforce is going fromsynchronoustoasynchronouscollaboration.Notonlydowenothavetobeinthesamespottoworktogether,wealsodon’thavetoworkat

thesametimetoworktogether.This is one of those things that’s born out of necessity when

collaborating with people in multiple time zones, but it benefitseveryone, even those in the same city. Once you’ve structured yourwork technique and expectations to dealwith someone seven hoursaheadinCopenhagen,therestofthehomeofficeinChicagomightaswellworkfrom11amto7pmor7amto3pm—it’sallthesame.

The beauty of relaxing workday hours is that the policyaccommodateseveryone—fromtheearlybirdstothenightowlstothefamilyfolkswithkidswhoneedtobepickedupinthemiddleoftheday.At37signals,wetrytokeeparoughlyforty-hourworkweek,buthowouremployeesdistribute thosehoursacross theclockanddaysjustisn’timportant.

Acompanythatisefficientlybuiltaroundremoteworkdoesn’tevenhave to have a set schedule. This is especially important when itcomestocreativework. Ifyoucan’tget into thezone, there’srarelymuchthatcanforceyouintoit.Whenfacetimeisn’tarequirement,thebeststrategyisoftentotakesometimeawayandgetbacktoworkwhenyourbrainisfiringonallcylinders.

At the IT Collective, a film production and videomarketing firmbasedinColorado(butwithpeopleinNewYorkandSydneytoo),theteam of editors will occasionally switch to nocturnal mode whenworkingonanewfilm.It’ssimplyhowtheygettheirbestworkdone.Thenext day the editorswill overlapwith the rest of the team justlongenoughtoreviewprogressandgetdirection for thenextnight.Whocaresiftheysleptwaypastnoontomakethatschedulework?

Naturally, not all work can be done entirely free of schedulerestrictions. At 37signals, we offer customer support to people onAmericanbusinesshours,soit’simportantourcustomersupportteamis available during that time. But even within those constraints,relaxedschedulesarestillapossibilitysolongasthegroupasawholeiscoveringthefullspectrum.

Releaseyourselffromthe9am-to-5pmmentality.Itmighttakeabitoftimeandpracticetogetthehangofworkingasynchronouslywithyourteam,butsoonyou’llseethatit’sthework—nottheclock—thatmatters.

Endofcitymonopoly

The city is the original talent hub. Traditionally, thosewho ran theenginesofcapitalismthought:“Let’sgatheralargenumberofpeoplein a small geographical area where they must live on top of eachotherintightquarters,andwe’llbeabletofindplentyofablebodiestomanourfactories.”Mostsplendid,SirMoneybags!

Thankfully, the population-density benefits that suited factoriesprovedgreat for lotsofother things too.Wegot libraries, stadiums,theaters,restaurants,andalltheotherwondersofmoderncultureandcivilization. But we also got cubicles, tiny apartments, and sardineboxes to take us from here to there. We traded the freedom andsplendor of country land and fresh air for convenience andexcitement.

Luckyforus,theadvancesintechnologythatmaderemoteworkingpossible have also made remote culture and living much moredesirable.Imaginedescribingtoacitydwellerofthe1960saworldinwhicheveryonehasaccesstoeverymovieevermade,everybookeverwritten,everyalbumeverrecorded,andnearlyeverysportsgamelive(in higher quality and better colors than at any time in the past).Surely,theywouldhavelaughed.Hell,eveninthe1980stheywouldhavelaughed.Butherewearelivinginthatworld.

There’s a difference, though, between taking it for granted andtakingittothelogicalconclusion.Ifwenowhaveunlimitedaccesstocultureandentertainmentfromanylocation,whyarewestillwillingtoliveboundbytheoriginaldeal?Isthatoverpricedapartment,themotorized sardine box, and your cubicle really worth it still?Increasingly,webelievethatformanypeopletheanswerwillbeno.

Sohere’saprediction:Theluxuryprivilegeofthenexttwentyyearswillbetoleavethecity.Notasitsleashedservantinasuburb,buttowhereveronewants.

Thenewluxury

A swanky corner office on the top floor of a tall building, a plushcompany-providedLexus,asecretary.It’seasytolaughatold-moneycorporate luxuries. But the new-money, hip ones aren’t all thatdifferent: a fancy chef and freemeals, laundry services,massages, aroomfulofarcadegames.They’retwosidesofthesamecoin.

That’sthecoingiveninexchangefortheendlesshoursspentattheoffice.Awayfromyourfamily,yourfriends,andyourextracurricularpassions.Thehopeisthattheseenticementswilltideyouoverduringthose long years when you’re dreaming of all the things you’ll dowhenyouretire.

But why wait? If what you really love doing is skiing, why waituntil your hips are too old to take a hard fall and then move toColorado?Ifyoulovesurfing,whyareyoustilltrappedinaconcretejungleandnotlivingnearthebeach?Ifallthefamilymembersyou’reclosetoliveinasmalltowninOregon,whyareyoustillstuckontheothercoast?

Thenewluxuryistoshedtheshacklesofdeferredliving—topursueyour passions now, while you’re still working. What’s the point inwastingtimedaydreamingabouthowgreat it’llbewhenyoufinallyquit?

Your life no longer needs to be divided into arbitrary phases ofwork and retirement. You can blend the two for fun and profit—designabetterlifestylethatmakesworkenjoyablebecauseit’snottheonlythingonthemenu.Shedtheresentmentofgoldenhandcuffsthatkeepyoufromlivinghowyoureallywanttolive.

That’samuchmorerealisticgoalthanbuyinglotterytickets,eithertheliteralorfigurativeones.Asanexampleofthelatter:pursuingacareer-ladder or stock-option scheme and hoping your number hitsbeforeit’stoolatetomatter.

Youdon’tneedtobeextraordinarilyluckyorhardworkingtomakeyourworklifefitwithyourpassions—ifyou’refreetopickwheretoworkfromandwhentowork.

This doesn’t mean you have to pick up and move to Coloradotomorrow, just because you like skiing. Some people do that, buttherearemanypossible in-betweensaswell.Couldyougo there for

threeweeks?Just likeworkingfromtheoffice, itdoesn’thavetobeallornothing.Thenewluxuryistheluxuryoffreedomandtime.Onceyou’vehad

atasteofthatlife,nocornerofficeorfancychefwillbeabletodragyouback.

Talentisn’tboundbythehubs

If you talk to technologists from Silicon Valley, moviemakers fromHollywood,oradvertisingexecsfromNewYork,they’llallinsistthatthemagic only happens on their sacred turf. But that’s what you’dexpecttalenthubnationaliststosay.You’rethefoolifyoubelieveit.

“Look at the history,” they’ll say, pointing to proud traditionsbearing glorious results. Yes, yes, but as the fine print reads oninvestment materials: “Past performance is no guarantee of futureresults.”

So here’s another set of unremarkable predictions: The world’sshare of great technology from Silicon Valley will decline, the bestmovies of the next twenty years will consist of fewer Hollywoodblockbusters,andfewerpeoplewillbeinducedtobuyproductsfromadmeninNewYork.

Greattalentiseverywhere,andnoteveryonewantstomovetoSanFrancisco (or New York or Hollywood, or wherever you’reheadquartered).37signalsisasuccessfulsoftwarecompanystartedin—gasp!—the Midwest, and we’re proud to have hired spectacularemployeesfromsuchplacesasCaldwell,Idaho,andFenwick,Ontario.

Infact,wedon’thaveasingleemployeeinSanFrancisco,thehubwhereevery technologycompany seems tobe trippingover itself tofind“rockstars”and“softwareninjas.”Thishasn’tbeenaconsciouschoice on our part, but given the poaching games being played inmajorhubs,withpeoplechangingjobsasoftenastheymightreordertheiriPhoneplaylists,it’snotexactlyanetnegative.

When you have dozens, even hundreds, of competitors withinwalkingdistanceof youroffice, it should comeasno surprisewhenyouremployeescrossthestreetandjointhenexthotthing.

Aswe’veobserved, staremployeeswhoworkaway fromtheechochambers of industry spend far less timebrooding abouthowmuchgreenerthegrassisontheothersideand,generally,seemhappierintheirwork.

It’snotaboutthemoney

When people hear the term “remote workers,” they often think“outsourcing.” They assume that remote work is just another ploydreamed up by business fat cats to cut costs and ship jobs to

Bangalore.That’sanunderstandablegutreaction.It’salsowrong.Letting people work remotely is about promoting quality of life,

aboutgettingaccesstothebestpeoplewherevertheyare,andalltheotherbenefitswe’llenumerate.Thatitmayalsoendupreducingcostsspent on offices and result in fewer-but-more-productive workers isthegravy,nottheturkey.

Though our suggesting that remote work benefits both employerandemployeemaysoundoverlychipperandhaveyouthinkingofthesentiment expressed in those cheesy posters from the 1990s,WIN-WIN!,the reality is that, for everyone, there is much to like about thepractice.Toomuchwritingonworkispitchedaseitherpro-employerorpro-worker.Whilethosestrugglesarereal,they’renotthestruggleswe’reinterestedinexamining.

Besides, the key intellectual pursuits that are the primary fit forremote working—writing, programming, designing, advising, andcustomer support, tomention just a few—have little to dowith thecutthroatmarginwarsof,say,manufacturing.Squeezingslightlymorewordsperhouroutofacopywriterisnotgoingtomakeanyonerich.Writingthebestadjustverywellmight.

Butsavingisalwaysnice

So remote work isn’t primarily about the money—but who doesn’tlike saving as a side effect? It certainly makes a great argument ifyou’retryingtoconvinceamanager.

Money, in fact, is the perfect Trojan horse for getting the beancounters on your side. Make them see dollar signs where you seegreater freedom,more timewith the family, and no commute, andyou’llbothgetwhatyouwant.

When trying to convince said bean counters, there’s no logic likebig company logic—so here’s some from IBM,† the bluest of bluechips:

Throughitsteleworkstrategy,since1995,IBMhasreducedofficespace by a total of 78million square feet. Of that, 58millionsquarefeetwassoldatagainof$1.9B.Andsubleaseincomeforleased space not needed exceeded $1B. In the U.S., continuingannual savings amounts to $100M, and at least that much inEurope.With386,000employees,40percentofwhomtelework,the ratio of office space to employee is now 8:1 with somefacilitiesashighas15:1.

Whocanargueagainstbillionssaved?Certainlynotthegangtryingto get you to save on staplers and printing paper. And the savingsaren’t just for the company.While the firm’s owners get to save onoffice space, the employee gets to save on gas. HP’s TeleworkCalculator‡ shows a savings of almost $10,000 per year for an SUVdriverwhospendsanhouradaycommutingtenmilesroundtrip.

Cutting back on commuting also means huge savings for theenvironment.That same IBMstudy showedhow remotework savedthe company five million gallons of fuel in 2007, preventing morethan450,000tonsofCO2emissionstotheatmosphereintheUnitedStatesalone.

Helpingthecompany’sbottomline,addingtoyourpocketbook,andsavingtheplanet:check,check,check.

Notallornothing

Embracing remotework doesn’tmean you can’t have an office, justthat it’s not required. It doesn’tmean that all your employees can’tlive in the same city, just that they don’t have to. Remote work is

about settingyour team free tobe thebest it canbe,wherever thatmightbe.Acrosscompanies,largeandsmall,flexibleremote-workingstrategies can be found in all sizes and shapes. Furniture makerHerman Miller’s knowledge and design team is entirely remote,workingfromtendifferentcitiesaroundtheUnitedStates.Atdigitalcommunications company Jellyvision10percent of theworkforce iscompletely remote, another 20 percent works from home a coupledays a week, and the rest work regularly from the companyheadquartersinChicago.In 1999, 37signals’ original team of four began with a nice,traditionaloffice inChicago.Aftera fewyears,we realized itdidn’tmake sense forus—theplacewas toobig, the rent toohigh—sowegot ridof it.Wemoved to thecornerofanotherdesign firm,wherewe rented a handful of desks for $1,000 per month. Soon we hadmorethanahandfulofemployees,butitdidn’tmatter.Davidjoinedfrom Copenhagen, and over the years we hired more programmersanddesignersfromallovertheworld.Butwestayedinthatdesign-firmcorner,savingrentandenjoyingthehassle-freesetup,forclosetoadecade!

Nowwehavethirty-sixemployeesandaWestLoopChicagoofficewehelpeddesign.It’sgotasmalltheaterforpresentationsandaping-pong table, and on any given day ten employees work there. Is itworthit?Wethinkso,butwewouldn’thavesaidthesamethingtenyearsago,andprobablynotevenfive.Isitrequired?Absolutelynot,butwe’veearnedit.It’saluxury,notanecessity—althoughitsureisnice that a few times a year all our employees can fly in for acompany-widegathering,andwehaveanawesomespacetomeet.

For other companies where the trappings of success are animportantpartoftheimage—forexample,advertisingagenciesorlawfirmsorC-level recruitingoutfits—havinga showyofficemaymakesense.Acknowledgingthattheofficeistheretoimpressclientssetsanownerormanagerfreetomakeitthebesttheaterexperienceitcanbe—and employees can remain free towork from homewhen they’renotneededasextrasforthescene.

Stillatrade-off

It’s easy to feel euphoric about the wonders of working remotely.Freedom, time,money—we get it all. There’ll be honey inmy backyardandmilkontap.Butcalmdown,Winnie.Remoteworkisnotwithoutcost or compromise. In thisworld very few leaps of progress arriveexclusively as benefits. Maybe the invention of the sandwich, butthat’s it. Everything else is a trade-off, and you’ll be wise to knowwhatyou’regettinginto.

Atfirst,givingupseeingyourcoworkersinpersoneverydaymightcomeasarelief(ifyou’reanintrovert),buteventuallyyou’relikelytofeel a loss. Even with the substitutes we’ll discuss, there are times

whennothingbeatstalkingtoyourmanagerinpersonorsittinginaroomwithyourcolleagues,brainstormingthenextbigthing.The same goes for the loss of imposed structure and regimen. It

requiresanew levelofpersonalcommitment tocomeupwith—andstickwith—analternativeworkframe.That’smoreresponsibilitythanmay be apparent at first, especially for natural procrastinators—andwhoisn’tfromtimetotime?

Andwhat about the familymen andwomenwho choose toworkfromhome?It’snotalwayseasytosetboundaries.Kidswillbekids,demanding your attention right now, and your spouse, just like acoworker, might not realize that an interruption to show you theInternet’slatesthitmemeisnotwhattheproductivitydoctorordered.

Thekey is not to thinkof anyof this as exclusively goodorbad.Rather, you should just focus on reaping the great benefits andmitigatingthedrawbacks.We’llshowyouhow.

You’reprobablyalreadydoingit

Your companymayalreadybeworking remotelywithoutyour evenknowingit.Unlessithasitsownlawyersonstaff,itlikelyoutsourceslegal work to an independent lawyer or a law firm. Unless your

company has its own accounting department, it likely outsourcesaccountingtoaCPA.UnlessyourcompanyhasitsownHRsystems,itlikelyoutsourcespayroll,retirement,andhealthcaretooutsidefirms.And what about all those companies that hire ad agencies to helpcommunicatetheirmessagetothemarket?Legal, accounting, payroll, advertising—all essential businessactivities.Withoutoutsidepeopletoperformthesekeyfunctionsyoumight not even be in business. All these activities are carried outoutside your company’s walls, away from your company’s network,andoutsideofyourmanagement’sdirectcontrol—andyetthere’snodoubtit’sallbeingdoneefficiently.

Everydaythiskindofremoteworkworks,andnooneconsidersitrisky, reckless, or irresponsible. So why do so many of these samecompaniesthattrust“outsiders”todotheircriticalworkhavesuchahardtimetrusting“insiders”toworkfromhome?Whydocompanieshavenoproblemworkingwithalawyerwhoworksinthenexttownover and yet distrust their own employees towork anywhere otherthantheirowndesks?Itjustdoesn’tmakesense.

Worthcounting too is thenumberofdaysyouspendat theofficeemailing someonewho sits only threedesks away.People go to theoffice all the time and act as though they’re working remotely:emailing, instantmessaging, secluding themselves togetworkdone.Attheendoftheday,wasitreallyworthcomingtotheofficeforit?

Look around inside your company and notice what work alreadyhappensontheoutside,orwithminimalface-to-faceinteraction.Youmaybesurprisedtodiscoverthatyourcompanyismoreremotethanyouthink.

*“YourCommuteIsKillingYou,”Slate, http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html

†“WorkingOutsidetheBox,”IBMwhitepaper,2009

‡http://www.govloop.com/telework-calculator

CHAPTER

DEALINGWITHEXCUSES

Magiconlyhappenswhenwe’reallinaroom

You know the feeling. Everyone’s sitting around a table, ideas arebuildingonideas,andintellectualsparksarelightinguptheroom.It’stemptingtothinkthatthiskindofmagiconlyhappenswhenpeoplecanseeandtoucheachother.

Let’s assume for a second that’s true: Breakthrough ideas onlyhappen when people meet face-to-face. Still, the question remains:How many breakthrough ideas can a company actually digest? Farfewerthanyouimagine.Mostwork isnot comingupwithTheNextBigThing.Rather,it’smakingbetterthethingyoualreadythoughtofsixmonths—orsixyears—ago.It’stheworkofwork.

Giventhat,you’reonlygoingtofrustrateyourselfandeveryoneelseif you summon the brain trust too frequently for those Kodakmoments.Becauseeitheritmeansgivinguponthelastgreatidea(theone that still requires follow-up) or it means further stuffing thebacklogofgreatideas.Astuffedbacklogisastalebacklog.

Thisiswhyat37signalswedon’tmeetinpersonallthatoften.Ourattitude is,weneedacleanplatebeforegoingup for seconds.OnlyaboutthreetimesayeardoesthewholecompanygettogetherintheChicagooffice.Andeventhatcanbeatadtoofrequentifourgoalistoreallyblowitoutonthefree-riffidearamp!

Butwhataboutthosespur-of-the-momentraysofbrilliance?!First,few such rays actually warrant the label “brilliant”—more likelythey’re mere rays of enthusiasm (and not to be confused with apriority). Second, you’d be amazed how much quality collectivethought can be capturedusing two simple tools: a voice connectionandasharedscreen.EverytimeweusesomethinglikeWebEx,we’resurprisedathoweffectiveitis.No,it’snot100percentaseffective—itlacks that last 1 or 2 percent of high-fidelity interaction—but it’smuchcloserthanyou’dthink.

Byrationingin-personmeetings,theirstatureiselevatedtothatofararetreat.Theybecomesomethingtobesavored,somethingspecial.Dineouteveryonceinawhileonthosefeastsandsustainyourselfinthe interim on the conversation “snacks” that technology makespossible.Thatwillgiveyouallthemagicyoucanhandle.

IfIcan’tseethem,howdoIknowthey’reworking?

Mostfearsthathavetodowithpeopleworkingremotelystemfromalack of trust. A manager thinks, Will people work hard if I’m notwatchingthemallthetime?IfIcan’tseethemsittingprettyattheirdesks,

are they just going to goof off andplay video games or surf theweballday?We’ll let you in on a secret: If people really want to play video

gamesor surf theweballday, they’reperfectly capableofdoing sofromtheirdesksattheoffice.Infact,lotsofstudieshaveshownthatmany people do exactly that. For example, at clothing retailer J.C.Penney’s headquarters, 4,800 workers spend 30 percent of thecompany’sInternetbandwidthwatchingYouTubevideos.*So,comingintotheofficejustmeansthatpeoplehavetoputonpants.There’snoguaranteeofproductivity.

Peoplehaveanamazingabilitytolivedowntolowexpectations.Ifyourunyourshipwiththeconvictionthateveryone’saslacker,youremployeeswillputall their ingenuity intoprovingyou right. If youview those who work under you as capable adults who will pushthemselvestoexcelevenwhenyou’renotbreathingdowntheirnecks,they’lldelightyouinreturn.

As Chris Hoffman from the IT Collective explains: “If we’restrugglingwithtrustissues,itmeanswemadeapoorhiringdecision.Ifateammemberisn’tproducinggoodresultsorcan’tmanagetheirownscheduleandworkload,wearen’tgoingtocontinuetoworkwiththatperson.It’sassimpleasthat.Weemployteammemberswhoareskilled professionals, capable of managing their own schedules andmaking a valuable contribution to the organization. We have nodesiretobebabysittersduringtheday.”

That’sjustit—ifyoucan’tletyouremployeesworkfromhomeoutoffearthey’llslackoffwithoutyoursupervision,you’reababysitter,notamanager.Remoteworkisverylikelytheleastofyourproblems.

Unfortunately, not everyone takes such a sensible approach. Thepoor employees of Accurate Biometrics have to endure constantremote surveillance by their boss,whouses InterGuard† software tomonitor their computer screens. Apparently that’s a growing trend.InterGuard alone claims ten thousand clients, and research groupGartnerestimatesthat60percentofemployeeswillsufferfromsomesortofBigBrotherinvasionby2015.Yikes!

Thebottomlineisthatyoushouldn’thirepeopleyoudon’ttrust,orwork for bosses who don’t trust you. If you’re not trusted to workremotely,whyareyoutrustedtodoanythingatall?Ifyou’reheldin

suchlowregard,whyareyouabletotalktocustomers,writecopyforan ad, design the next product, assess insurance claims, or do taxreturns?

AsSirRichardBransoncommentedinhisodetoworkingremotely:“Tosuccessfullyworkwithotherpeople,youhavetotrusteachother.Abigpartofthisistrustingpeopletogettheirworkdonewherevertheyare,withoutsupervision.”‡

Either learn to trust thepeople you’reworkingwithor find someotherpeopletoworkwith.

People’shomesarefullofdistractions

Betweensoapoperas,PlayStation,coldbeersinthefridge,andallthelaundrythatneedsdoing,howcanyoupossiblygetanythingdoneathome?Simple:becauseyou’vegotajobtodoandyou’rearesponsible

adult.Okay, we’re all human and we all occasionally fall prey to

temptation.Wemay aswell admit that, yes, thehomemay containmoredistractionsandtemptationsthantheaverageofficecubicle.Buthavingrecognizedtheproblem,wecanworktodosomethingaboutit.Keepinmind,thenumberonecountertodistractionsisinteresting,fulfilling work. While flipping burgers is unlikely to keep anyoneintellectually stimulated for long,mostmodern remote-friendly jobsarecertainlycapableofdoingso.

Sometimes, distractions can actually serve a purpose. Like theproverbial canary in the coal mine, they warn us—when we feelourselves regularly succumbing to them—that our work is not welldefined,orourtasksaremenial,orthewholeprojectwe’reengagedinisfundamentallypointless.Insteadofreachingforthevideogamecontrollerorturningonsoapoperas, is itperhapstimetoraiseyourvoice and state the obvious? If you’re feeling like this, chances areothersaretoo.

Ofcourse,sometimesit’snottheworthinessoftheworktaskthat’stheissue—rather,it’sthatwe’vesetourselvesupforfailure.Ifyou’reworkingonthecouchinfrontoftheTV,well,it’stemptingtoreachfortheremote.Ifyou’resittinginthekitchen,youmayfindyourselfthinking of emptying the dishwasher. But if you’re sitting in adedicatedroomintendedforworkwiththedoorclosed,youstandafarbetterchanceofstayingontask.

If that’s not possible, or not enough, you can always tryworkingoutside the house entirely. Just because you’re working remotelydoesn’tmeanthatitalwayshastobefromyourhouse.Youcanworkfromacoffeeshoporthelibraryoreventhepark.

Butinrealitygoofingoffismuchlessofanissuethanpeoplefear.It’sliketakinganicevacation.It’sgreattobeawayfromworkforacoupleofweeks,but there’sonlysomuchtimeyoucanspend lyingonabeachblanketorexploringParisbeforethatgetsboringtoo.

Mostpeoplewanttowork,aslongasit’sstimulatingandfulfilling.Andifyou’restuckinadead-endjobthathasnoprospectsofbeingeither, thenyoudon’t justneeda remoteposition—youneedanewjob.

Onlytheofficecanbesecure

Companiesoftengotogreatlengthstomakeemployeesrunsoftwareon thecompany’sownservers rather thanover the Internet,only toletexecutivescarryaroundunencrypted laptops. It’snogoodhavingthetallestcastlewallsifyouleavethedrawbridgedown.

Security is a big and serious deal, but it’s also largely a solvedproblem. That’swhy the average person is quitewilling to do theirbankingonlineandwhynobodyisafraidofenteringtheircreditcardnumber on Amazon. At 37signals, we’ve devised a simple securitychecklistallemployeesmustfollow:

All computers must use hard drive encryption, like the built-inFileVaultfeatureinApple’sOSXoperatingsystem.Thisensuresthatalostlaptopismerelyaninconvenienceandaninsuranceclaim,notacompany-wide emergency and a scramble to change passwords andworryaboutwhatdocumentsmightbeleaked.

Disableautomaticlogin,requireapasswordwhenwakingfromsleep,andsetthecomputertoautomaticallylockafterteninactiveminutes.

Turnonencryption for all sites youvisit, especially critical serviceslikeGmail.Thesedaysall sites use something calledHTTPSor SSL.Look for the little lock icon in front of the Internet address. (We

forcedall37signalsproductsontoSSLafewyearsbacktohelpwiththis.) Make sure all smartphones and tablets use lock codes and can bewiped remotely. On the iPhone, you can do this through the “FindiPhone”application.Thisruleiseasilyforgottenaswetendtothinkofthesetoolsassomethingforthehome,butinevitablyyou’llcheckyour work email or log into Basecamp using your tablet. Asmartphoneortabletneedstobetreatedwithasmuchrespectasyourlaptop.

Useaunique,generated, long-formpasswordforeachsiteyouvisit,keptbypassword-managingsoftware,suchas1Password.§We’resorrytosay,“secretmonkey” isnotgoing to foolanyone.Andeven ifyoumanagetorememberUM6vDjwidQE9C28Z,it’snogoodifit’susedoneverysiteandoneofthemishacked.(Ithappensallthetime!)

Turnontwo-factorauthenticationwhenusingGmail,soyoucan’tlogin without having access to your cell phone for a login code (thismeans that someonewhogetsholdofyour loginandpasswordalsoneedstogetholdofyourphonetologin).Andkeepinmind:ifyouremail security fails, all other online services will fail too, since anintruder canuse the “password reset” fromanyother site tohaveanewpasswordsenttotheemailaccounttheynowhaveaccessto.

Creating security protocols and algorithms is the computerequivalentofrocketscience,buttakingadvantageofthemisn’t.Takethetimetolearnthebasicsandthey’llceasebeingscaryvoodoothatyou can’t trust. These days, security for your devices is just simplegoodsense,likeputtingonyourseatbelt.

Whowillanswerthephone?

Whenclientsorcustomerscalloremailduringtheirnormalbusinesshours, they’ll surely expect a timely response, regardless of whereyourworkforceislocatedorthehoursyoukeep.Yousimplyhavetodealwiththat.

Butthatdoesn’tmeanyoucan’tsetsomeexpectations.Jellyvision,for example, asks their Fortune 500 customers not to schedulemeetings with them before 10am to better fit remote workers indifferenttimezones.

Ifyouoccasionallyhavetocommitanhourortwotoacallatoddhours,it’snotexactlytheendoftheworld.Beingavailableforaone-off11pmor5ammust-dophone call is a smallprice topay for thefreedomofremotework.

At37signals,wemakesurethatourcustomersupportdepartmentisalwaysstaffedduringChicagobusinesshours,plusasmuchoneitherside aswe can cover. That doesn’tmean everyone has towork the9am–5pm Central Time shift, though. If you have some peopleworking 6am–2pm, some working 8am–4pm, and others working11am–7pm,youcancover thewholedayandmore,andnevermissanemailoracall.

Ofcourse,thismightnotbeaseasyifyou’reatinycompanywithjust one or two people responsible for dealing with clients. In thatcase, yes, you may well have to assign “regular working hours” tothose employees whose chief function is to answer customers. Butwhysubjecteveryoneinthecompanytothosehours?Falseequalitybenefitsnobody.

Workingremotelyisn’twithoutcomplicationoroccasionalsacrifice.It’saboutmakingthingsbetterformorepeoplemoreofthetime.

Bigbusinessdoesn’tdoit,sowhyshouldwe?

Manybigbusinessesgetawaywithstaggeringamountsofinefficiencyandbureaucracyandseemfineforyears.Onceacorporatebehemothhasbuiltabigfatmoataroundaherdofcashcows,whocareshow

manycowherderstheyhaveorhowlittletheygetdone?That’saroundaboutwayofsayingthatlookingtobigbusinessfor

the latest productivity tips is probablynot the smartest thing todo.The whole point of innovation and disruption is doing thingsdifferentlyfromthosewhocamebeforeyou.Unlessyoudothat,youwon’tstandachance.

So it really doesn’t matter that Multinational, Inc., forbids itsemployees towork from home. In fact, you should be happy if the800-poundgorillainyourindustryisstillclingingtotheoldwaysofworking.Itwilljustmakeitthatmucheasiertobeatthem.

The same is true if you actually do work at a big business. Bigbusinesses love to look atwhat each other is doing too. But if youhideintheherd,you’renotlikelytogetaheadofthepack.

Allyouneedisconfidence—confidencethatyouseeasmarterwayofworking evenwhen everyone else in your industry is sticking tobusiness as usual. That’s how great ideas evolve from being fringecrazytocommonknowledge.Takingadvantageofworkingremotelyis one of those ideas. It’ll be common knowledge and practice soonenough,butwhywait?

Breakingroutine isneverwithout struggle,ofcourse.Fighting theestablishedwisdomofthedayisneverafreeride.Fortunately,somebig companies already get it. Just to mention a few who’ve fullyembracedworkingremotely:IBM,S.C.Johnson&Son,Accenture,andeBay.Arethosebigenoughforyou?

Otherswouldgetjealous

Ifyou’repitchingyourbosstoletyouworkfromhomeafewdaysaweek, a common rebuff is howenvious your coworkerswouldbe ifyouweregrantedthisspecialprivilege.Why,itsimplywouldn’tbefair!

Weallneedtobeequally,miserablyunproductiveattheofficeandsufferinunity!Firstofall,ifworkingremotelyissuchanobviousgoodthingthateveryonewouldwant it,why shouldn’twe leteveryonedo it? Is thebusiness we’re talking about just an elaborate scheme to keepeveryone in their assigned seats for a set number of hours?Or is itratheranorganizationofpeoplegettingworkdone?Ifit’sthelatter,whynotletpeopleworkthewaytheyprefer,andjudgeeveryoneonwhat—notwhere—workiscompleted?

Second,ofcourseit’struethatsomejobssimplyaren’tagoodfitforremoteexecution.Ifavitalfunctionistosendpackagestocustomersand that requiresaccess to inventory,well, that task isnotgoing tohappen from home. But so what? Why force everyone in theorganizationtoworkthesameway?Theguysendingpackagesfromthewarehouse alreadyhas a different job from the girl running thebooksinaccounting.Differentjobs,differentrequirements.Peoplegetthat.

Thebestwaytodefusethe“everyonemustbeboundbythesamepolicy” line of argument is to remind your boss, yourself, and anyotherconcernedpartythatyou’reallonthesameteam.You’reallinthe game to find the best way to work: the most productive andhappiness-inducing setup wins. Hearing that pitch, only the mostclosed-mindedarelikelytocontinuediggingintheirheels.

Whataboutculture?

Cultureisn’tafoosballtable.It’snotapaintballoutingintheforest.It’s not even the Christmas party where Steve got so drunk thateveryone had a good story for the rest of the year. That’s peoplehangingout andhaving a good time.No, culture is the spoken andunspoken values and actions of the organization. Here are a few

examples:•Howwetalktocustomers—aretheyalwaysright?

•Whatqualityisacceptable—goodenoughormustitbeperfect?

• How we talk to each other—with diplomatic tones or shoutingmatches?

•Workload—dowecheeronall-nightersortakeFridaysoff?

•Risktaking—dowefavorbet-the-companypivotsorslowgrowth?

Ofcourse,that’spartlyalistoffalsedichotomies—mostcompanieslandsomewhereinbetween.Nonetheless,youshouldknowwhereyoufall. The combinationof all these values iswhat gives a companyacertainfeel,acertainculture.

Culture is incredibly important when it comes to loosening theleash. The stronger the culture, the less explicit training andsupervision is needed. In an ideal situation, managers-of-one areallowedtoroamfreely,itbeingunderstoodthatthey’lldoagoodjob—onecongruentwithwhatthecompanystandsfor.

You certainly don’t need everyone physically together to create astrongculture.Thebest culturesderive fromactionspeopleactuallytake, not the ones they write about in a mission statement.Newcomers toanorganizationarrivewith theireyesopen.Theyseehowdecisionsaremade,thecarethat’staken,thewayproblemsarefixed,andsoforth.

If anything, having peoplework remotely forces you to forgo theillusionthatbuildingacompanycultureisjustaboutin-personsocialactivities.Nowyoucangetonwith theactualworkofdefiningandpracticingitinstead.

Ineedananswernow!

Wheneveryone is sitting in thesameoffice, it’seasy to fall into thehabitofbotheringanyoneforanythingatanytime,withnoregardforpersonalproductivity.Thisisakeyreasonsomanypeoplegetsolittle

doneintraditionalofficesetups—toomanyinterruptions.Still,whenyou’reused to thismodeofworking, itcanseemhard toenvisionaworldwhereyoucan’tgetananswertoanyquestion,nomatterhowinsignificant, the second you think of it. Such a world does exist,though,andit’squitehabitable.First, it takesrecognizingthatnoteveryquestionneedsananswerimmediately—there’snothingmorearrogantthantakingupsomeoneelse’s timewith a question you don’t need an answer to right now.Thatmeansrealizingthatnoteverythingisequallyimportant.

Onceyou’vegraspedthat,you’retrulyonthepathtoenlightenmentandproductivity.Questionsyoucanwaithoursto learntheanswerstoare fine toput inanemail.Questions that requireanswers in thenextfewminutescangointoaninstantmessage.Forcrisesthattrulymerit a sky-is-falling designation, you can use that old-fashionedinventioncalledthetelephone.

With a graduated system like this, you’ll quickly realize that 80percent of your questions aren’t so timesensitive after all, and areoften better served by an email than bywalking over to someone’sdesk. Even better, you’ll have awritten record of the response thatcanbelookeduplater.

Thenext15percentcanbehandledinachatorbyinstantmessage.Mostpeopledon’tliketotypethatmuchinachatanyway,sothere’sa tendency to get to the point. What would have been a lingeringfifteen-minuteinterruptionnowturnsintoathree-minuteping-pong.

Finally,thelast5percentcanbedealtwithoverthephone.No,thebodylanguagedoesn’tcarryover,butunlessyou’refiringsomeoneorconductingadifficult review,maybe thatdoesn’tmatterasmuchasyouthink.

Breaking your and others’ addiction toASAPwon’t comewithoutwithdrawal. You’ll be frustrated the first couple days as your brainadjusts to matching interactions with others to the appropriatemedium.You’llalsohavetoresistthetemptationtojusttransferyourexpectationstoanewmediumyou’vechosen.Handling80percentofyourquestionswithemailwon’tworkoutwellifyougetupsetwhenpeopledon’tanswerwithintenminutes.

Once you’re ASAP-free, however, you’ll be amazed at how yourformerselfwasabletogetanythingdoneinthefaceofconstant in-

personinterruptions.It’salmostzen-liketoletgoofthefrenzy,toletanswersflowbacktoyouwhentheotherpartyisreadytoassist.Usethatcalmtobeevenmoreproductive.

ButI’lllosecontrol

It’s rarely spelled out directly, but a lot of the arguments againstworking remotely are based on the fear of losing control. There’ssomething primal about being able to see your army, about havingthemcloseenoughthatyoucanshout“Now!!”likeMelGibsondidinBraveheart,andwatchthempickuptheirspearsinunison.

To a lot of people, being the big boss is about achieving suchcontrol. It’s woven into their identity. To such alpha males andfemales, having someone under “direct supervision” means havingthem in their line of sight—literally. The thinking goes, If I can seethem,Icancontrolthem.

Wresting that antiquated notion of control away from managersisn’talogicalorrationalprocess.It’softensomethingthatneedstobeslow-walked—untilthepersoncallingtheshotsgetscomfortablewiththe concept. In someways it’s similar to phobia therapy. You can’tjust tell someonewho’s afraid of spiders that their fear is silly andhavethemsnapoutof it.Youhavetowork—onestepatatime—tomovetheissuefromthereptilianbraintothefrontallobe.

So if you’re fighting against someone’s fear of losing control, youhavetostartsmallandshowthattheworlddoesn’t fallapart ifyoustartworkingfromhomeonWednesdays.Notonlydidn’t itfallapart,butlookatallthisextrastuffIgotdone!Thenyoucanrampituptotwodays,andmoreflexiblehours,andbeforeyouknowityou’rereadytomovetoanothercityandthewheelsjustkeeponturning.

Well, it doesn’t always work out like that. Even the bestpsychotherapists sometimes fail to cure arachnophobia, and you’reprobablynotas thoroughly trained.Butat leastyouknowthatyourstrategyismorelikelytopayoffthanforcingthereptilianbrainintofight or flight. If it’s your boss, the choice will be fight, and you’lllikelylose!

Becausereptilianresistance isnot rationalbutdeeplyemotional—even instinctual—theexcuse“but I’ll losecontrol” is the toughest toovercome.Evenequippedwithall thegreatarguments in thisbook,youmaystillfail.Inthatcase,itjustmightbetimetosaddleupandconsideranotherplacetowork.

Wepaidalotofmoneyforthisoffice

This probably ranks up there as the most foolish excuse to forbidworkingremotely,butthathasn’tpreventeditfrombeingairedfromtimetotime.Youreallyshouldn’tevenhavetodignifysuchnonsensewitharesponse,yetyoujustmighthaveto,soherewego.

If someonehas run a businesswell enough to be able to afford afancy office, you’d think they’d be familiar with the idea of “sunkcost.”Buthey,wealllookattheKardashiansandthink,Howonearthdid they getwhere they are? Just summon that feeling, suspend yourdisbelief,andstraponyourtweedblazerforalessoninBusiness101.

Sunk cost means that the money spent on the office is alreadyspent.Whoever paid for it is not getting it backwhether it’s beingused or not. So, rationally, the only thing that matters regarding

wheretoworkiswhethertheofficeisamoreproductiveplaceornot.That’sit.Ifyouwanttogetallmathematicalaboutit,takeoutanapkinandjotdownafewnumbers.Sayyoucangetfiveproductivehoursoutoftheoffice(ha!)andsixproductivehoursoutofworking fromhome.That’s20percentmoreproductivitybyworkinginyourlivingroom.Who’sgoingtoargueagainstthat?

Thatwouldn’tworkforoursizeorindustry

Theeasiestwaytocounterallthegoodargumentsforremoteworkistonoteventry.“Yeah,thatsoundslikeagoodideaingeneral,butitwouldn’tworkformy industry.”Or“That’sfineforsmallcompanies,

butitwon’tscale.”Ohreallynow.Here’s just a taste of some of the industries in which we foundcompaniesabletotakeadvantageofremotework:

•Accounting

•Advertising

•Consulting

•Customerservice

•Design

•Filmproduction

•Finance

•Government

•Hardware

•Insurance

•Legal

•Marketing

•Recruiting

•Software

We aren’t just talking about tiny fringe outfits in these industrieseither. In health insurance, Fortune 100 provider Aetna has nearlyhalfofits35,000U.S.employeesworkingfromhome.Inaccounting,Deloitte, which has about the same number of employees, has astaggering 86 percent working remotely at least 20 percent of thetime.AtIntel,82percentoftheirpeopleregularlyworkremotely.

Eventhegovernmenthasgottenintothebusinessofremotework.Eighty-fivepercentoftheexaminersoftheU.S.PatentandTrademarkOffice, 57 percent of NASA’s workers, and 67 percent of theEnvironmental ProtectionAgency’s employees report that theyworkremotelytosomeextent.

Here’sasmallsampleofcompaniesatdifferentscalesdoingremotework‖

Companieswith10,000+employees

•AT&T(Telecommunications)

•UnitedHealthGroup(Healthcare)

•McKinsey&Co.(Consulting)

•Intel(Technology)

•S.C.Johnson&Son(Manufacturer)

•Aetna(Insurance)

•Cisco(Technology)

•Deloitte(Accounting)

•HSBCUK(Finance)

•BritishTelecom(UKTelecommunications)

•Unilever(ConsumerGoods)

•ExpressScripts(PharmacyBenefitManagement)

Companieswith1,000–10,000employees

•Mercedes-BenzUSA(Automotive)

•TeachForAmerica(Education)

•PlanteMoran(CPA,BusinessAdvisory)

•DreamWorksAnimation,SKG(FilmStudio)

•PerkinsCoie(Law)

•AmericanFidelityAssurance(Insurance)

•USDepartmentofEducation(Government)

•VirginAtlantic(Airline)

•BrocadeCommunications(Technology)

Companieswithlessthan1,000employees

•GitHub(Software)

•Ryan,LLC(TaxServices)

•Automattic(WebDevelopment)

•MWW(PublicRelations)

•Kony(MobileAppDevelopment)

•TextMaster(Translations&Copywriting)

•BeBanjo(TVSoftwareSupplier)

•Brightbox(CloudHosting)

•He:Labs(WebDevelopment)

•Fotolia(StockImagery)

•FreeAgent(OnlineAccountingSoftware)

•ProofBranding(Branding&Design)

Therereallyareveryfewindustriesleftinwhichworkingremotelycan categorically be ruled out. Don’t let “industry fit” be the lameexcusethatpreventsremoteworkfromhappeningatyourcompany.

* “J.C. Penney Exec Admits Its Employees Harbored Enormous YouTube Addiction,”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/25/jc-penney-employees-youtube_n_2759028.html

†“‘WorkingFromHome’WithoutSlackingOff,”WallStreetJournal,July11,2012

‡“Givepeoplethefreedomofwheretowork,”http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/give-people-the-freedom-of-where-to-work

§https://agilebits.com/onepassword

‖“WorkingOutsidetheBox,”IBMwhitepaper,2009

CHAPTER

HOWTOCOLLABORATEREMOTELY

Thoushaltoverlap

Working remotely, if it is to be successful, usually requires someoverlap with the hours your coworkers are putting in. Outsourcinggave remoteworkingabad reputation formany reasons,butoneofthe worst was that it could sometimes entail a full day’s delaybetween communication or turnaround. Yes, working with such a

delay is possible, but we don’t recommend it. At 37signals, we’vefound that we need a good four hours of overlap to avoidcollaborationdelaysandfeellikeateam.That’snotaproblemifyou’reinLosAngelesworkingwithsomeone

inNewYork, but it’smore of a challenge if, say, you’re inChicagoworking with someone in Copenhagen. That seven-hour timedifferenceissomething37signalshadtolearntocopewith.Therewasno easyway around it;we just had to compromise.We did itwithCopenhagen working from 11am to 7pm (local time) and Chicagoworking from 8am to 5pm—just enough for the key four hours ofintersection.

Thankfully, thereare lotsof enjoyablework-life schedulesoutsidetheregular9amto5pm.Embracethat.Ironically,you’llprobablygetfarmoredonewhenonlyhalfofyourworkdayoverlapswiththerestofyourteam.InsteadofspendingtheentiredaydealingwithUrgent!!!emailsanddisruptivephonecalls,you’llhavetheentirestart(orend)of theday toyourself.Plus,you’dbesurprisedathowmanypeoplepreferunconventionalworkschedules.Maybeitgivesthemextratimefortheirfamilyorhobbies,ortheysimplydotheirbestworkatnightorcrazy-earlyinthemorning.

Ifthere’sjustnogettingaroundthetime-zoneissue—e.g.,youfinda superstar designer in Shanghai and you’re in LA—well, you’reprobably going to have to work without a lot of real-timecollaboration. That’s not ideal; in fact, in most cases we think it’smoreofachallengethanit’sworth—butsomecompaniesstillmanagetogetitrightwhenthepayoffisbigenough.(Savingmoneyonlaborisdefinitelynotavalidreasontoinvitethehassle,butaccesstoone-of-a-kindtalentjustmightbe.)

Seeingisbelieving

Someofthedisdaintowardworkingremotelyisbasedonthefallacythatallremotecollaborationhappensblindfolded.We’veallsatonaconference call and spentminutes describing something that would

takesecondstoshow.It’snobueno.Fortunately, it’s an easy problem to fix. WebEx, GoToMeeting,

Join.me,andsimilartoolsallmakeitsimpletoshareascreen.Useashared screen to collaborate on everything fromwalking through apresentation, to going over the latest website changes, to sketchingtogether in Photoshop, to just editing a simple text documenttogether.

Before you know it, you’ll be so used to sharing a screen thatstartingacallwithoutonewillfeelpointless.Muchofthemagicthatpeopleascribe to sitting together ina room is really just this:beingabletoseeandinteractwiththesamestuff.

Notethatthetypeofscreensharingwe’retalkingaboutisdifferentfrom video conferencing, where the objective is to see each other’sface.Screensharingdoesn’t requireawebcam—it’smore likesittingnext to each other in front of a computer or a projector. It’s aboutcollaboratingontheworkitself,notaboutreadingfacialexpressions(althoughthattoohasatimeandplace).

Thisworksjustaswellforasynchronouscollaborationinslowtime.Whensomeonewants todemonstrateanew feature they’reworkingon at 37signals, often the easiestway is to record a screencast andnarrate the experience. A screencast is basically just a recording ofyourscreenthatotherscanplaybacklaterasamovie.Itcanbeusedin several ways, including for presenting the latest sales figures orelaboratingonanewmarketingstrategy.

Andifyou’reshakingyourheadrightnowbemoaningyourlackoftechsavvy,restassured:thisisn’tjustfortechies—it’sincrediblyeasyto do. On a Mac, screencast capability is built in: just start theQuickTimePlayerandselect“NewScreenRecording.”Showwhatyouwant to show, narrate the experience using the computer’smicrophone,andvoilà,everyonewillbeonthesamepageaboutwhatyou’vebeenworkingon.

Don’tworryabouttryingtomakeitperfect,either.ScreencastscaneasilyturnintoatimesuckifyoutrytomakethemOscar-worthyorwithoutasinglemistake.Justletthetaperollandit’llbemorethan“goodenough.”

Alloutintheopen

What do I have to do next? Where are the files for the pitchtomorrow?IsJonasfreetoworkonthiswithmenextweek?Doyouhave the email from Scott with the new mockups? These are allquestionsthatrarelysparkasecondthoughtwhenwesitnexttoeach

otherandworkthesamehours.Onceyougoremote,you’reinforawildgoosechase,though,iftheworkflowandstructurehaven’tbeensetupright.Here’s the key: you need everything available to everyone at all

times. If Pratik in London has to wait five hours for someone inChicago to come online in order to knowwhat he should work onnext,that’shalfaworkdaylost.Acompanywon’twastetimelikethatforlongbeforedeclaringthat“remoteworkingjustdoesn’twork.”

As we talked about earlier, this problem of materials andinstructions being out of reach is almost entirely solvable bytechnology. (The rest is a culture of good communication.) In fact,this very problem is why we originally created Basecamp, our firstproduct.Basecampgaveusasingle,centralizedplaceintheskytoputall therelevantfiles,discussions,to-dolists,andcalendarsthatkeeptheworkflow ticking. It’s whatmade it possible for us to grow theteamfromtheoriginalgangoffourtothirty-six.

WepairBasecampwithGitHub,acodedepository, so thatallourcode is available at all times to everyone, including changesuggestions that can be discussed in slow time—over a couple ofhoursordays—asprogrammerscommentonthethread.

Wealsouseasharedcalendar,soweknowwhenAndrea’scomingback from maternity leave or Jeff’s going on vacation. If yourcompanyistoolargetoshareonecalendar,breakitupbyteams.

Therearecountlesstoolsavailablethesedaystoensureeverythingisoutintheopenforyourteam.SomecompaniesmanagesimplybyusingDropboxtosharefiles.OthersusesuchproductsasHighriseorSalesforcetofollowuponsalesleads.

Thepointistoavoidlockingupimportantstuffinasingleperson’scomputerorinbox.Putalltheimportantstuffoutintheopen,andnoonewillhavetochasethatwildgoosetogettheirworkdone.

Thevirtualwatercooler

Workingremotelycanprovideaterrificboosttoproductivity.Fewerinterruptions,moreworkdone!ButallworkandnoplaymakesJacka dull boy. Eight hours straight ofwork is not the utopiamanagersmight think it is. We all needmindless breaks, and it helps if youspend someof themwithyour team.That’swhere thevirtualwatercoolercomesin.

At 37signals,we use a chat programwe created called Campfire.OthertechyshopsuseIRCserverstoachievethesame.Theideaistohaveasingle,permanentchatroomwhereeveryonehangsoutalldayto shoot thebreeze,post funnypictures, andgenerallygoofaround.Yes, it can also be used to answer questions about work, but itsprimaryfunctionistoprovidesocialcohesion.

Thewonderful thing about a chat room is that it doesn’t requireconstantattention.Peoplecheck inandcheckoutduring thedayatnatural break points. Did you just finish designing that screen?Awesome.Celebratebypostingafunnypictureofacatclappingandplay the vuvuzela sound. You’ll surely find a few coworkers whohadn’tseenthatparticularcatbeforeandbringsomedelighttotheirday.

Butifcatpicturesaren’tyourthing,achatroomcanalsobeagreatwaytodiscussnews,thelatestepisodeofGameofThrones,whatyouplantoeatforlunch—thesamethingsthatarediscussedaroundthewater cooler in the office. It’s also a neat way to have a sharedexperiencearoundliveevents.OurchatroomisalwaysbuzzingwhenApplehasoneofitsbigannouncements.

This means that you, the remote worker, are in control of yoursocialinteraction—whenithappensandhowmuchofityouneed.Atfirstitmightsimplyseemlikeawasteoftime,especiallyifyou’renotalreadyusedtoreadingRedditontheside,butit’saqualitywasteoftimewithyourcoworkers.Weallneedthat.

Forwardmotion

Whenyouandyourcoworkersaresittinginthesameplace,it’seasyto feel that you’re up to speed onwhat’s going on in the company.You stop and chat with office mates while making coffee in themorning,andoverlunchyoudiscussthelatestprogress.There’sjustaconstant,eventacitflowofinformationrunningthroughtheoffice.Oratleastitfeelslikethat,andthatfeelingiscomforting.

Working remotely doesn’t automatically create that flow. Sure,theremight be a projectmanagerwho checks inwith everyone viaemailorchat,butthatjustgivesheranideawhat’sgoingon.Toinstilla senseof companycohesionand to share forwardmotion, everyoneneedstofeelthatthey’reintheloop.

At 37signals we’ve institutionalized this through a weeklydiscussionthreadwiththesubject“Whathaveyoubeenworkingon?”Everyonechimesinwithafewlinesaboutwhatthey’vedoneoverthepastweekandwhat’s intended for thenextweek. It’snotaprecise,rigorous estimation process, and it doesn’t attempt to deal withcoordination.Itsimplyaimstomakeeveryonefeellikethey’reinthesamegalleyandnottheirownlittlerowboat.

It also serves as a friendly reminder that we’re all in it to makeprogress.Nobodywants tobe theone to report that “thisweekwasspent completing Halo 4, eating leftover pizza, and catching up onJerseyShore.”Weallhaveanaturalinstincttoavoidlettingourteamdown,sowhenthatcommitmentbecomesvisual,itgetsreinforced.

It’salsoalothardertobullshityourpeersthanyourboss.Intalkingto a projectmanagerwithout tech chops, programmers canmake athirty-minutejobsoundlikeaweek-longpolarexpedition,butiftheirtalltaleisoutintheopenforotherprogrammerstosee,itwon’tpassthesmelltest.

Simplyput,progressisajoybestsharedwithcoworkers.

Theworkiswhatmatters

Oneof the secretbenefitsofhiring remoteworkers is that theworkitselfbecomestheyardsticktojudgesomeone’sperformance.

Whenyoucan’tseesomeonealldaylong,theonlythingyouhavetoevaluate is thework.A lotof thepettyevaluation stats justmeltaway. Criteria like “was she here at 9?” or “did she take toomanybreaks today?” or “man, every time I walk by his desk he’s gotFacebook up” aren’t even possible to tally. Talk about a blessing indisguise!

Whatyou’re leftwith is“whatdid thispersonactuallydo today?”Not“whendidtheygetin?”or“howlatedidtheystay?”Insteadit’sall about thework produced. So instead of asking a remoteworker“whatdidyoudotoday?”youcannowjustsay“showmewhatyoudid today.” As amanager, you can directly evaluate thework—thething you’re paying this person for—and ignore all the stuff thatdoesn’tactuallymatter.

Thegreatthingaboutthisistheclarityitintroduces.Whenit’sallaboutthework,it’sclearwhointhecompanyispullingtheirweightandwhoisn’t.

Notjustforpeoplewhoareoutoftown

Remotework isn’t just for peoplewhoareout of town, across state

lines, or ondifferent continents.You canwork remotely fromdownthe street.Remote justmeansyou’renot in theoffice9am–5pm, alldaylong.At 37signals, thirteen people work out of our Chicago office. Or,

moreaccurately,thirteenpeoplehavedesks.It’saveryraredaythatall thirteenpeopleareat theoffice.Mostof thetimeit’s just fiveorsix.Theothersareworking—justremotely.

Andinthiscase,remotelymightmeandownthestreetatacoffeeshop. Or at home. Or at the library. Or in a coworking spacedowntown.Yes,technicallythey’recloseby,butiftheyaren’t intheoffice, they’reas farawayasanemployee inPhoenix,NewYork,orMoscow.

Ifyou’reanownerormanager,lettinglocalpeopleworkremotelyisagreat first step towardseeing if remotewillwork foryou. It’s lowrisk, it’s no big deal, and worse comes to worst, people can startworkingattheofficeagain.

Buthere’sthething:ifyou’regoingtogiveitashot,giveitarealshot. Try it for at least three months. There’s going to be anadjustmentperiod,soleteveryonesettleintotheirnewrhythm.Youcanevenstartwithtwodaysremote,threedaysintheoffice.Then,ifallgoeswell,flipit—twodaysintheoffice,threedaysremote.Workuptoafullweekoutoftheoffice.

Thispracticewillprovidetheconditioningyouneedpriortohiringyourfirsttrulyremote(read:faraway)employee.You’llbeprepared,you’llknowwhat toexpect,andyou’llhaveasuccessfulexperimentunderyourbelt.

Disasterready

In systems design there’s the notion of a Single Point of Failure, orSPoF.MuchoftheworkrequiredtoachievehighreliabilitygoesintofindingandremovingSPoFs.Everythingeventuallybreaks, so ifyou

don’thaveabackupsystem,itmeansyou’llbeoutofcommission.Forcing everyone into the office every day is an organizational

SPoF.IftheofficelosespowerorInternetorairconditioning,it’snolonger functional as a place to dowork. If a company doesn’t haveanytrainingorstructuretoworkaroundthat,itmeansit’sgoingtobeunavailabletoitscustomers.

This is evenmoreof an issue inplaces likely togethitby severeweatherornaturaldisasters.Thinkofthesnowstormsandhurricanesthatpound theEastCoast, the tornados that sweep throughKansas,the fires that plague Southern California—and that’s just a fewexamples in the United States. There are natural disaster zones allaroundtheworld.Yetpeoplestilldobusinessthere.

American Fidelity Assurance (AFA) cited the ability to continuehelping customers even during disasters as a key reason they’resticking with remote work. When they needed to close theirheadquarters inOklahoma City for inclementweather, their remoteworkers all worked from home and customers never knew thedifference.

Additionally,AFAemployeeswhodonototherwiseworkremotelyareaskedtodosoatleastonceortwicepermonthsothey’llbereadyif they have to during a disaster. The company also encourageseveryonetostayhomeduringthepeakoffluseasonorduringscareslikeH1N1.

Of course, while natural disasters are infrequent, personal“disasters”strikewithregularity,andatsuchtimestheabilitytoworkremotely is essential. In the traditional office scenario, your day isshotifyoucatchacold,yourchildissick,youhaveaplumbingissuethatrequiressomeonebehometogreettherepairman,oranyoftheothermyriad issues thatmightkeepyou fromleaving thehousebutnotnecessarilyunabletowork.

Being in the routine of remote work helps you deal with theseannoyanceswithlesshassle.Whatevertheworldthrowsatit,beitablizzard or the requirement to be home for the exterminator, adistributedworkforceisonethatcankeepworkingregardless.

EasyontheM&Ms

Mostofthetimewhenyouhearpeopleimaginingwhyremoteworkwon’twork, they’ll point to two things inparticular:One, youcan’thaveface-to-facemeetingswhenpeoplearen’tintheoffice.Andtwo,

managers can’t tell ifpeoplearegettingworkdone if theycan’t seethemworking.We’dliketoofferaverydifferentperspectiveonthesetwopoints.Webelievethatthesestaplesofworklife—meetingsandmanagers—areactuallythegreatestcausesofworknotgettingdoneattheoffice.That,infact,thefurtherawayyouarefrommeetingsandmanagers,the more work gets done. This is one of the key reasons we’re soenthusiasticaboutremotework!

Whatexactly iswrongwithmeetingsandmanagers (orM&Ms,aswe call them)? Well, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with them.What’swrongishowoftenthey’reappliedinofficesituations.

Meetings. Ah,meetings. Know anyone out therewhowishes theyhadmoremeetings?Wedon’teither.Whyisthat?Meetingsshouldbegreat—they’re opportunities for a group of people sitting togetheraroundatabletodirectlycommunicate.Thatshouldbeagoodthing.Anditis,butonlyiftreatedasararedelicacy.

When meetings are the norm, the first resort, the go-to tool todiscuss,debate,andsolveeveryproblem,theybecomeoverusedandwe grow numb to the outcome. Meetings should be like salt—sprinkledcarefullytoenhanceadish,notpouredrecklesslyovereveryforkful. Too much salt destroys a dish. Too many meetings candestroymoraleandmotivation.

Further, meetings are major distractions. They require multiplepeopletodropwhateveritisthey’redoingandinsteaddosomethingelse. If you’re calling a meeting, you better be sure pulling sevenpeopleawayfromtheirworkforanhourisworthsevenhoursoflostproductivity.Howoftencanyousaythatagivenmeetingwasworthit?Remember,there’snosuchthingasaone-hourmeeting.Ifyou’reinaroomwithfivepeopleforanhour,it’safive-hourmeeting.

Nowwhataboutmanagers?Managersaregood.They’reessential.Butmanagement,likemeetings,shouldbeusedsparingly.Constantlyaskingpeoplewhat they’reworkingonprevents them fromactuallydoingtheworkthey’redescribing.Andsincemanagersareoftenthepeople who call the meetings, their very presence leads to lessproductiveworkdays.

Partof theproblemis theperceivedneedtofillawholedaywithmanagement stuff, regardless of whether it’s called for or not. All

those dreaded status meetings, interruptions for estimates, andplanning sessions have a curious way of adding up exactly to amanager’s workweek. While monitoring output is sometimes quiteimportant, it’s rarely a forty-hour-per-week position. Ten hoursmaybe, but few full-time managers have the courage to limit theirpresencetothat.

Working remotelymakes it easier to spotmanagers drummingupbusyworkforthemselvesandothers.Theactofpullingpeopleintoaconference room or walking to their desks leaves no evidence ofinterruption,andit’sallofthesynchronous“dropwhatyou’redoingrightnowtoentertainme!”variety.Butwhenmanagementisforcedto manage remotely using email, Basecamp, IM, and chat, itsintervention is muchmore purposeful and compressed, andwe canjustgetonwiththeactualwork.

M&Mscontinue tohaveaplace in the remote-workingworld,butyou’ll be more conscious about how many you consume wheneverythinghasapapertrailonline.That’sagoodthing.WecanalldowithfewerM&Ms.

CHAPTER

BEWARETHEDRAGONS

Cabinfever

Hellmightbeotherpeople,butisolationsureain’theaven.EventhemostintrovertedarestillpartofHomeousSocialitusErectus,whichiswhy prisoners fear The Hole more than living with other inmates.We’resimplynotdesignedforalifeoftotalsolitude.

Theoccasionaldrawbackofworkingremotelyisthatitcanfeellikeyou’resurroundedbyplentyofpeople.Youhaveyourcoworkersoninstantmessenger or in Campfire, you receive a constant deluge ofemails,andyouenjoylettingthetrollsrileyouuponReddit.Butas

goodasallthatis,it’snotacompletesubstituteforreal,livehumaninteraction.Fortunately, one of the key insights we’ve gained through many

yearsofremoteworkisthathumaninteractiondoesnothavetocomefrom either coworkers or others in your industry. Sometimes, evenmore satisfying interaction comes from spending time with yourspouse, your children, your family, your friends, your neighbors:peoplewhocanallbethousandsofmilesawayfromyouroffice,butrightnexttoyou.

But even if youdon’t have friendsor familynearby, you can stillmake it work; you’ll just have to exert a little more effort. Forexample, find a co-working facility and share desks with others inyoursituation.Suchfacilitiescannowbefoundinmostlargercities,andevensomesmallerones.

Another idea is to occasionally wander out into the real world.Every city, nomatter how small, offers social activities to keep yousane and human, whether it’s playing chess in the park, finding apickupbasketballgame,orvolunteeringataschoolorlibraryonyourlunchbreak.

Cabin fever is real,and remoteworkersaremore susceptible to itthanthose forced intoanoffice.Fortunately, it’saneasyproblemtoaddress. Remote work doesn’t mean being chained to your home-officedesk.

Check-in,check-out

“Freedom is slavery,” wrote George Orwell in his novel 1984. Let’scompletely misappropriate that iconic banner and apply it to whathappens to remotework if you don’tmanage thework-life balance

correctly. That can happen, because when you’re set free frompunching inat9amandoutat5pm, it’seasy todontheshacklesofworkingaroundtheclock.Itstartsinnocentlyenough.Youwakeupbyopeningyourlaptopin

bedandansweringafewworkemailsfromlastnight.Thenyoumakeyourself a sandwich andwork through lunch.After dinner, you feeltheneed tocheck inwithJeremyon theWestCoastabout thatonething.Beforeyouknowit,you’vestretchedtheworkdayfrom7amto9pm.

That’sthegreatironyoflettingpassionatepeopleworkfromhome.Amanager’snaturalinstinctistoworryabouthisworkersnotgettingenoughworkdone,buttherealthreatisthattoomuchwilllikelygetdone. And because themanager isn’t sitting across from hisworkeranymore,hecan’tlookintheperson’seyesandseeburnout.

What a manager needs to establish is a culture of reasonableexpectations.At37signals,weexpectandencouragepeople toworkfortyhoursperweekonaverage.Therearenoheroawardsforputtinginmore than that. Sure, every now and then there’s the need for ashort sprint, but,most of the time, the company is viewingwhat itdoesasamarathon.It’scrucialforeveryonetopacethemselves.

Onewaytohelpsetahealthyboundaryistoencourageemployeestothinkofa“goodday’swork.”Lookatyourprogresstowardtheendofthedayandaskyourself:“HaveIdoneagoodday’swork?”

Answeringthatquestionisliberating.Often,iftheanswerisaneasy“yes,”youcanstopworkingfeelingsatisfiedthatsomethingimportantgot accomplished, if not entirely “done.”And should the answer be“no,”youcantreatitasanoff-dayandexploretheFiveWhys*(askingwhytoaproblemfivetimesinarowtofindtherootcause).

Itfeelsgoodtobeproductive.Ifyesterdaywasagoodday’swork,chances are you’ll stay on a roll. And if you can stay on a roll,everything else will probably take care of itself—including notworkingfromwhenyougetupinthemorninguntilyougotosleep.

Ergonomicbasics

Working from home gives you the freedom to work wherever youwant.Maybeyoustartatthekitchencounter,continueonthecouch,and, if theweather isniceandyouhaveagarden, finishupoutsidewhileenjoyingthesunshine.Butifyou’regoingtomakearealgoat

working from home for the long term, you’ll need to get theergonomicbasicsright.That means getting a proper desk (height adjustable?), a proper

chair (HumanscaleLiberty?),andaproperscreen(27 inches inhighresolution!).Allthatstuffcanseemexpensive,butit’sagreatbargainifitmeansnotruiningyourback,youreyesight,oranyotherpartofyouranatomy.

At Accenture, where 81 percent of employees work remotely tosome extent, they even have an internal process for this called“Ergonomics forProfessionals” toensureemployeesget it right.Thecompanyoffersa listofequipment that’sbeenpickedforergonomiccomfort.Italsooffersthesupportofacertifiedergonomicsexpert(anactualdoctor!)whocanworkwithpeopletofindthebestsetup.

Unlike at your company headquarters, where some interiordecoratorpickedoutthesamedeskandchairforeveryone,athomeyoucancompletelypersonalizeyourspace.Maybeachair isn’tyourthing.Wehaveemployeeswhoworkstandingup, leaningonstools,sittingonexerciseballs,andalternatingbetweenalloftheabove.

Infact,variationisoftenpreferabletoadoptingasinglestyle.Yourbodywasn’tbuilt tostay inthesamepositionforeighthoursaday,butit’shardtoswitchthingsaroundinmostnormalofficesettings.

Andlet’snotforgettheergonomicsofsweatpants!Whenyoudon’thave to dress to impress, there’s no shame in indulging your innerslob—at least part of the time. Just remember to change beforeventuringoutintotherealworldforlunch.

Mindthegut

Modernofficeculturehasneverbeenconducivetoahealthylifestyle.Get up in the morning, commute to work, sit in a chair for eighthours, then return home to the couch and TV—no wonder peoplehavebeengettingfatter.

Butitcangetworse!Ifyou’renotmakingaconsciousefforttothecontrary,workingfromhomewill likelyaffordeven lessopportunitytohityourrecommended10,000stepsperday.†Atleast,bytravelingtoanoffice,youhavetowalk toyourcaror to the trainstationor,evenbetter,rideyourbicycle.And,ofcourse,inaconventionaloffice,everyone walks around a little, seeking out those in otherdepartments.And there’salways thedashacross the street to lunch,andmaybeevensomesteps loggedonthewayhome.(Studiesvary,but officeworkers on average take between two and four thousandstepsperday.)

You’recertainlynotgoingtoturnintoamodeloffitnessbybeingtheaverageofficeworker.Buthowmanystepsdoyouthinkyougetstumbling out of bed and into your home office in the next room?You’dprobablybescaredtostraponapedometertofindout.

This very real problem was confirmed by the health insurancecompany Aetna, which has nearly half its 35,000 U.S. employeesworking from home. They discovered that the remote-working halftendedtobeheavier.Nowtheyofferonlinepersonaltrainerstohelpemployeesstayinshape.‡

At37signals,we tryourbest toencourageour remoteworkers toadoptahealthylifestyle.Everyonegetsa$100monthlystipendforahealthclubmembership,andwecoverthecostofweeklyfreshfruitandvegetabledeliveriesfromlocalfarmers.§

If there aren’t built-in reasons to move during your day, findexcuses tomove—for example, instead of just eating lunch at yourdesk,walktoacaféorsandwichshop.Takeyourdogforalongwalk.Useabreaktorunonyourtreadmill.Nowthatyou’vesavedtimebyskipping the commute, there really is no excuse for not finding theminutestoexerciseorcookhealthymeals.

Theloneoutpost

Here’s how to guarantee a remote-work failure: Pick one employeewho gets to “give this remote thing a try,” then just carry onwithbusinessasusual.Threemonthslater,mournhowitjustdidn’tworkout for your organization. “Jim simply wasn’t connected enoughanymore.”

Well,duh.

Youcan’texperimentwithworkingremotelybysendingoneortwopeopletoSiberia.Togiveitapropertry,youneedtosetfreeatleastanentireteam—includingprojectmanagementandkeystakeholders!And thenyouneed togive it longer than it takes tobreak inanewpairofshoes.

This is true even if you’re surrounded by people who are wildlyenthusiasticaboutworkingremotely(initially,mostwon’t).Itsimplytakestimetobreakoldhabitsandgetaccustomedtonewways.Whenyou’re used to interrupting anyone any time you want, there’ll beseverewithdrawalsymptomswhenyoucan’t.

There’llbedayswhenyouhateit,yourbosshatesit,andeveryoneelseyou’reworkingwithhatesit.Justliketherearedaysworkingattheofficewhereyouwishyoucouldjustturneveryoneelseintosilentgarden gnomes, so you can get a little work done. No workarrangementiswithouttrade-offs.

Theimportantthingisthateveryone—oratleastasizablegroup—feelsthosetrade-offstogether.Otherwise,it’stooeasyjusttofocusonthenegatives.Wheneveryoneelseisstillattheoffice,howwilltheyappreciate the time you’re notwasting in traffic, or the extra hoursyou’respendingwithyourchildren,reading,orwhateveryouenjoy?Theycan’t.

At American Fidelity Assurance, they launched their remote-workexperiment with a team they felt was a natural fit—a pilot group.Theymadesurealltechnologyandinfrastructurewasinplacebeforerollingouttheprogramtothewholecompany.Andthoseinthepilotgroup became “company advocates” for remote work, sharing theirsuccess stories with their coworkers. In doing so, they pointed outhowmuchtheirproductivityhadsoaredfromincreasedmorale.(Thegainwassosignificantthatanopenpositionwasclosedsinceitwasnolongerneeded.)

Giveremoteworkarealchanceordon’tbotheratall. It’sokaytostartsmall,butmakesureit’smeaningful.

Workingwithclients

Before we were a software company, we were a website designconsulting company. Companies would hire us to redesign theirexisting sites, or, occasionally, build themanentirelynew site fromscratch.Wedidthisworkfrom1999untilaround2005.Andwediditfordozensanddozensofclients—frommassivecorporationssuchasHP,Microsoft,andGettytoverysmallcompanies.

But here’s the thing: Out of the dozens and dozens of clients wehad, we only met a small handful. Most were based thousands ofmiles away. And we rarely got on an airplane to say hi and shake

hands.Weworkedremotely.Allthisworkresultedinmillionsofdollarsinfees.Yetwewerejusta small web design firm with a funny name (“37signals”) based inChicago.

What’sthesecret?

Thereisn’tasecret.Butwedohavesometips.First,whenpitchingbusinesses,lettheprospectiveclientknowupfrontthatyoudon’tlivewhere they live. You want to begin building trust right at thebeginning. You don’t want to drop the line “Oh yeah,wewon’t beabletoregularlymeetwithyouface-to-faceeveryweek’causewe’rein Chicago and you’re in Los Angeles” right before you sign thecontract.

Second,providereferencesbeforetheclientevenasks.Showrightup front that you have nothing to hide. Trust is going to be thetoughestthingtobuildearlyon,somakeitaseasyaspossiblefortheclienttogettoknowyourcharacterbylettingthemspeakwithotherclients—especiallyotherclientswhomayberemote.

Third,showthemworkoften.Thisisthebestwaytochipawayataclient’snaturalsituationalanxiety.Look,they’repayingyoubigbucksfor your work, and it’s totally natural for them to begin feelinganxious themoment they sendyou thedeposit.So show themwhatthey’re paying for.When they see the results of your efforts, they’llfeelalotbetterabouttherelationship.

Fourth, be very available. Since you can’t meet face-to-face, youbetter returnphonecalls, emails, instantmessages,etc.This isbasicbusiness stuff, but it’s tenfoldmore importantwhen you’reworkingremotely.Itmaybeirrationalbut,ifyou’relocal,theclientoftenfeelsthat, if worse comes to worst, they can knock on your door. They“knowwhereyoulive.”Butwhenyou’reremote,they’regoingtobemore suspicious when phone calls go unreturned or emails keepgetting “lost.” Stay on top of communications and you’ll reap thebenefits.

Lastly,gettheclientinvolvedandletthemfollowalong.Makesuretheyfeelthatthisistheirprojecttoo.Yes,they’rehiringyouforyourexpertise, but they have plenty of their own. Set up a space onlinewhereyou canuse a shared schedule, show themwork in progress,ask them for feedback, listen to their suggestions, and assign them

sometasks (or let themassignsometoyou).Whenthey feelpartofthe project, their anxieties and fearswill be replaced by excitementandanticipation.

Taxes,accounting,laws,ohmy!

“Isworkingremotelyevenlegal?”isacommonquestion.Theansweris“yes”—butyouhavetobecarefulwiththeimplementation.Laborlawscanbeatangledweb,andexposingyourselftoundueliabilityisneveragoodidea.

In theUnitedStates,peoplecanwork remotely fromanywhere inthe country. Same city, different city. Same state, different state.Athome sometimes, at the office sometimes. It’s all okay. There are,however,someaccountingconcernsyoushouldbeawareofifyouruna company and have remoteworkers outside your company’s homestate.Akeyconcerniswhetherhavingaremoteworkeroutofstateestablishesa“nexus” foryourcompany (the legal term forhavingataxable presence in the state). Having a nexus can lead to payingadditionaltaxesinthatstate.Andinsomecasesitcouldleadtoyourhavingtochargesalestaxonsalestocustomersinthatstate.It’sbesttoconsultaqualified lawyerandanaccountanttomakesureyou’reproperlysetup.

It’sslightlymorecomplicatedwhenyouhaveanemployeeworkinginanothercountry.This iswhere thingscangetabithairy,but theproblem is by no means insurmountable. Fundamentally, there aretwowaystohirepeopleinternationally:establishalocalofficeorhirepeopleascontractors.It’sbothexpensiveandslowtoestablishalocaloffice, and it guarantees you’ll have to deal with a taxation nexus.You’llneedtoretainlawyersandtaxconsultantstodoitentirelybythebook(whichwilllikelycostyouasmallfortune).Ifyou’regoingtohiredozensofpeopleinasinglecountry,there’sprobablynowayaroundit,though.

Fortunately, most of the time you don’t have to start with theGoldenGatewhenasimplesuspensionbridgewillgetyouacrosstheriver. That is, it’s probably best just to start out hiring people ascontractors.

Every country has its own legalmaze to complete to be perfectlylegalwhenitcomestocontractors,butthebroadstrokesareusuallypretty similar. To qualify as a contractor, someone has to work onself-directed work (a firm can certainly argue this for writers,designers, programmers, consultants, analysts, etc., but it might beharder for a role such as personal assistant). The person contractedeither has to have incorporated him or herself or be otherwiserecognized as a company in their own right, so that they can send

invoices.And theyunfortunatelycan’tpartake in the regular regimeofbenefitsofferedtolocalemployees.(Thatexclusionincludeshealthcare, but to cover that the contracting firm can always roll inadditionalcompensationaspartofthemonthlyinvoice.)

Thisisalsoexactlyhowitworksifyou’rearemoteworkerwantingto work for a company in a foreign country. Set up that personalcompany and bill your “salary” as invoices every month. Mostcountriesmake itveryeasy to setupapersonalcompanyand,withsuchasimpleinvoicesetup,taxationisnothardeither.You’llhavetoconsiderwhichcurrencyyourinvoiceisgoingtobebilledin,though.Mostcompanieswillwanttopayintheircurrency,whichmeansyoucarry the fluctuation risk—but as with anything in business,everythingisnegotiable.

So, to sum up, there’s a little more work for the remote workerliving in a different country, and there’s a littlemorework for thecompany that is hiring them. And technically, whether you’re acompanyowner or aworker, youare kinda runningwith scissors ifyou don’t hire an army of experts to cross every “t” on thearrangement.Butenterprisingcompaniesdo thisall the timeandsodo we at 37signals. It’s worth the risk to have access to the bestpeopleintheworld.

Ofcourse,ifyou’renotinclinedtorunwithscissors,youcanalwayshiresomeofthemanylawyersandaccountantswhospecializeinthisstuff.Don’tletalittleworkupfrontscareyouawayfromtheideaofremoteworking.Thelong-termbenefitsareworthit.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys

† “The Pedometer Test: Americans Take Fewer Steps,”New York Times, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/the-pedometer-test-americans-take-fewer-steps/

‡“ForSome,Home=Office,”WallStreetJournal,December20,2012

§“37vegetables,”http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3151

CHAPTER

HIRINGANDKEEPINGTHEBEST

It’sabigworld

Whenasanemployeryoureyesfirstopentotheadvantagesofremote

work,it’snaturalnottothinkoutsideyourhomecountry—especiallyif you’re in theUnited States, or other large countries. The thoughtruns through your head:Wouldn’t it be too much of a hassle to hiresomeone from London if we can find someone from Portland almost asgoodtoworkwithusinNewYork?Notreally.37signalsrosefromthatgrander,internationalhorizon.WithDavid

inCopenhagenandJason inChicago, thedistancewasn’t just cross-state; it was cross-continent. We’ve continued that trend over theyears,happilyfindingandhiringtalentfromallovertheworld.

Thebulkofthehassleinadjustingtoremoteworkexistsassoonasyou’re not sitting in the same office. The difference then betweensittinginthesamecity, thesamecoast,oreventhesamecountry isnegligible.Onceyou’veformedgoodremoteworkinghabits,thelackof proximity between coworkers will start mattering so little thatyou’ll forget exactly where people are. Nobody noticed much of adifferencewhenAntonwasworkingfromThailandinsteadofRussia.Andwe keep forgettingwhat city Jeremy is currently living in (it’ssomewhereontheWestCoast).Itjustdoesn’tmatter.

Thinking internationally when it comes to worker recruitmentdoesn’t just drastically increase the size of the talent pool; it alsomakes you better fit for tackling global markets. In software, forexample, it helps you catch all those little things—like the calendarweekstartingonSundayintheUnitedStates,butonMondayinmuchoftherestoftheworld.That’sprettyimportantifyou’redesigningadigitalcalendar.

Internationalexposurecanalsoserveasasellingpointwithclients.AlexCarabi,founderofCarabi+Co.,awebdesignstudio,livesandworks in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden, butpurposelyhiresremoteworkersinotherpartsoftheworldbecausehefeelshavinganinternationalteamhelpshimwinclients.Havinginputfrom Texas, London, and Auckland, New Zealand, contributes to awiderrangeofideasandperspectives.

As we’ve already pointed out, hiring around the world is notwithout complication, though. For one thing, as we discussed in“Thou shalt overlap,” youhave to ensure that the time zoneswork.It’salsoimportanttoknowthelegalandaccountingramifications,aswecoveredin“Taxes,accounting,laws,ohmy!”

On top of all that, bemindful of language barriers.With remotework,most communication iswritten.Manypeoplewho cangetbywithso-solanguageskillsinthespokenrealmfallflatwhenitcomesto the written word. There simply isn’t much room for weakcommunication on teams with tight collaboration. You need solidwriters to make remote work work, and a solid command of yourhomelanguageiskey.

The world has never been smaller and markets have never beenmoreopen.Don’tbeaculturalorgeographicalhermit.

Lifemoveson

Givenhowhard it is to findgreatpeople,youshouldbedoingyourutmost to keep them. That sounds self-evident, yet plenty ofcompanies are willing to let their stars disappear when life forces

themtomove.That’sjustplaindumb.Therearemyriadreasonswhypeoplehaveto—orwantto—move,

even if they love their job. Among them: they get married (ordivorced),theygrowtiredofthesnow(orextremeheat),theywanttobeclosertofamily,ortheyjustwantafreshscene.Noneofthishasanythingtodowithwork,butthefixationthatmostcompanieshaveonkeepingtheirworkerswithinaliteralarm’sreachmeansitquicklywill.

Asitturnsout,peoplewho’vebeenwithacompanyforalongtimemake ideal remote workers. They already know everyone, howeverythingworks,andwhattheyneedtodo.Throwingawayallthatknowledgeandgoodspiritisnotonlydumb,it’sexpensive.Nomatterhowwell qualified a candidate, nobodywill hit the ground runninglikethepersonwho’sbeeninthepositionforyearsandproventheirmettle.

In the many years 37signals has been in business, its practice ofholdingontomigratingworkershassucceededbeautifully.Davidhasmoved fromChicago toMarbella, Jamis fromUtah to Idaho,Kristinfrom Chicago to Portland, and Jeremy has lived in Portland,Pasadena, San Diego, and Phoenix, all while working for thecompany.

InthecaseofJellyvision,itwasactuallyastaremployee’sdesiretomove that put them on the remote working track. The employee’sspouselandedadreamjobthatrequiredhertomoveoutofstate.Theemployeedidn’twantto leaveJellyvision,andtheydidn’twanthimtogoeither.Tothisday,mostofcompany’sremoteemployeesstartedatheadquartersbutthendecidedtomoveawayfromChicagosecurein the knowledge that Jellyvision would want to keep them in thefold.

At American Fidelity Assurance, they were confronted with asimilar situation—a valued employee wanting to move but on atemporary basis. She moved from the company’s headquarters inOklahoma to Arkansas to be with her husband while he finishedcollege,butsheintendstomovebackoncehe’sdone.

Keeping a solid team together for a long time is a key to peakperformance. People grow closer and more comfortable with eachother, and consequently do even better work. Meanwhile, rookie

teamsmakerookiemistakes.

Remember,doinggreatworkwithgreatpeople isoneof themostdurablesourcesofhappinesswehumanscantapinto.Stickwithit.

Keepthegoodtimesgoing

It’s tempting to think that if you don’t have to sit next to someoneevery day, you can ignore all the social elements of hiring. All youneed is a superheroworkerwho can crankout good stuff as fast aspossible,right?Wrong.Deadwrong.

If anything, the human connection is evenmore important whenhiring remote workers because it has to be stronger to survive thedistance.When the bulk of your communication happens via emailand the like, it doesn’t take much for bad blood to develop unlesseveryone is making their best effort to the contrary. Smallmisunderstandings that could have been nipped in the bud with awinkof an eyeor a certain toneof voice canquickly snowball intodrama. That’s one of the key challenges of remote work: keepingeveryone’soutlookhealthyandhappy.Thattaskisinsurmountableifyou’ve stacked your team with personalities who tend to let theirinnerassholelooseeverynowandagain.

Evenforpeoplewiththebest intentions,relationscangoastrayifthe work gets stressful (and what work doesn’t occasionally?). Thebest ballast you can have is asmany folks in your boat as possiblewithathoroughlyoptimisticoutlook.We’retalkingaboutpeoplewhogooutoftheirwaytomakesureeveryoneishavingagoodtime.

Remember:sentimentsareinfectious,whethergoodorbad.

That’salsowhyit’sasimportanttocontinuouslymonitortheworkatmosphere as to hire for it. It’s never a good idea to let poisonouspeoplestickaroundtospoilitforeveryoneelse,butinaremote-worksetupit’sdeadly.

When you’re a manager and your employees are far flung, it’simpossibletoseethedreadintheireyes,andthatcanbefatal.Withrespect todrama, it thereforemakessense to followthe“NoBrokenWindows”theoryofenforcement.

Whatarewetalkingabout?Well, inthesamewaythatNewYorkcracked down in the ’90s on even innocuous offenses like throwingrocksthroughwindowsorjumpingtheturnstile,amanagerofremoteworkersneedstomakeanexampleofeventhesmallstuff—thingslikesnippy comments or passive-aggressive responses. While thisresponsibilitynaturallyfallstothoseincharge,itworksevenbetterifpolicedbyeveryoneinthecompany.

Sometimes it just boils down to practice. As online accounting

service FreeAgent learned: “Getting used to having deep, extensivediscussions over email or Basecampwas tricky. Learning to get thetone of yourmessages right can be a challenge—it’s all too easy tocomeacrossinthewrongway,especiallywhenyouhaven’treallygottoknoweachother,andwedidthisalltoofrequentlyforawhile.”

The old adage still applies: No assholes allowed. But for remotework, you need to extend it to no asshole-y behavior allowed, nodramaallowed,nobadvibesallowed.

Seekingahuman

Wemakesuchapointof lookingat theworkthat it’seasytoforgetthe humans behind it. Theway to turn out the bestwork is not toassembleacadreofninja robotswhocanwork fromdawn tillduskandthinkofnothingelse.Smartsolutions,friendlyservice,andedgydesign all happen at the intersection of professional skill and lifeexperience.

Whileyoucandomuchtocounterit,havingpeopleworkremotelydoescarrytheriskofnarrowingtheirlives.It’sthefurthestthingfromworkingonabigcompanycampus, forexample,with,potentially,agym, a restaurant, even someone doing your laundry (as is notatypicalinSiliconValley).Plus,there’seventhecasualFridayhappyhour.Aworkersearchingforadiverseworkexperiencemaylookatthatandfeelit’sthefinishedpackage.

Thatsetsachallenge foramanagerdirectingaremoteworkforce.Hehastoensurethatthisdiversityofhumanexperiencehappensforhis troops as well. The job starts with putting together a team ofpeoplewhoarenaturallyinterestedinmorethanjusttheirwork—anditcontinueswithencouragingthoseotherintereststobloom.

At 37signals we actively sponsor such endeavors. The last twoyears, our holiday gift has been a selection of curated travelingexperiences, suchasa trip toacookingschool inParisoranoutingfor the whole family to Disneyland—all intended to promotememorableexperienceswithfamilyorfriends,newplaces,newskills.

We’vealsosponsoredthepursuitofalonglistofhobbiesandmadesurethatpeoplegetthetimeofftofitthemin.Thosehobbiesincludebicycleracing,whittling,trekking,motorsports,gardening,andmanymore. Sure, people working in an office have hobbies too, but fewcompaniesgivetheirworkersboththetimeofftopursuetheirhobbiesandthefinancialsupporttomakethemaffordable.

Magicandcreativitythriveindiversecultures.Whenyou’reseekingremoteworkers,youhavetodoevenmoretoencourageandnurturediversity and personal development. It’s a small price to pay for amore interestingworkplaceandtokeeppeopleengagedforthe longterm.

Noparlortricks

It’s a recruiter’s dream. Ifwe could just give everyonea riddleor aquiz that would tell us whether they’re smart or not, we wouldn’thavetobotherlookingattheirpastworkhistoryorgivethematest

project.In the1990s,Microsoftwas infamous forusingall sortsof riddlesand quizzes and other parlor tricks to separate the wheat from thechaff.TheapproachwasballyhooedinthebookHowWouldYouMoveMountFuji?,whichissubtitledMicrosoft’sCultofthePuzzle—HowtheWorld’sSmartestCompaniesSelecttheMostCreativeThinkers.

Thismethod of identifying the best and the brightest is hogwash.The correlation between people who are really good at solvingimaginarypuzzlesandpeoplewhobestfityourcompanyis likelytobe tenuous at best, evenwith respect to engineering positions. Andwhiletheremaywellbesomematches,therearelikelytobefarmorefalsenegatives.

There isa timeandaplace forusingpersonalityassessments, likethoseprovidedbycompaniessuchasCaliper(whichdoincludelogicaptitudesections).Buttheassessmentsarestrictlytheretoremindyouoftraitsyou’vealreadyobservedbymeetingsomeoneinperson.(Youdidn’tthinkyoucouldgetbywithoutevermeetingthem,didyou?See“Meetingtheminperson”formore.)

Alloftheseotherparlortricksareindirectmeasuresoflookingatacandidate—probably even less reliable than looking at their collegegradepointaverage.Formostoftheworkthatcanbedoneremotely,it’sentirelyunnecessarytogotheindirectroute.

Instead,youcanaskcopywriters toshowyoucopy,consultants toshowyoureportsorresults,programmerstoshowyoucode,designersto show you designs,marketers to show you campaigns, and so onandsoforth.

This is an important aspect of recruiting in general, but it’s evenmore important for hiring remote workers. The main way you’llcommunicateisthroughtheworkitself.Ifthequalityjustisn’tthere,it’ll be apparent from the second the person starts—and you’ll havewastedeveryone’stimebyhiringoncircumstantialevidence.

Askingtoseeworkproductisprettyeasyforpositionswithnaturalportfolios,suchasdesigner,programmer,orwriter.Forpositionsthatdon’tlendthemselvestoportfolioaccumulation,youcansimplyposereal-worldproblemsandhavethepersonanswerthemaspartoftheapplication.

Forexample,allthecustomersupportpeoplewehireansweroneofthefollowingquestionsaspartoftheirapplication:

•DoesthenewBasecampoffertimetracking?

•IsthenewBasecampofferedinanyotherlanguagebesidesEnglish?

•I’minterestedinyourproducts,butnotsurewhichoneisrightforme.What’sthedifferencebetweenHighriseandBasecamp?

• I’vebeenaBasecampClassicuser foryearsand seeyouhaveanewversion.What’sthedifferencebetweentheversions,andwhyshouldIswitch?

These are all real questions from real customers that a supportpersonwould face all the time on the job. The applicantmight notknowtheanswerstothesequestionsoff thetopoftheirheadbeforeapplying, but the queries are approachable enough that a littleresearchintoourproductswillrevealtheanswer.

You need this kind of real-world, real-work filter when you’resorting through a hundred résumés from a hundred different cities.Booking flights for in-person interviews with everyone who has anappealing-lookingCVjustdoesn’tscale.

It’s the work that matters. Look at the work and forget theabstractions.

Thecostofthriving

Asacompanyownerlookingforawaytoreducepayroll,it’stemptingtorecruit fromplaceswithalowercostof living.Insomeindustrieswithlowmarginsthatapproachmaywellbeworthpursuing,butit’snottheinterestingpartofremoteworkingformostknowledge-basedcompanies.

InsteadofthinkingIcanpaypeoplefromKansaslessthanpeoplefromNewYork,youshouldthink IcangetamazingpeoplefromKansasandmake them feel valued and well-compensated if I pay them New Yorksalaries.

Ifyourentireworkforceislocatedinahothubandyoupaymarket

salaries, you’ll be under constant attack from poachers. People arenaturallymoreinclinedtochangejobswhenit’salevelplayingfieldandthepoacher’spayishigher.Nowcompare this tohiring an ace customer support person from

Fayetteville, Tennessee, or a star programmer fromCaldwell, Idaho,oradesignwizfromEdmond,Oklahoma,andpayingthemallbig-citymarketsalaries.It’sgoingtobeawfullyhardfortheemployeetofindabetterdealatalocalcompany(sincethey’lltendtopaylocalrates).

Infact,weactuallyhiredallthosepeople.Inorder,theyareChaseClemons, who’s beenwith the company for two years; Jamis Buck,who’s beenwithus for sevenyears; and JasonZimdars,who’s beenwith us for four years. In some industries, those tenures might notsoundsolong,butintechnologythey’reaneternity.

These days few companies offer remote work (though, of course,thepointof thisbook is that remotework is on the rise), andevenfewer do sowith equal pay for equalwork across geographies. Theones that do are at an almost unfair advantage in attracting andkeepingthebestpeopleintheworld.Sodon’tlookatremoteworkasaway to skimponsalaries;you’ll saveon lotsofother things.Yourstardesigneroutinthesticksis justasvaluable(maybemoreso)tothe teamas thoseworking fromthebig-cityhomeoffice.Makesureshefeelsthatway.

Bythesametoken,asaremoteworker,youshouldn’tletemployersgetawaywithpayingyoulessjustbecauseyouliveinacheapercity.“Equalpayforequalwork”mightbeadustyslogan,butitworksforareason.Ifwithregardtocompensationyouacceptbeingtreatedasasecond-class worker based on location, you’re opening the door tobeingtreatedpoorlyonothermattersaswell.

Greatremoteworkersaresimplygreatworkers

It’s a lot harder to fake your way as a remote worker. As the

opportunities to schmooze in the office decrease, the focus on thework itself increases. Additionally, central online repositories fortracking tasks and reporting progress, like Basecamp, create anirrefutablepapertrailshowingwhateveryoneisgettingdoneandhowlongit’staking.Thisgivesbacktheedgetoquiet-but-productiveworkerswhooften

lose out in a traditional office environment. In a remote setup, youdon’tneedtoconstantlyboastaboutthequalityofyourstuffwhenit’salready apparent to everyone willing to pay attention. Likewise, ifyou’realltalkandnowalk,it’spainfullyclearforalltosee.

Remoteworkpullsbackthecurtainandexposeswhatwasalwaysthe case, but not always appreciated or apparent: great remoteworkersaresimplygreatworkers.Theyexhibitthetwokeyqualities,asJoelSpolskylabeledtheminhis“GuerrillaGuidetoInterviewing”:*Smart,andGetsThingsDone.

Whentheworkproduct isout in theopen, it’smucheasier toseewho’sactually smart (as opposed to who simply sounds smart). Thecollective judgment rarely even has to be verbalized. Conversely, iftheworkkeepsgetting flaggedwithproblems, it’s evidence that theSmarts aren’t sufficiently present for the work at hand. Also, if thedurationbetweeninstallmentsofnewworkortasksbeingcheckedoffis persistently lengthy, it’s a sign that the Gets Things Done bit ismissing.

Bothoftheseweaknessesareeasiertomisswhenyouseesomeoneat the office every day. Especially if they’re just generally a niceperson. Themental shortcut usually goes: In the office from9–5+nice=mustbeagoodworker.

Of course, someonewho’s either not smart enough for the job ordoesn’tgetthingsdoneisalwaysfoundouteventually.Butsincefewpeople will tell on a colleague unless the problem is of seriousmagnitude, it’s common toget stuckwith lotsofpeoplewhoput inthehoursandareplentynice,butdon’tfitthecriteriaestablishedforbeingagreatworker.

Remoteworkspeedsuptheprocessofgettingthewrongpeopleoffthebusandtherightpeopleonboard.†

Onwritingwell

Being a good writer is an essential part of being a good remoteworker. When most arguments are settled over email or chat ordiscussionboards,you’dbettershowupequippedforthetask.So,asacompanyownerormanager,youmightaswell filter for thisqualityrightfromtheget-go.

Thismeansjudginganapplicationbyitscover…letter.Yes,theCVmight list all sorts of impressive stints here, there, and everywhere,butlet’sbehonest—it’susuallyembellishedandnotagreatindicatorofhowthecandidatewillperformforyourcompany.

No, the first filter that reallymatters is thecover letterexplainingexactly why there’s a fit between applicant and company. There’ssimply no getting around it: in hiring for remote-working positions,managersshouldberuthlessinfilteringoutpoorwriters.

Most applicants would probably be surprised if they knew howruthless hiring managers are these days. We’ve had openings that

haveattracted150responses.Howlongdoyouthinkwespendgoingover applications with the big comb? Less than thirty seconds perapplication.Sometimeslessthantenseconds.When amanager has towhittle down 150 tomaybe 10–15 for asecondlook,that’stheonlyapproachthatworks.Andit’sthewritinginthecoverletterthatdecideswhichapplicationsliveordie.

Thankfully, becoming a better writer is entirely possible. Fewpeoplearebornwithan innate talent forwriting;mostgoodwritershavepracticed and studied theirway through.Besides, it’s not as ifyou need to be Hemingway or Twain. But you do need to take itseriously.

You should read, read, and read some more. Study how goodwritersmaketheircase.Focusonclarityfirst,stylesecond.Hereareafew books to start with if you’re serious about becoming a betterwriter:

OnWritingWellbyWilliamZinsser

TheElementsofStylebyWilliamStrunkandE.B.White

RevisingProsebyRichardLanham

Are there any remote workers who can get away without strongwriting skills? Sure. If your work truly doesn’t involve a lot ofcollaborationorback-and-forth,youmightbeable togetawaywithless-than-impeccablewritingskills.There’saplaceforpeoplewhojustexcel at crunching numbers in solitude or sales people pummelingresistance through the phone. Goodwriting skills still help in thosecases,buttheycantakeabackseattoothergreatqualities.

Testproject

Itdoesn’tmatterifsomeoneislocalorremote—westillwanttojudgetheirwork,nottheirrésumé.

Alotofcompaniesbasetheirjudgmentsonworkalreadydone.We

dosomeofthattoo.Butwhat’strickyaboutthatisthatworkalreadydoneishardtoaccountfor.Whoreallydidthework?Wasitsolo?Ona team? What limitations were in place? Did the work take waylongerthanitshouldhave?Etc.Thebestwaywe’ve found toaccurately judgework is tohire thepersontodoalittleworkbeforewetaketheplungeandhirethemtodoa lot ofwork.Call it “pre-hiring.”Pre-hiring takes the formof aone-ortwo-weekmini-project.Weusuallypayaround$1,500forthemini-project.Weneveraskpeopletoworkforfree.Ifwewouldn’tdoitforfree,whywouldweasksomeoneelsetodoit?

If thecandidate isunemployed, theygetaweek. If theycurrentlyhaveajob,theygettwoweeks,sincetheyusuallyhavetocarveouttimeatnightorontheweekendstodotheproject.

The project depends on the job they’re applying for. A designermightbetaskedwithredesigningonescreenfromourwebsiteoroneofourproducts.Aprogrammermightbetaskedwithbuildingatinyappfromscratchinaweek.Ifyou’rehiringawriter,havethemwritesomething.

Whatever it is, make it meaningful. Make it about creatingsomething new that solves a problem. We don’t believe in askingpeopletosolvepuzzles.Solvingrealproblemsisalotmoreinteresting—andenlightening.

Meetingtheminperson

Bynowweknowwhat itmeans towork remotely,butwhatdoes itmeantohireremotely?Doyouhireremoteworkersthesamewayyouhirelocalworkers?

Assuming the person you’re considering has met your basic

qualificationsforskills,competency,etc.,thenextstepisfiguringoutif they’re the right fit culturally. Even though they’ll be workingremotely, itmakes sense,beforemaking the finalhiringdecision, tomeettheminperson.Thisallowsyoutogetafeelfortheircharacter.Are theypolite?Do they showupon time?Are they fundamentallydecent? Do they treat peoplewell?What does the rest of the teamthink?Youcantellalotfromaquickface-to-face.Whatweusuallydoisnarrowthefieldtoabouttwoorthreefinal

candidates.Thenwe’ll flyeach in foraday.Sincewealreadyknowweliketheirskills(otherwisetheywouldn’thavegottenthisfar),thein-personmeetingistodetermineifwelikethe“person.”

Themeetingisinformal—usuallyoverlunch.Andsincewehavealargepartof the teaminChicago,weoften let thecandidategooutwith their potential team coworkers instead of their manager. Theprospective hire is going to be working with their teammates a lotmorethantheirmanager,so it’s important that theteamgetagoodfeelforthisperson.

Afterthecandidategetsbackfromlunch,they’llsitdownwiththemanager,shootthebreezeabit,andthenthey’reinvitedtohangoutat theoffice the rest of theday.They canwork, observe,whatever.Wewantthemtoseeiftheyfeelcomfortablewithus,andwewanttoseeifwefeelcomfortablewiththem.

After they’re gone,we sit downwith the team that took them tolunchandchatabit.Weretheynice?Wouldyouwanttoworkwiththisperson?Howdidtheytreatthewaitstaff?Weretheyrespectful?Would they fit in at 37signals? It’s really up to their peers at thispoint.

Ifyoudon’thavepartoftheteaminthesamecityasthemanagerdoingthein-personevaluation,you’llhavetosimulatethesituationinotherways.Usingavideochatsystemthatallowsforawholegrouptobeonlinetogether,likeGoogleHangouts,isareasonablesubstitute.Itwon’tbeasgood,butit’lldo.

Intheend,wemakethecallontalentandcharacter.It’salwaysablend. Ifweoffer themthe job,and theywant toworkwithus,wevirtuallyshakehandsandofteninvitethembacktotheofficefortheirfirst few weeks on the job. This way they can get a bit moreacclimated to the team, the culture, the faces, thenames, etc.Once

oriented, they can go back home with a solid introduction to thecompany,thepeople,andthewaywework.

Contractorsknowthedrill

If there’s an ideal training regimen for remoteworkers, it’s being acontractor forawhile.Asacontractor,youhave tobeable tosetareasonable schedule, show good progress at regular intervals, andconvert anoften fuzzydefinitionof thework into a deliverable.Alltheseareskillsperfectlysuitedforremotework.

Contractworkisanexcellentwayforboththecompanydoingthehiringandthepersonbeinghiredtoeaseintoremoteworkandtryitonforsize.Inasense,bothsidesaretestdrivingeachother.Partofthe appeal of contractwork is that if your client is a bozo, then atleastyoudon’thavetoworkwiththemforever.Oncethecontractisup, you’re free to try another fish in the sea. But given howmanystories most contractors have about bozo clients, it’s not exactly astretchtoimaginethemchampingatthebitiftheyfindaclientwho’snot.

Someone who’s had a chance to taste the dysfunction of severalcompaniesasacontractorismorelikelytoappreciateacompanythatactuallygets remotework.Becauseof the trustneededandthegoodwork practices required, a contractor can be fairly safe in assumingthatacompanycoolwithremoteworkisjustcoolingeneral.

*http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html

† “Who” before “what” from Jim Collins’s “Good to Great”: http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html

CHAPTER

MANAGINGREMOTEWORKERS

When’stherighttimetogoremote?

If I’m starting a new company today, should I start remote today?WhatifIalreadyhaveacompany?HowdoIbeginincludingremoteworkersinaculturethatisalreadywellestablished?

Ingeneral, it’sbest ifyoustartasearlyaspossible.Culturesgrowover time, and it’ll be a lot easier if your culture grows up withremoteworkers.Thinkaboutkidsbornaftercomputersarrived—theyknow computers reallywell because they grew upwith them. Nowcompare that to your parents—they often struggle with computersbecausetheywereintroducedlateinlife.Yourcompanyisthesame.Startearly.

Thatsaid,ifyoudohaveacompanythat’swellestablished,youcanalwaysintroduceremoteworkerstothemix.Itwon’tbeaseasy,butlots of things that are worth doing aren’t easy. It just takescommitment,discipline,and,most important, faiththat it’sallgoingtoworkout.

Agreatplace to start is toallowyourcurrentemployees tobeginworkingremotely.Youdon’thavetohirenewpeopleoutoftowntotestthisout—floattheideatosomeofyourbestemployees.Tellthemtheycanworkfromhomeacoupledaysaweekifthey’dlike.Webetthatatleastafewwilltakeyouuponit.

Ifyoutreatremoteworkasalow-riskexperiment,you’llbeabletoiterate,adjust,andtryavarietyofthingstoseewhatworksbest.Youmay want to offer the remote option to people on different teams.Maybeit’llturnoutthatonetypeofjobiseasilydoneremotely,whileanother really feels as though it should happen in the office. Youneverknowuntilyoutry.

So start early ifyoucan,but ifyoucan’t, start small.Takea tinystepwithafewtrustedcurrentemployees.Letthemworkoutsidetheofficeacoupledaysaweek.Seewhathappens.It’slowriskandyou’llimmediatelystartlearningwhetherthepolicymakessense.

Stopmanagingthechairs

It’s easy to be a manager when all you have to do is manage thechairs.Making sure that the littleworkerbeesarrivebynine in themorningandgivingthemanextrastarontheirscorecardiftheystay

pastsix—thisishowmuchofmanagementhasoperatedsinceforever.It’sonlythroughthedeterminationofsaidworkerbeesthatanythingever got done over the years, given such ludicrous measures ofproductivity.Workingremotelyblowsabigfatholeinthatstyleofmanagement.

If I can’t seeworkerscome inand leave theirdesks,howonearthcan Imakesurethey’reactuallyworking?Orsogoesthenaïvethinkingofamanager of chairs. Thinking on it further, our naïve manager askshimself,Whatismymanagerialroleatthecompany,ifnottoensurethattheworkersareworking?

Elementary,Watson.Thejobofamanagerisnottoherdcats,butto leadandverify thework.Thetroublewiththat jobdescription isthat it requires knowledge of the work itself. You can’t effectivelymanage a team if you don’t know the intricacies of what they’reworkingon.

That doesn’t mean every programming manager has to be aprogrammer(althoughithelps)northateverydesigndirectorhastodesign every screen (but again, it helps if they’re able to). No, itmeans they should know what needs to be done, understand whydelaysmight happen, be creativewith solutions to sticky problems,divide the work into manageable chunks, and help put the rightpeople on the right projects. Well, that and about a million otherthingsthatwillensureworkproceedswithaslittlebotherandasfewobstaclesaspossible.

What’scertainisthataclued-inmanagerdoesnotneedtomanagethe chairs.When orwhere someone is doing thework is irrelevantmost of the time.Whether the copy is beingwritten in London, thecodeimplementedinMarbella,orthedesigndraftedinEdmondreallyhas no bearing onwhether the copy is good, the code is right, thedesignafit.

Meetupsandsprints

Just because you don’t have a permanent office, or not everyone isworking out of one, that’s no reason not to get together every nowandthen.Infact,it’salmostmandatorytodosooccasionally.

At37signals,wemeetupatleasttwiceayearforfourtofivedays.

Part of the reason is to talk shop, present the latest projects, anddecidethefuturedirectionofthecompany.Butthebiggerdealistoput moving faces with screen names, and to do it with enoughregularitythatwedon’tforgeteachother’sin-personpersonalities.Thefactis,it’sjusteasiertoworkremotelywithpeopleyou’vemet

in so-called “real life”—folks you’ve shared laughs andmeals with.Meetupsareespeciallyimportantasawaytointroducenewpeopletotherestoftheteam.SincewefinishedournicenewofficeinChicago,we’ve held our meetups there, but in the past we’ve picked suchplacesasKohler,Wisconsin;SanDiego,California;andYorkHarbor,Maine.

FreeAgent,headquartered inEdinburgh,Scotland, takesadvantageofthefactthattheworld’slargestfestivaloftheartsislocatedtheretobringpeopletogethereverysummer.Theirelevenremoteworkersjoin up with the other thirty-nine FreeAgent employees who livethere. Fotolia, a stock-photo company, employs eighty people withhalf working remotely across twenty-two countries. For their lastmeetup,theybroughteveryonetoMarrakech,Morocco.Talkaboutaninternationalspirit!

As importantas it is tohave theentire companyget together, it’salsoagreat idea tooccasionallydoasprintwithasmallergrouptofinish a specific project. If the companymust make amad dash tomeet a deadline—with the unreasonable hours and pressure thatimplies—itcanbenicetoslavethroughtheordealtogether.

We’vedonethisinthepastwhenwe’velaunchedanewproductorfinishedaparticularlygnarlyfeatureinoursoftware,orwhenpeoplehavesimplywantedtotopoffonsomesocialinteraction.

Going to an industry conference is another good opportunity forteambonding.You’ll learnsomethingnewtogether,andyouusuallyhavetheeveningsfreetosocialize.

Justbecauseyouworkremotelymostofthetimedoesn’tmeanyouhaveto,orshould,workremotelyallofthetime.Fillupthecamel’sbackeverynowandthenwithsomein-personfun.

Lessonsfromopensource

Would-beremoteworkersandmanagershavealottolearnfromhowthe open source softwaremovement has conquered the commercialgiants over the past decades. It’s a triumph of asynchronous

collaborationandcommunicationlikefewtheworldhaseverseen.Onitsface,itsoundslikeanimplausiblemission.Buildingcomplex

software isdifficultenoughas it is. Itwould seemprudent to try toremove all other sources of complication. Like, say, managingthousandsofpeoplespreadoutallovertheglobe,someeveninrarelyoverlapping time zones (which can pose the greatest challenge toeffectivecollaboration).

Butaswithmuchofintuitiveknowledge,thistooissimplywrong.FromtheoperatingsystemLinuxtotheMySQLdatabasetothePHPlanguage toRubyonRails,opensourcehasspankedsuchbehemothcommercialcompetitorsasMicrosoft,Oracle,andothers.

Comparedtoyouraveragebusinessorconsumersoftwarepackage,all these open source examples are endlessly more complex andinvolvefarmorepeopleintheirproduction.Ifpeoplecanmanagetobuild world-class operating systems, databases, programminglanguages,webframeworks,andmanyotherformsofsoftwarewhileworkingremotely,you’dprobablybewisetolookmorecloselyathowit’sdone.

Ifyoulook,forexample,atRubyonRails,thewebframeworkwecreatedat37signals,we’vemanagedtoevolvethecodebaseforoveradecadeandhavekeptaddingfeaturesandimprovingcodequality.Closeto3,000peoplefromdozensofcountriesandhundredsofcitieshavecontributedtothatcodebaseovertime—andthevastmajorityhave never met each other! Normally, the path goes like this insoftware development: old code + lots of new features + lots ofdifferentdevelopers=bigballofspaghettimud!

And yet it’s worked. Hell, it’s not only worked, it’s succeededbeyondourwildestdreamsandexpectations.Thekey ingredientsofthis success followmuch of the other advice in this book, but let’slookatafewanyway:

• Intrinsic motivation: Programmers working on open source codeusuallydoitforlove,notmoney.Oftenthemoneyfollows,butrarelydoesittaketheplaceofmotivation.Totranslate:workingonexcitingproblems you’re personally interested in means you don’t need amanagerbreathingdownyourneckandconstantlylookingoveryourshoulder.

• All out in the open:Much of open source is coordinated onmailing

listsandcodetrackingsystemslikeGitHub.Anyonewho’sinterestedinhelpingoutcanbecausetheinformationisalloutintheopen.Youcan self-select into participating, and the people with the mostknowledgeaboutanissuethusgeteasyaccess.

•Meetingoccasionally:Mostsuccessfulopensourceprojectseventuallygrowtothepointwheretheycansupporttheirownconferencesor,atleast, sessions at general ones. This gives contributors a chance tomeet in person to top off on social interaction—much likemeetupsandsprintsdoforcompanies.Butit’snotarequirement,it’sanice-to-have.

Sowhen indoubtordownabouthittinga roadblockwith remotework,justthink,AtleastI’mnottryingtocorralandmergetheworkof3,000 people across the globe on a single project. You’ll instantly feelbetteraboutthemodestscopeofyourproblem.

Leveltheplayingfield

Ifyoutreatremoteworkerslikesecond-classcitizens,you’reallgoingto have a bad time. The lower the ratio of remoteworker to officeworker,themorelikelythisistohappen.It’sthenormaldynamicanditwon’tgetsolvedunlessyoutackleithead-on.

Feelinglikeasecond-classworkerdoesn’ttakemuch.Caseinpoint:aroomfuloflocalpeopleandashittyintercomsystemthatmakesithardfortheremoteworkertohearwhat’sgoingonandevenhardertoparticipate.There’salsotheannoyanceofhavingeverydebateendwith“JohnandItalkedaboutthisintheofficeyesterdayanddecidedthatyourideaisn’tgoingtowork.”Fuckthat.

Asacompanyownerormanager,youneedtocreateandmaintainalevelplayingfield—oneonwhichthoseinandoutoftheofficestandas equals. That’s easier said than done, but oneway to better yourchances is to have some of the top brass working remotely. Peoplewiththepowertochangethingsneedtofeelthesamehurtasthosewhomerelyhavetodealwithit.

WhenNewYork City’s subway systemwas plagued by crime andvandalism in the 1990s, New York’s Police Commissioner WilliamBratton forced his commanders to use the subway.When they sawwiththeirowneyeshowbadthingswere,changesoonfollowed.

This doesn’tmeanmanagers have tomove to another city to feelthe samehurt.Justhave themwork fromhomea fewdaysaweek.They’ll get at least some sense of what it’s like to wear a remoteworker’s shoes. Even better, though, than having managersoccasionallywork fromhomeishavingthemactuallyberemote.Forexample, HermanMiller, theMichigan-basedmanufacturer of officefurniture, equipment, and home furnishings, employs as head of itsdesignteamBettyHase,whofromherofficeinChicagoreportstoabossinNewYorkandoverseesateamoftenlocatedacrosstheUnitedStates.

Themechanicsof leveling theplaying field arepretty simple:Getgreatintercomsystems,useshareddesktopappslikeWebExtoensureeveryone is seeing the same thing while collaborating, and hold asmany discussions as possible on email and other online messagingplatforms. Above all, think frequently about how you’d feel as aremoteworker.

One-on-ones

Whileweadvocatefrequentcheck-inswithallyouremployees, it’sagood idea to check in a bit more frequently with remote workers(since you’ll bump into people in your office as amatter of courseanyway).At37signals, our schedule is abit irregular,butwe try topick up the phone and talkwith every remote person at least onceevery fewmonths. In a perfect world we’d do it every month, buteveryfewmonthshasserveduswell.

Wecalltheseregularcheck-ins“one-on-ones,”butothercompaniessimplycall them“check-ins”or“regulars.”Thekey is tomakethemcasualandconversational.Thisisa“what’sup,howarethings?”callmore thana specific critiqueofa specificprojectora response toapieceofwork.Thesechatstypicallylasttwentyorthirtyminutes,butit’s good to keep an hour open—just in case. If the conversation isgoingwell,youdon’twanttohavetocutthingsshort.

The goal here is really just to keep a consistent, open line ofcommunication. These quick calls prevent issues and concerns frompilingupwithoutbeingaddressed.Moraleandmotivationarefragilethings,soyouwanttomakesuretomonitorthepulseofyourremoteworkforce.Waitingsixmonthsorayearforthenextformalreviewistoolong.

Further, formal annual reviews areusually toobig-picture topickup on the small things. Formal reviews cover such things as long-rangegoals,salaryadjustments,possiblepromotions,etc.Buttherealdangers are the small things—the concerns that creep up betweenannualcheck-ins.

The beauty of all this is that even though someone’s a thousandmiles away, everyone knows how to have a phone call. Just chat,nothing more, and see what comes up. You’ll be surprised at howmuchyou’llunearthduringjustyourfirstone-on-one.

Removetheroadblocks

Getting stuff done while working remotely depends, first, on beingabletomakeprogressatallhours.It’snogoodtwiddlingyourthumbsfor three hours waiting for a manager to grant you permission, orhoping a coworker gets up soon so he or she can show you howsomethingworksintheremoteworld.

You don’t really notice these roadblocks when you work 9am to5pminthesameofficeasallyourcoworkers.WhocaresifonlyJeffisabletodeployanewversionofthesoftwareifhe’srightacrossfromyouandallyouhavetodoisask?Orwhethereveryrefundhastobeauthorized by Jason before it goes out? The best way to ease theremoteworker’splight is todoawaywith theseroadblocksentirely.Startbyempoweringeveryonetomakedecisionsontheirown.Ifthecompany is full of people whom nobody trusts to make decisionswithout layersofmanagerialreview,thenthecompanyis fullofthewrongpeople.

Butreally,that’srarelythecase.Whatisthecaseisthatpeopleareoftenscaredtomakeadecisionbecausetheyworkinanenvironmentofretributionandblame.Thatstyleofworkisveryincompatiblewithremotework.Asamanager,youhavetoaccept the fact thatpeoplewillmakemistakes, but not intentionally, and thatmistakes are thepriceoflearningandself-sufficiency.

Second,youmustmakesurethatpeoplehaveaccess,bydefault,toeverything they need. Most companies start out by adopting thereverse policy: everyone is only granted access to information andapplicationsonaneed-to-knowbasis.That’scompletelyunnecessary.Unless youwork in themilitary, or belong to one of the very rarefirmsthatdealwithsuper-confidentialinformation—informationthateven trusted employees can’t be trusted with—keeping these accessbarriers in place is justmaking it difficult for everyone to get theirworkdone.

Part of the problem is the occasional pride thatmanagers take inbeingMr.orMs.Roadblock.Havingtobeasked—evencourted—givesthem a certain perverse satisfaction. Do not discount how powerfulthissyndromecanbe.

It’smuchbettertorecognizethatcertainpeoplecantakeaninterestin routing things through their desk even if it serves no logicalpurpose.Onceyouidentifythattendency,youcanworktoreplacethebusyworkofpermissionsandcontrolswiththeactualworkofcreatingvalueforthebusinessanditscustomers.

At 37signals we’ve created a number of ways to eradicateroadblocks.First,everyonegetsacompanycreditcardandistoldto“spend wisely.” There’s no begging to spend money on neededequipmenttogettheworkdone,andtherearenoexpensereportstofillout(justforwardallreceiptstoaninternalemailaddressincaseofanaudit).

Second, workers at 37signals needn’t ask permission to go onvacationorspecifyhowmuchtimethey’lltake.Wetellthem:justbereasonable, put it on the calendar, and coordinate with yourcoworkers.Ifyouletthem,humanshaveanamazingpowertoliveuptoyourhighexpectationsofreasonablenessandresponsibility.

Beonthelookoutforoverwork,notunderwork

If you’ve read about remote-work failures in the press, you mightthinkthatthemajorriskinsettingyourpeoplefreeisthatthey’llturninto lazy, unproductive slackers. In reality, it’s overwork, notunderwork, that’s the real enemy in a successful remote-workingenvironment.

This is especially so when you have people working in multipletimezonesandatallhoursoftheday.Inthetraditionalofficesetup,peoplemightstaya fewhoursafterclosing time,but theysurelygo

home at some point. For remote workers, the lines are sometimesblurrier. IfyouhavecoworkersspreadfromLosAngeles toMoscow,you can be working almost around the clock, and there’ll still besomeoneonlinetocollaboratewith.Butevenwhenyouandyourcolleaguesareworkingtogetherinthesame time zone, it can be a problem. Working at home and livingthere means there’s less delineation between the two parts of yourlife.You’llhaveallyourfilesandallyourequipmentrightathand,soifyoucomeupwithanideaat9pm,youcankeepplowingthrough,even if you already put inmore than adequate hours from 7am to3pm.

The fact is, it’s easy to turn work into your predominant hobby.Hmmm,mypartnerisofftoseefriendsfortheevening?Mightaswelljustfinish up this one project. Ah, it’s raining this Saturday?Well, I guess IcouldjustfinishthatonereportfortheTuesdayconferencecall.

Thismight sound like an employer’s dream:workers putting in atonof extrahours fornoadditionalpay!But it’snot. Ifwork is all-consuming,theworkerisfarmorelikelytoburnout.Thisistrueevenifthepersonloveswhathedoes.Perhapsespeciallyifheloveswhathedoes,sinceitwon’tseemlikeaproblemuntilit’stoolate.

It’s everyone’s job to be on the lookout for coworkers who areoverworkingthemselves,butultimatelytheresponsibilitylieswiththemanagers and business owners to set the tone. It’smuch likelier tobreed a culture of overwork ifmanagers and owners are constantlyputtinginHe-Manhours.

At37signals,we fight thisnatural tendency towardoverwork inavarietyofways.Forexample,fromMaytoOctober,wegiveeveryonean additional weekday off—more time to spend outside while theweather is nice and a good way to decompress from a hard-workwinter.Wealsosponsoremployees’hobbiesandencouragepeopletotakevacationsbygivingthemtailoredexcursionsoftheirchoosingasholidaygifts.

In the sameway thatyoudon’twantagangof slackers,youalsodon’twantabandofsupermen.Thebestworkersoverthelongtermarepeoplewhoputinsustainablehours.Nottoomuch,nottoolittle—justright.Fortyhoursaweekonaverageusuallydoesthetrick.

Usingscarcitytoyouradvantage

When something’s scarce, we tend to conserve, appreciate, respect,and value it. When something is abundant, we rarely think twiceabout how we use or spend it. Abundance and value are oftenopposites.

Oneobvioussideeffectofaremoteworkforceisreducedfacetime.On the surface that seems likeabad thing.Whymake itharder forpeople to communicate?Why force people to phone, email, instantmessage, or video chat to have a conversation? Wouldn’tcommunicatingface-to-facebebetter?

Face-to-faceconversations,and their firstcousin, themeeting,canbegreat.Whenthere’sacomplicatedmattertodiscuss,onerequiring

a lot of interaction to sort through, few things beat a face-to-facemeeting.However,whensuchmeetingsoccurallthetime,theybeginto lose their value. Whereas before they’d been the perfectopportunity for a high-value exchange of information, they start tobecomeroutine,tired,playedout,and,ultimately,anenormouswasteof time.Questions that couldhavebeen answered in a fewminutesvia email or the phone turn into forty-five minute in-personconversations.Onceinawhilethesegabfestsarefine,butwhentheybecomethenorm—whenthey’reabundant—you’vegotaproblem.This is where remote working shines. When most conversationshappenvirtually—onthephone,viaemail,inBasecamp,overinstantmessage, or in a Skype video chat—people actually look forward tothesespecialopportunitiesforaface-to-face.Thescarcityofsuchfacetime in remote working situations makes it seem that much morevaluable.Andasaresult,somethinginterestinghappens:peopledon’twastethetime.Anawarenessofscarcitymakesthemuseitwisely.

Weseethisfrequentlyat37signals.Sincemostofusworkremotely,wereallyvalueouroccasionalfacetime.AfewtimesayearthewholecompanygetstogetherforaweekinChicago.Wehangout,talkalot,gettogetherinsmallgroups.Overthecourseofthesefewdayswe’rewildly productive. But if we did this constantly, we’d be wildlywasteful. It’s the scarcity of the time together that makes it morevaluable.

Sogoon—makeface-to-faceharderandlessfrequentandyou’llseethevalueoftheseinteractionsgoup,notdown.

CHAPTER

LIFEASAREMOTEWORKER

Buildingaroutine

If nothing else, the standard9am–5pm jobwith a commute at leasthasasolidroutinegoingforit.Thealarmgoesoffatroughlythesametimeeveryday,youheadintotheofficeonthetrain,youloosenthetie when you come back home, you pour yourself a scotch on therocks…Okay,perhapsyourroutineisn’tquiteso1950s,butyougetthepoint.

Working fromhomeoffersyou fargreater freedomand flexibility.Thatmightseemlikeanenviabledreamtoanyonestuckinacubicle,counting down theminutes until theworkday is officially over, butthe reality is not quite so clear-cut. Without clear boundaries androutines,thingscangetmurky.

Ifyoudon’thavetobeanywhereatacertaintime,youcaneasilyenduplyinginbeduntilclosetonoon,justcasuallyworkingawayonthe laptop. Or you can let work drift into that evening you’resupposedtosharewithyourspouseandkids.“Daaad,whyaren’tyouwatchingtheshowwithus?”

While some might be able to juggle that floating lifestyle, mostpeopleneedsomesortofroutine—somethingtheycansticktoatleastmost of the time.We’ll cover how to use different technologies forworkandplayin“Computedifferent,”but,thefactis,therearemanytricksyoucanemploytobringsomestructuretoyourday.

Takethosecomfysweatpants,forexample.Theymightbegreatforyour physical comfort, but there’s good reason to ponder whetherthey’reagreatfitforyourstateofmind.Inthesamewaythatthere’sa benefit to creating a separation between personal and workcomputing, it can also be helpful to separate the clothes youwear,dependingwhetheryou’reinworkorplaymode.

Thisdoesn’tmeanyouhavetodressupinasuiteveryday(butifthat’swhatfloatsyourboat,getthatbowtiespinning!).We’remerelysuggestingthatyoudemarcatethedifferencebetweenworkandplay.Simply lookingpresentable isusuallyenough.Oneofouremployees,Noah, likes to demarcate using his slippers: he has both awork setand ahome set!Not everyoneuses suchprops or even requires thementalseparationthey’remeanttocreate,butifyou’rehavingtroublegettingintoworkmodeinthemorning,tryputtingonsomepants.

Another hack is to divide the day into chunks like Catch-up,Collaboration, and Serious Work. Some people prefer to use themorningstocatchuponemail,industrynews,andotherlow-intensitytasks,andthenputtheirgamefaceonfortearingthroughthetoughstuffafterlunch.

Depending on your time zone, you might do the same but inreverse. For example, when David is working from Spain, his earlymornings are great for getting stuff done before anyone from theUnitedStatesisawake.Afteramid-morningtoafternoonbreakspentwithhisfamily,heusestheeveningsforcollaboration.

Finally,youcanusethelayoutofyourhouseasaswitch.Makesurethat real work only happens when you’re in your dedicated homeoffice.Nocheckingworkemailorjustgettingalittlemoredoneinthelivingroomoryourbedroom.

Differentstrokesfordifferentfolks,soconsiderallthesesuggestionsforhowtobuildyourpersonalroutineasmerelythat—suggestions.Ifyou’re getting everything you need to get done just freewheeling,more power to you. But most people will need some semblance ofstructure toget themostoutofworking remotely.Findwhatworksforyou,pantsornopants!

Morningremote,afternoonlocal

Aswe’vesaidelsewhereinthisbook,remoteisn’tallornothing.Somepeoplecanbelocal,somecanberemote.Orsomedayscanbespentintheoffice,andsomeoutsideoftheoffice.

Butyoucanbreakitdownevenmore.Daysdon’thavetobeallornothing,either.Youcanslicethedayinhalfandworkremotelyinthemorning and at the office in the afternoon. In fact, that’s a prettypopularpatternat37signals.

Jason usually spends the mornings at home, then heads into theoffice around11.That doesn’tmeanhe startswork at 11.He startsaround7:30or8am.Butheuses themorning tocatchupon thingsthatrequirezeroofficedistractions,andthenheadsintotheofficeformorecollaborativeworkintheafternoon.

Flexibilityisyourfriendhere.Remoteisn’tbinary.It’snothereorthere,thisorthat.Infact,formany,thehybridapproachistherightplacetostart.Ifyoustillwantpeopleintheofficeeveryday,changethat requirement to every afternoon instead. Then let your troopshavetheirmorningstothemselves.Youmaybesurprisedtofindoutmoreworkgetsdonethisway.

Computedifferent

Thegraylinebetweenworkandplaycanbehardtoseeonthebestofdays, but almost impossible when you use the same computer forboth.Sure,youcouldmakesure toquityourprograms forchatand

emailwhenyou’reofftheclock,butyouknowyouwon’t.Thatsortofdisciplineisnotformeremortals.Amoreplausible,humanstrategyistoseparatethetwocompletely

byusingdifferentdevices:simplyreserveonecomputerforworkandanotherforfun.

Thisworksdoubly awesome if your fundevice can’t even run theprograms needed to do your real work. Programming or designingmightbetechnicallypossibleonaniPad,butcertainlynotdesirable.

Youcanbackthisupbyconfiningtheworkcomputertothehomeoffice.Thisworksevenbetterifyouhookituptoenoughkeyboard,mouse, and monitor wires to make it a real hassle to disconnect.Having created conditions that necessitate getting off your comfycouch to check work email, your laziness will win most nights,leavingyoutorechargeyourmentalbatteriesuntilthemorning.

We’vefoundthatusingacompletelydifferentdevice—say,atabletinsteadofalaptop—alsobringsahealthychangeofscenery.Ifyousitin frontof akeyboardallday long, it’s great to “geardown” in theeveningbyusingjusttapsandgestures.Itmakescomputingfeellikesomethingotherthanwork.

Asimilareffectisachievedbyseparatingworkandhomeaccountsforemailandchat.Thisisabithardertodo,butthepayoffisequallysweet.Ifyourworkemailisavailable24/7onyourtabletandphone,youprobablywon’tbeabletoresistthetemptation.

Thesedays,havingasecondorthirdcomputingdeviceinthehouseis so cheap that there’s little excuse. Think of that iPad as yoursweatpants—perfectforloungingaroundthehouse,butnotsomethingyou’dthinkoftakingtotheoffice.

Workingaloneinacrowd

Getting away from the office is great for your productivity becausenobodycandisturbyouinperson.Abossorcoworkermightsendyouanemail(whichyoucanignoreforanhour)ortheycantryyouon

instantmessenger(andfindyou“Away”),buttheycan’tjustbargeinonyourflow.Theyneedyourpermission.Sowhat’snottolike?

Forsomepeople,nothing.Certainremoteworkerswillfind,though,that it’s actually harder to get into the flowwhen they’re sitting incomplete isolation. If that resonates, here’s a simple strategy: Takeyour laptop and head to the nearest coffee shop with WiFi. Thereyou’llgettoworkalonewithnointerruptionfromcoworkers,butstillenjoythebuzzingwhitenoiseofthecrowd.

Itsoundscounterintuitive,butthepresenceofotherpeople,evenifyou don’t know them, can fool yourmind into thinking that beingproductiveistheonlyproperthingtodo.Whoreallywantstobetheslacker sitting inacoffee shopduringworkinghours,watching sillycatsonRedditorplayingavideogame?

Ofcourse,yourhangoutdoesn’thave tobeacoffeeshop.Try thelibraryoraparkoraco-workingfacility(whichwe’llsoondiscussindetailin“Noextraspaceathome”).

Andlikeremoteworkitself,theplaceyouchoosetogotowhenyouwanttotakeabreakfromhomedoesn’thavetobeanall-or-nothingproposition. For example, you can reserve driving downtown to thecoffee shop for thoseoccasionswhenyou really need to ensure thatnotasecondisspentonleisurelybrowsing.

Stayingmotivated

Motivationisthefuelof intellectualwork.Youcangetseveraldays’worth of work completed in one motivation-turboed afternoon. Or,whenyou’remotivationstarved,youcanwasteaweekgettingaday’sworthofworkdone.

What exactly is the trick in a remote-working world? If you’re amanager,howcanyouensurethateachmemberofyourremoteteamis highly motivated? Should you threaten them with the stick ordanglethecarrot?

As detailed by Alfie Kohn in his wonderful book Punished byRewards:*neither.Tryingtoconjuremotivationbymeansofrewardsor threats is terribly ineffective. In fact, it’s downrightcounterproductive.

Rather, the only reliable way to muster motivation is byencouragingpeopletoworkonthestufftheylikeandcareabout,withpeopletheylikeandcareabout.Therearenoshortcuts.

At first, that’s a hard nut to swallow. Especially for managers.“Workisnotallfunandgames”isacommonobjection.Perhaps.Butwhycan’titbechallenging,interesting,andengaging?Characterizingpleasure in work as “fun and games” belittles the intellectualstimulationofajobwelldone.

So instead of trying to treatmotivation as something that can beartificiallyginnedupwithjusttherighttricks,treatitasabarometerof the quality of work and the work environment. If a worker’smotivation is slumping, it’s probably because the work is weaklydefinedorappearspointless,orbecauseothersontheteamareactingliketools.

Ifyou’reworkingremotelyandfindyourselftakingaweektodoaday’swork, that’s a flashing red light and it should be heeded. Thesooneryouactonthatmessage,thebetter.

Butthat’srarelyhowitgoes.Mostpeoplesufferingfromalackofmotivationwill blame themselves first. “Ah, it’s because I’m such aprocrastinator!” “Why can’t I just get myself together?” The truth,moreoften thannot, is thatyou are not the problem; it’s theworldyou’reworkingin.

Ifthat’sthecase,thehardpartisnotjustforcingyourselfoverthehump but having the courage to speak up and turn de-motivatingworkandenvironmentsintotheopposite.

If you’re a manager and notice that one of your employees isslacking,scheduleaone-on-oneandfindoutwhat’sup.Isthepersonboredwithaprojectthat’snotchallengingenough,oraretheyfeelingstuckand, in reaction,procrastinating toavoida situation that feelsimpossible?Seewhatyoucandotogetyouremployeebackontrack.Theroadblockmaybestructural,oritmaybemorepersonal.Perhapstheemployeeisfeelingburnedout.Thatcanbehardtodiscernwhenyou’re not working in the same office. Sometimes, just giving thepersonacoupleweeksawayfromthejobwillberestorativeenoughtogethimorherinthehigh-performingplacetheywerepreviously.

At 37signals,we let employeeswho’veworkedwith the companythree years ormore take amonthlong sabbatical if they feel like it.Sure, thiswon’twork for every company, but if you have the slackandcanhandleit,it’sagreatwaytogivetheemployeeswhoneedareal break (not just a quick vacation) time away to focus on

themselves,ortheirfamilies,orwhateveritisthatmightbekeepingthemfromfeelingfullymotivatedatwork.

Motivationispivotaltohealthylivesandhealthycompanies.Makesureyou’remindingit.

Nomadicfreedom

“WhenIretire,I’mgoingtotraveltheworld”isacommondream,butwhy wait for retirement? If seeing the world is your passion, you

shouldn’t wait until old age to pursue it. And if you’re workingremotely,youcan’tusethe“butIhaveajob”excusetodeferliving.We’ve had quite a few part- and full-time nomads employed at

37signals, and it’s worked out great. As we’ve learned, once anemployeracceptsthatanemployeecanfunctioneffectivelywhilenotworkinginahubheadquarterslocationsuchasChicagoorNewYork,theemployeemayaswellbeanywhere,tracingaroutefromSeville,toAmsterdam,toMalibu,toLondon—oranyplaceelsethey’recuriousabout.

PeterBaumgartner, founderof LincolnLoop,movedwithhiswifeandtwochildrenfromColoradotoabeachtowninMexico,whereherunshiswebagency remotely (withemployees in theUnitedStates,Canada, Europe, and New Zealand). He’s thinking of spending thesummerinEurope.Nosabbaticalneeded!

Creativeworkthatcanbedoneremotelygenerallyonlyrequiresacomputer and an Internet connection. The computer you can bringwith you, and nearly anywhere in theworld you’ll be hard-pressednottofindanInternetconnection.Remember,theworkdoesn’tcarewhetherit’sbeingdoneonabenchinMauioraboatoffthecoastofTampa(3GandLTEconnectionsareplentyfineformostpurposes).

Thatsaid,youstillhavetorespectthelawsofremotecollaboration,suchasoverlappingwithyourteammatesenoughtoensurereal-timecommunication (see “Thou shalt overlap”). But unless you travel totheotherendoftheworld,that’simmenselydoable.Infact,ifyou’reintoexploringyournewlocalhabitat,you’llprobablytreasurethefactthatworkdoesn’tneedtohappenfrom9am–5pmeveryday.

The nomadic lifestyle can be cheaper than you think too. If youdon’t burden yourselfwith amortgage, car payment, cable TV, andothersupposednecessitiesofmodernliving,there’susuallymorethanenoughleftoverfortravelandaccommodation.

Naturally, the nomadic life isn’t for everyone. Or even for most,most of the time.But it’s a choice available to remoteworkers thatwouldhaveseemedludicrousnottoolongago:theluxurytoseetheworldwithoutbeingindependentlywealthyorgivingupyourcareer.

Achangeofscenery

Oneofthebenefitsofallowingyourteamtoworkremotelyisthatitgives them an opportunity to change their scenery as often as theylike.Wedon’tmeantravelingtonewandexoticplaces(thoughthat’sanoptiontoo,ofcourse).Wemeanworkingfromhomesomedays,acoffee shop another day, a different coffee shop another day, thelibraryanotherday,etc.

Routinehasatendencytonumbyourcreativity.Wakingupatthesametime, takingthesametransportation, travelingthesameroute,ploppingdowninthesamechairatthesamedeskinthesameofficeoverandoverandoverisn’texactlyaprescriptionforinspiration.

Changes of scenery, however, can lead to all sorts of new ideas.Mig, one of our designers at 37signals, uses his freedom to fulladvantage.MigworksinChicago,butonlycomesintotheofficeafewtimes aweek, typically in the afternoon.Hismornings are spent at

differentcoffeeshopsaroundthecity.Thechangeofscenery,changeofcrowd,changeofneighborhood,andchangeofmenuhelpshimseesimilar things in new ways. He strongly believes that this varietytranslates to hiswork.More perspectives on the same problem is agoodthing.So don’t think of working remotely as just shifting your routinefromtheofficetothehome.Thechoiceofkitchentableversuscubicleisafalseone.Instead,lookattheremoteoptionasanopportunitytobe influencedbymore thingsand to take inmoreperspectives thanyounormallymight if youhad tobe in the sameplaceat the sametimeeveryday.

Familytime

TheannouncementbyatroubledpoliticianorCEOthatheissteppingdownto“spendmoretimewiththefamily” isaclichéat thispoint,but thatdoesn’tmake the sentiment any lessworthy.Whilenobodyontheirdeathbedwishesthey’dspentmoretimeattheoffice,manysuredowishthey’dspentmoretimewiththeirfamily.

Onceyoufactorinthehurriedrushtogetreadyinthemorning,the

commute,andthelingeringattheofficeafterhours,thepartofyourdaywhereyouactuallyconnectwithyourfamilyseemsfrustratinglyslim. Working remotely—especially from home and especially onflexiblehours—candramaticallychangethatdynamic.Imagineeatingbreakfastwiththefamilywithoutthestress,takinghalfanhouroverlunch to play in the yard together, or being there for a sick childwithoutmissingawholedayofwork.Havingfamilycloseandavailableisagoodwaytocounterbalance

thelossofdailyin-personcontactwithcoworkers.Andthecorollaryis that family people are more likely to be a good fit for remoteworkingbecauseoftheexistingsocialday-to-dayinteraction.

If,occasionallyduringyourday,you’regoingtobeinterruptedbyatapon the shoulder,wouldn’tyourather itbe soyoucangiveyourpartnerahandforaminute?

It’snotexactlyastretchtoseehoweveryonewinshere.Whenthewalktotheofficeisliterallyfiveseconds,familyfolkscanputinthehourswith less guilt and less stress. Thatmeans betterwork, bettercollaboration,and,intheend,betterbusinessresults.

Noextraspaceathome

Noteveryonehasasparebedroomtoturnintoahomeoffice,butthatdoesn’tmeanyou can’twork remotely.Aswe’vediscussed,workingremotelydoesn’thavetomeanworkingfromhome.

There is a wealth of options available to anyone looking for anofficeawayfromtheoffice.Thesimplest,aswediscuss in“Workingaloneinacrowd,”istousecafés.Plentyofpeopleworkfull-timefromanarrayofcoffeeshops.

Butifyouwantsomethingmorepermanent,youcanalsolookintorentingjustasingledeskfromanothercompany.Foryearswesubletfour desks fromCoudal Partners in Chicago. Itwas a cheapway tohavearemoteoutpostawayfromourhomes,withtheaddedbenefitofenjoyingthefinepeoplefromCoudal.Noreasonthatcan’tworkforasingledeskeither.

There’realsoagrowingnumberofco-workingfacilitiespoppingupinmajorcities.Theyfunctiononthesameideaassublettingasinglespace or a fewdesks from another company, except everyone in theofficeisdoingjustthat.It’sagreatwaytoachievesomethinghalfwaybetween a real office with coworkers and the stranger-in-a-crowdfeelingofacoffeeshop.

Regus,in600citiesacross100countries,hassingleofficesyoucanrent by the day, as well as “hot desks” you can share with otherremote workers.† LiquidSpace is another example, with facilities inalmosteveryU.S.stateandplanstoexpandinternationally.Youcanbook online or use their app to specify when, where, and “how Iwork.” You get to tell them the type of environment that best suitsyou,(whetherthat’sasingleofficeorashared,open-airspace)—andyoualsogettoseephotosofalltheresultsbeforechoosing.‡

Finally,youcansimplyrentaplain-vanillasinglesuiteinanofficebuildingsomewhere.Regusprovidesthoseaswell.Whilerentingyourown suite is likely to be the costliest option, it’s probably a lot lesscostlythanuprootingsomeoneforanothercity.

Makingsureyou’renotignored

Oneconcernremoteworkersmayhaveisthattheywillbeignored.“IfI’mnotseen,willIbeheard?”“IfI’mnothangingaround,willpeopleknowwhoIam?”Onthesurface this isanunderstandable fear,butthere’saverysimplesolution.

Therearetwofundamentalwaysnottobeignoredatwork.Oneistomakenoise.Theotheristomakeprogress,todoexceptionalwork.Fortunately for remote workers, “the work” is the measure thatmatters.

Whenwehiredourfirstfull-timeremoteprogrammerbackin2005,we were blown away by the progress he made. He lived in Utah,nearly 1,400miles away from our headquarters in Chicago. But hedelivered incredible code in record time—allwithoutworking crazyhours.Eventhoughweneversawhisface,andrarelyheardhisvoice,hisworkspokeloudandclear.Heproduced,sohecouldn’tbeignored.

Eight years later, Jamis, the programmer from Utah, is still with37signals.ExceptthathefinallyleftUtah.ForIdaho.

*http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/pbr.htm

†www.regus.com

‡https://liquidspace.com

CHAPTER

CONCLUSION

Thequaintoldoffice

Inthirtyyears’time,astechnologymovesforwardevenfurther,peoplearegoingtolookbackandwonderwhyofficeseverexisted.

—RICHARDBRANSON,FOUNDEROFVIRGINGROUP*

It’ssohardtopredicttippingpointsthatmostpeoplefinditeasiertopretendthey’llneverhappen.Butatippingpoint forremoteworkiscoming.Itmaynotbethattheofficecompletelyceasestoexist,butitsimportancehaspeaked.

Life on the other side of the traditional office paradigm is simplytoogoodfortoomanypeople.Progressonfundamentalfreedoms,likewhere towork, is largely cumulative. Theremight be setbacks hereand there from poorly designed programs ormisguided attempts atnostalgia,butthey’llbemereblipsinthelongrun.

Betweennowandtheremotework–dominatedfuture,thedebateislikely to getmore intense and the battle linesmore sharply drawn.Remoteworkhas alreadyprogressed through the first two stages ofGandhi’smodelforchange:“Firsttheyignoreyou,thentheylaughatyou, then they fight you, then you win.” We are squarely in thefightingstage—thetoughestone—butit’salsothelastonebeforeyouwin.

Michael Bloomberg, accomplished and respected mayor of NewYork, shows there’s stillwork tobedone in educatingpeople aboutremotework’sbenefits,withthisquotefromthebeginningof2013:†“I’vealwayssaid,telecommutingisoneofthedumberideasI’veeverheard.Yes, therearesomethingsyoucandoathome.Buthavingachatlineisnotthesamethingasstandingatthewatercooler.”

Oldhabitsdiehard.Themoreentrenched,thehardertheydie.TosomeonelikeBloomberg,whooverthecourseofdecadeshaskepthiscoworkers close at hand (nevermore so than in hismayor’s office,whichwithitswarrenofopencubiclesmimicsatradingfloor),beingable to peer out and “see” thework being done is as entrenched ahabitastheycome.Challengingsuchhabitshasalwaysbeenariskybusiness.Theworldisflatrightupuntilthedayit’sround.

Or as Harvey Dent from Batman said: “The night is darkest justbeforethedawn.AndIpromiseyouthedawniscoming.”

Remote work is here, and it’s here to stay. The only question iswhether you’ll bepart of the early adopters, the earlymajority, thelatemajority,or the laggards.‡The shipcarrying the innovatorshasalready sailed, but there are still plenty of vessels for the earlyadopters.Comeonboard.

*http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/one-day-offices-will-be-a-thing-of-the-past

† http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2013/03/8071699/michael-bloomberg-agrees-marissa-mayer-telecommuting

‡DiffusionofInnovations,EverettRogers(1962)

THEREMOTETOOLBOX

There have never been more tools to help make remote workingpossible.Andthey’resoaffordabletoo—manyofthemarepricedwithreasonablemonthlysubscriptionfees.Here’swhat’sinourtoolbox.

Basecamp.Basecamp ishomebase forallourprojects. It’swherewehavegroupdiscussions,assignandtracktasks,setupschedulesonthe calendar, brainstorm, share and discuss files, and make on-the-record decisions. No matter where you are, or where you work,Basecampisavailableinyourwebbrowseroronyourmobilephone(and it evenworkswith plain old email!). On any given daywe’rerunning nearly thirty separate projects on Basecamp. Check outBasecampathttp://basecamp.com.

WebEx.WebEx isourgo-to toolwhenwewant toshareascreen,give aproductdemo to someonewho isn’t in theoffice, and setupshow-and-tell conference calls. Check out WebEx athttp://webex.com. Great alternativeswe sometimes use includeGo-To-Meeting(http://gotomeeting.com)andJoin.Me(http://join.me).

KnowYourCompany.Ifyou’reCEOorownerofacompanywithbetweentwenty-fivetoseventy-fivepeople,andyou’rehavingahardtime staying current on how your employees feel about yourcompany, culture, leadership, management, workplace, decisionmaking,etc.,thenKnowYourCompanyisagodsend.Ithelpsclueyouin to all the unspoken realities of your company. This is especiallyimportantifyourcompanyisremote,sinceyouseepeoplelessoftenand remote cultures are trickier to manage. Check out Know YourCompanyathttp://knowyourcompany.com.

Skype. The old standby is still kicking for a reason—it’s damngood! Excellent for international calling, conference calls, videoconferences,andevenbasicscreensharing,it’shardtogowrongwithSkypewhenyouneedtotalktopeoplewhoaren’tnearby.Extremelyreliable, and widely adopted, and available for just about every

platformunderthesun.Checkitoutathttp://skype.com.

Instant Messaging. For quick text-based chats with one otherperson, it’s hard to beat Instant Messaging. If you’re a Mac shop,iChat/Messagesisagoodoption.Ifyou’reaGoogleshop,Gchatworksrealwell.Or if you’re technically inclined, you can set up a Jabberserver(askyourITguys).

Campfire.All day, everyday, everyone in the company is loggedintoourCampfiregroupchat.Campfirecreatesapersistentchatroomfor yourwhole company. People canpop in andout andnever feelleftoutoftheconversation.It’sagreatplacetoaskaquestionwhenyoujustdon’tknowwhohastheanswer.Youcanevensetuproomsfor specific projects or teams inside your company. Check outCampfireathttp://campfirenow.com.

GoogleHangouts.Thenewkidontheblockpacksquiteapunch.GoogleHangoutsisanincrediblyeasywaytofireupaprivatevideoconferencewithup to tenpeople.People canuse theirwebcamsontheirlaptopsorcamerasontheirphonestojumpin.Thetechnologyistop notch, and it has some great features that highlight the persontalking so someone “has the floor.” It really does a great jobsimulating being in a room together.We’re using itmore andmoreoften for impromptu group video conferencing. Check it out athttp://google.com/hangouts.

Dropbox.Ifyouneedtokeepatrustedsetofcompanyfilesinonecentralplace, andyouwantmultiplepeople tohaveaccess to thosefilesfromtheirowncomputer—nomatterwheretheylive—Dropboxisawinner.AddafiletoDropboxandit’llbesavedinthecloudandalso on any computer, phone, or tablet you havewhereDropbox isinstalled. It works across teams, across countries, across continents.It’s like magic. Check it out at http://dropbox.com. If you’re aMicrosoft shop, Skydrive may be a good option for you(http://skydrive.live.com).

Google Docs. If you need to collaborate on documents,spreadsheets,orPowerPoint-likepresentationsinrealtime,or ifyoujust want to have a trusted spot for the latest version of a specificdocument, Google Docs is a great option. Check it out athttp://docs.google.com.

Co-working spaces.One of the great remote-workmovements in

recentyearshasbeentheproliferationof“co-workingspaces.”Theseareplaceswherepeoplecanrentadeskforaday,week,month,etc.It’sperfectforremoteworkerswhowanttogetoutofthehouseafewdaysaweek,orforthosewhoneedadeskwhilethey’reontheroad.Regus (http://regus.com) hasmore locations around theworld thananyoneelse,butthereisalsoLiquidSpace(https://liquidspace.com)aswell as local and regional co-working space directories, includingDesktime (http://www.desktimeapp.com) and the Coworking Wiki(http://wiki.coworking.com/w/page/29303049/Directory).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, we’d like to thank all the employees of 37signals for theirinspiration and for their review of the manuscript. They are livingproofofhowsuccessfulworkingremotelycanbeforbothemployeesandemployers.

In addition, we’d like to thank the following companies andindividuals for letting us interview them about their remote workhabits and experiences. Their feedback helped solidify many of theessaysandinspiredothers.

Carabi+Co AlexCarabi

LincolnLoop PeterBaumgartner

TheJellyvisionLab AmandaLannert

Accenture SamuelHylandandJillSmart

Brightbox JohnLeach

HermanMiller BettyHase

TextMaster BenoitLaurent

Ideaware AndrésMax

Fotolia OlegTscheltzoff

FreeAgent OllyHeadey

BeBanjo JorgeGomezSancha

HE:Labs PedroMarins

SimplySocial TylerArnold

TheITCollective ChrisHoffman

AmericanFidelityAssurance LindsaySparks

SoftwareMill AleksandraPuchta

PerkinsCoie CraigCourter

Finally, we thank Jamie Heinemeier Hansson for all her helpinterviewing,researching,rewriting,andcritiquingthemanuscript.Itwouldhavebeenafarlesserbookwithoutherwork.

ToJamieandColtHeinemeierHansson,Workingremotelyhasallowedthewholefamilytospendmoretimetogetherinmoreplaces.Thankyoubothforyourloveandinspiration.

—DAVIDHEINEMEIERHANSSON

Forallthosesittingintrafficrightnow.

—JASONFRIED

Copyright©2013by37signals,LLC

Allrightsreserved.PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyCrownBusiness,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,adivisionofRandomHouseLLC,aPenguinRandomHouseCompany,NewYork.www.crownpublishing.com

CROWNBUSINESSisatrademarkandCROWNandtheRisingSuncolophonareregisteredtrademarksofRandomHouseLLC.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailableuponrequest.

ISBN978-0-8041-3750-8eBookISBN978-0-8041-3751-5

IllustrationsbyMikeRohde,rohdesign.comJacketdesignbyJamieDihiansan,37signals

v3.1

THANKYOUFORREADINGOURBOOK

Wehopeitinspiresyoutogiveremoteworkingashot.Andifyou’realreadyworkingremotelywehopeitreassuresyouthatyou’reaheadofthecurve,notbehindit.

Eitherwaywe’dlovetohearfromyou.Ifyouhaveastorytoshareabout making remote working work at your company or if you’realready a remote working champion, drop us a line atremote@37signals.com.Wereadeveryemail,andrespondtomost—promise.

ABOUT37SIGNALS

Ourhomepage:http://37signals.com

Ourblogwherewe shareawidevarietyof ideas, stuffwe like, andouropinions:

http://37signals.com/svn

TheofficialRemotebooksite:

http://37signals.com/remote

Theofficialsiteforourotherbook,Rework:

http://37signals.com/rework

And,finally,ifyouwanttoknowwhatwe’reupto,subscribetoourwe-won’t-spam-you,irregularlyschedulednewsletter:

http://37signals.com/subscribe