Making Async Work Work Well
Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape. My life is a new mix these days. And so is this newsletter.
This week’s Mix:
- Making async work work well
- LinkedIn learnings + posts
- This week’s (not) Florida photo
Making async work work well
One month working for a remote company and I can’t imagine going back to a full-time office role.
For over a decade, I commuted at least two hours per day. Conservatively, that’s 4,600 hours, or nearly half a year, sitting in the car.
My only other passenger? A laptop. But that laptop had to driven to a cubicle farm across town every day … because reasons.
Anyway.
Asynchronous communication and decision making are critical to successful remote work. With a good process, online tools allow us to make a case and a decision without hours in a conference room.
Peter Yang laid out his process in a Twitter thread. His suggestions include:
- Limit the quorum to the essential people only.
- Set the context with pros, cons, and a recommended option.
- When necessary, push for a decision. Make a choice and force people to speak up if they disagree.
I may have spent 4,600 hours commuting … but how many more in needless meetings? I don’t even want to know.
Grateful for the present.
LinkedIn learnings and posts
Learnings
One of my favorite LinkedIn accounts belongs to Stephanie Stuckey, the CEO of Stuckey Corporation:
Stuckey, 56, is in the third year of a turnaround for Stuckey’s, which, at its 1960s peak, boasted 368 travel centers along highways in 40 states.
She bought the company and its few remaining assets for just $500,000. Since then, she is leading a Stuckey’s brand transformation into a candy manufacturer and online retailer.
On LinkedIn and other social sites, Stuckey shares the story of rebuilding her grandfather’s company and blends it with stories from visits to quirky and historic American landmarks.
Everyone loves a good comeback story. Stuckey has brilliantly wrapped hers in classic Americana.
Her strategies—online and off—are working. Candy sales are up 850 percent and new storefronts are on the way. The traditional press has also taken notice, helping fuel Stuckey’s comeback bid.
Tell your story. Share your passionate interests. You never know who might rally behind you.
LinkedIn posts
- As a writer, be careful what you do off the page
- Being at your B or C level doesn't mean you have to take an L for the day
- When creating your writing niche, what if you focused on “where” instead of “what?”
- Here’s my secret to getting work done from anywhere
This weeks’ (not) Florida photo
My daughter snagged this one on the Fourth of July.
Thank you for reading!
Whatever you’re working on or working through: keep showing up.
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Archived from Matt's newsletter.