A presentation at JSConf Hawaii in in Honolulu, HI, USA by Brendan O'Leary
The Asynchronous Enterprise @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 1
Our Story @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 2
Ukraine Netherlands 2011 - 2014 Poland @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 3
2015 YC @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 4
First office @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 5
Last office @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 6
1200 team-members @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 7
65+ countries @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 8
0 offices @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 9
@olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 10
GitLab team-members are everywhere @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 11
About me Brendan O’Leary Sr. Developer Evangelist GitLab @olearycrew @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 12
The (case for) Asynchronous Enterprise Situation ● ● Technology excellence is the new operational excellence To find top talent, companies must look outside traditional hubs Complication ● ● How do you scale an enterprise without massive overhead? …especially if you’re not Google Question ● How does GitLab make this work? Answer Trust @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 13
SITUATION @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 14
“Software is eating the world” — Marc Andreessen @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 15
Speeding Up Release Cycle Time is Critical Cycle time compression may be the most underestimated force in determining winners & losers in tech. — Marc Andreessen What you initially thought the goal was What the initial optimal solution was Optimal solution moved to @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 16
Percentage of postings that were tech-related Data: Indeed 22.7% San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 17.8% Huntsville, AL 15.4% Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD 13.0% Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 12.3% San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 17
COMPLICATION @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 18
Remote is part of the solution ● Distributed workforce is part of the answer ● Just as important, and in some ways harder: ○ Working asynchronously ○ Across cultures and across time zones ○ Invite new perspectives ○ Inclusive of diverse ways of working ● Enables unprecedented, yet sustainable growth ● Even though it seems like GitLab has it figured out: it’s a journey, not the destination @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 19
All remote is the future of work, but it has its challenges. @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 20
The challenges 195 6000 38 Countries in the world — that many legal systems, each with its own nuance Linguistic cultures in the world — defining values can be challenging Local time zones in use — productivity challenges when working round the clock, literally @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 21
QUESTION @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 22
…from @ChloeCondon on Twitter @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 23
There’s as much to unlearn as there is to learn. — Basecamp Handbook @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 24
ANSWER @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 25
Everyone can contribute @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 26
Values Collaboration Results Efficiency Diversity & Inclusion Iteration Transparency @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 27
Iteration - quick small steps An iterative approach enables all-remote What you initially thought the goal was because each iteration is an opportunity to continually adjust scope in small steps What the initial optimal solution was Small steps require less coordination Reducing the need for coordination enables async workflows across time zones Optimal solution moved to @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 28
How we iterate MVC (Minimum Viable Change): Enables fast What you initially thought the goal was iteration What the initial optimal solution was DRI (Directly Responsible Individual): enables decision velocity Open merge requests: For async collaboration Optimal solution moved to In-quarter editable OKRs: for Customer focus @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 29
Transparency - Record by default We need to record everything because hyper-growth means we cannot afford to train people in meetings Recording by default enables self-paced learning and discovery By recording everything, the sender can send links and avoid wasting valuable time holding meetings or getting interrupted by the same questions The receiver can move faster, avoid waiting around, access the best version of the information, and get the message from the most reliable source @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 30
The receiver can move faster, avoid waiting around, access the best version of the information, and get the message from the most reliable source @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 31
…sounds familiar @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 32
Efficiency Write promises down: Agree in writing on measurable goals. Bias for Action: Decisions should be thoughtful, but delivering fast results requires the fearless acceptance of occasionally making mistakes. Responsibility over rigidity: Give people the responsibility to make a decision and hold them accountable for that instead of imposing rules and approval processes.. @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 33
Write down promises Handbook-first: Single source of truth Public by default: Recorded video calls, open meetings, open access to metrics and OKRs (investor update, Periscope, etc.), open issue tracker and comment section below blog posts and docs @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 34
Communication Guidelines ● Everything is in draft: At GitLab we rarely put draft on any content or proposals. Everything is always in draft and subject to change. ● Everything starts with a Merge Request: An MR is associated with a specific change that is proposed and transparent for everyone to review and openly discuss. ● Use Public Channels: If you use Slack and plan to message 3 or more people, we recommend a channel for customer/issue/project/problem/partnership.. ● Say thanks: Thank people that did a great job in our “Thanks” Slack channel. ● MECEFU terms: Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive Few words Ubiquitous-language. https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/ @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 35
Trust @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 36
Build Trust and Community - Video calls are your friend Video calls are key for discussion and information sharing, much better than an audio call ● Daily team calls and group conversations ● Virtual coffee breaks and remote coworking ● AMAs (Ask Me Anything) with leaders and board members Time in person is very important, focused on relationship building instead of work ● Travel stipend ● Local meetups ● Contribute! Without putting you through company presentations @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 37
Spreading aloha on a GitLab company call @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 38
The upside for families and friends Time for kids, spouses, and partners Flexibility in how you allocate your time “If one spouse commutes longer than 45 minutes, that couple is 40% more likely to get divorced.” Urban Studies Academic Journal, Til Work Do Us Part Ability to move closer to loved ones Closer to home in case of family emergencies @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 39
Family and friends first, work second @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 40
@olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 41
Thank you! Follow @GitLab, @olearycrew about.gitlab.com/company/ culture/all-remote/ Brendan O’Leary Sr. Developer Evangelist GitLab @olearycrew @olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 42
@olearycrew gitlab.com/brendan 43
The one question I’m asked more than any other when talking about working at GitLab is: wait, you don’t have any offices? That is often followed by a confused look or the direct question: How?
Writing down decisions, asynchronous communication, measuring results, not hours. Companies often aspire to these goals…however in an all-remote company, they aren’t aspirational - they are requirements. GitLab has grown from 9 people in 2014 to over 900 people in 55 different countries with a valuation of almost $3 billion.
In this talk, we’ll discover some of the not-so-secret sauce that GitLab has leveraged to achieve this growth. On this journey, our values have remained the same. We value collaboration, results, efficiency, diversity & inclusion, iteration, and transparency. And we’ve done all that without having any office, headquarters, or anything that looks like one.
for free. You
can too.