Letโs talk through three practical examples for a team of 5 people:
#1: Update Meeting
Teams should be on the same page:
-
[Sync]
Meeting
: Meet via video call for 30 minutes to give spoken updates.
-
[Async]
Written Note
: Written update into team chat tool. Every individual contributor writes an update in a standardized format. Team members reply via ๐ when they have read it.
#2: Brainstorming
Creative work benefits from the brain trust:
-
[Sync]
Meeting
: Meet via video call for 120 minutes to discuss and brainstorm.
-
[Async]
Collaborative Document
: Create a shared document (Google Doc; Google Sheet; Miro Board; etc.) and individual contributors collaborate at their own schedule.
#3: Candidate Interview
Hiring processes are needed to evaluate candidate quality:
-
[Sync]
Real-time Case Study
: Recruiter and candidate spend 30-60 minutes to go through case study questions together.
-
[Async]
Self-paced Test
: Candidate goes through an automated recruitment flow and receives a realistic case study to complete at their own schedule. My friend Mike wrote a fantastic blog post outlining Ladderโs recruitment process.
โฆ
Synchronous work locks in time of all participants.
Asynchronous work unlocks time for all participants.