I want to know how to run a 24/7 company with senior employees spread around the world a few timezones apart.
I just don't think we have the communication tools to support productive collaboration between people who hardly ever meet.
(I think what I may be saying is that while yes, there are Open Source projects that overcome these same sorts of problems, I don't think it's tools or process that are the reason they work. I suspect the psychology of volunteer work - performed and received - lets people overlook some pain points that they don't in a more mercenary setting)
There are successful, fully remote, companies, such as Automattic (Wordpress), Gitlab and more. If they can figure it out, seems more companies can as well.
I love how Automattic refers to their work not as remote, but decentralized. Remote work indicates there is a central location, but there isn't one at Automattic.
My company is on the smaller side, but we're 100% remote work and have employees and a management team spread across the US, Canada, Europe, and China.
We communicate extensively through video calls and Slack.
And you work on things that you want to work on. If something is a hassle you punt and if people complain, what do you expect from free code?
How often does free software - and I mean no paid positions - compete with commercial software? OSS puts companies out of business (because it turns out people think some things should just be $0) but the projects that actually compete are a very small fraction, aren’t they?
I just don't think we have the communication tools to support productive collaboration between people who hardly ever meet.
(I think what I may be saying is that while yes, there are Open Source projects that overcome these same sorts of problems, I don't think it's tools or process that are the reason they work. I suspect the psychology of volunteer work - performed and received - lets people overlook some pain points that they don't in a more mercenary setting)