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Effective Communication In A Remote First World

Rob Crowley
October 14, 2020

Effective Communication In A Remote First World

2020 has seen a seismic shift in how we work across the IT industry. Remote working, previously the choice of a small minority of IT professionals, has become the de-facto standard. This trend is likely to strengthen as workers and companies embrace the myriad potential benefits. The companies that will thrive in this brave new world will be those who can adapt most nimbly. Unfortunately, many have lurched into this situation with little deliberate thought on how their approach to communication should evolve to suit this new operating context. Simply substituting in-person meetings for virtual ones misses the major opportunities to eliminate waste, boost organisational memory and enhance engagement.

Join Rob as he shares the lessons he’s learned leading delivery teams across five timezones and three continents on the path towards remote working. We will take an in-depth look at communication from three perspectives; intra-team, inter-team, and finally customer-facing. For each of these focus areas, we will explore:

* How to choose the optimal channel for a given interaction
* Why asynchronous communication is more important than ever and what skills are required to make it shine
* Why tooling represents one aspect of the solution but is far from a silver bullet

Additionally, we will see how leaders can maintain strategic alignment and avoid feelings of isolation within their team. By the end of the session, you will not only understand how to communicate effectively while working remotely but also have the knowledge to put this into practice. If you want to improve the quality of your remote interactions with others, then this is the session for you.

Rob Crowley

October 14, 2020
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  1. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
    IN A REMOTE FIRST WORLD
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  2. COMMUNICATION
    PROCESS CULTURE
    WHAT WE’LL BE COVERING
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  3. PROCESS TEAM
    ORG
    COLLEAGUE
    WHAT WE’LL BE COVERING

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  4. ME
    NOW: HEAD OF ENGINEERING
    @VIX TECHNOLOGY
    PREV: PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
    @TELSTRA PURPLE
    @DDDPERTH CO-ORGANISER
    RECOVERING RFC ADDICT
    + = ROBDCROWLEY
    ARCHITECTURE TRAGIC

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  5. @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY
    Remote Working?
    3,2,1 JUMP!

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  6. INSPECT + ADAPT
    QUANTITATIVE + QUALITATIVE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  7. 70%
    70% of colleagues felt
    more productive working
    remotely than in the office
    92%
    92% of colleagues felt
    aligned with the company
    mission and have the
    context required to operate
    effectively
    75%
    75% of colleagues believe
    that Vix is open to new
    methods of working to
    improve productivity and
    effectiveness
    84%
    84% of respondents felt
    empowered to do their jobs
    VIX FLEXIBLE WORKING SURVEY
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  8. 60%
    60% of respondents felt
    that working remotely had
    not impacted the quality of
    their interactions with
    other colleagues.
    OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  9. Colleagues who had been working flexibly had
    increased their productivity, work-life balance
    and feelings of empowerment
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  10. The question then became, how could we make
    remote working a sustainable approach?
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  11. CULTURE
    MOVING TOWARDS A SHARED TRUTH

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  12. communication
    noun
    the imparting or exchanging of information between two or
    more people by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  13. ENGINEERING AT VIX
    CLOUD OPERATIONS TEAM
    ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  14. 4
    4 COUNTRIES 3 TIMEZONES
    103 TEAM MEMBERS 15+ NATIONALITIES
    103 15+
    3
    ENGINEERING AT VIX
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  15. There are tougher challenges to overcome with
    remote communication than temporal coupling
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  16. Cultural patterns of behaviour and belief
    frequently impact our perceptions (what we
    see), cognitions (what we think), and actions
    (what we do)
    ERIN MEYER – THE CULTURE MAP

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  17. Culture is the collective programming of
    the mind which distinguishes the
    members of one group from another
    GEERT HOFSTEDE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  18. CULTURAL
    DIMENSIONS
    POWER DISTANCE INDULGENCE
    UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
    LONG TERM ORIENTATION
    INDIVIDUALITY MASCULINITY
    HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  19. LOW POWER
    DISTANCE
    HIGH POWER
    DISTANCE
    POWER DISTANCE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  20. COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM
    INDIVIDUALISM
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  21. COLLECTIVISM
    INDIVIDUALISM
    LOW POWER
    DISTANCE
    HIGH POWER
    DISTANCE

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  22. FEMININE
    VALUES
    MASCULINE
    VALUES
    MASCULINITY
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  23. LOW UNCERTAINTY
    AVOIDANCE
    HIGH UNCERTAINTY
    AVOIDANCE
    UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  24. LOW UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
    HIGH UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
    FEMININE
    VALUES
    MASCULINE
    VALUES

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  25. Education tends to amplify the dominant
    cultural tendencies within an individual
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  26. When interacting with someone from another
    culture, watch more, listen more, and speak less
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  27. Minimise use of colloquialisms, idioms and
    localised expressions
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  28. MONOCULTURE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  29. Misunderstandings are inevitable. Nip
    issues in the bud before they escalate
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  30. CULTURE
    § COMMUNICATION IS HARD, CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IS EVEN HARDER
    § CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT FIRST, THEN PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
    § HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS ILLUMINATE THE CULTURAL VALUES OF COUNTRIES
    § DO NOT TRY AND CREATE A MONOCULTURE, IT WILL HURT IN THE LONG RUN
    § DISAGREEMENTS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS WILL OCCUR, MOVE ON

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  31. PROCESS
    HOW TO COMMUNICATE REMOTELY

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  32. “The single biggest problem in
    communication is the illusion that it
    has taken place
    GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  33. TRANSIENT PERSISTENT
    ASYNCHRONOUS
    SYNCHRONOUS
    EMAIL
    VIRTUAL MEETINGS
    WIKIS
    COLLABORATIVE
    DOCUMENTS
    WORK MANAGEMENT
    TOOLS
    INSTANT CHAT
    A MODEL COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE
    IN PERSON MEETINGS
    RECORDED
    VIRTUAL
    MEETINGS
    THE MAJORITY OF COMMUNICATION SHOULD OCCUR
    WITHIN THESE TOOLS AND CHANNELS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  34. Codify the desired usage patterns for semi-
    synchronous tools. Failure do so will lead to
    existing behaviours being replicated
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  35. LEADERS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  36. An engaged HR team is a wonderful asset
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  37. ORGANISATION
    REMOTE COMMUNICATION

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  38. VALUES ⇒ PRINCIPLES ⇒ BEHAVIOUR
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  39. CASE STUDY: FRAUDULENT VALUES
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  40. Define clear guidelines that codify the rules of
    etiquette for organisation wide communication
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  41. A company’s goals as well as its scale and
    maturity will drive the level of guidance required
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  42. CASE STUDY: COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  43. ANNOUNCEMENTS
    ONE-WAY STATUS UPDATES

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  44. ANNOUNCEMENTS SHOULD BE...
    AVAILABLE
    REFERENCEABLE PERSISTENT
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  45. SO WHY DO WE CHOOSE EMAIL
    WHEN IT HAS EXACTLY ZERO
    OF THESE PROPERTIES?
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  46. Email is decentralized so there’s no permanent
    record in a permanent place everyone can see
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  47. So how can we steer use away from email?
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  48. Hi team,
    The NDC Sydney agenda is out and it looks great. I’m thrilled be
    speaking at the event again this year and sharing our journey with
    remote working. You can find out more about the session on the NDC
    website.
    NDC { Sydney } > Agenda > Remote Communication
    Thanks,
    Rob
    BREADCRUMB MENU
    MIRRORING THE
    ACCESS PATH WITHIN
    THE APPLICATION
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  49. Bonus Round: Pay attention to content
    metadata tags to improve searchability
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  50. CONTEXT
    TOWARDS SHARED UNDERSTANDING

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  51. Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like bananas.


    Groucho Marx
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  52. A Leader’s Prerogative: Hire great people and
    give them the context required to enable
    effective distributed decision making
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  53. Effective communication requires context
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  54. Be specific around the context of the update
    to ensure that shared understand is achieved
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  55. START WITH WHY
    THE REQUIRED AMOUNT WILL DEPEND ON YOUR AUDIENCE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  56. WHY > HOW > WHAT
    OUR VALUES OUR PRINCIPLES OUR BEHAVIOUR
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  57. Corollary: The further from where the decision
    was made, the stronger the focus on the why
    needs to be
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  58. Short video messages are incredibly powerful
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  59. Write content when it’s convenient for you but
    publish when it’s convenient for your audience
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  60. EFFECTIVE VS EFFICIENT
    COMMUNICATION
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  61. Communicating extraneous information
    between teams is waste
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  62. Over communication of information that is not
    germane to a team increases cognitive load
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  63. Team boundaries are critical in a remote
    working environment
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  64. The problem with taking the org chart at face
    value is that we end up trying to architect
    people as if they were software, neatly keeping
    their communication within the accepted lines
    TEAM TOPOLOGIES

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  65. TEAM TOPOLOGIES
    STREAM COMPLICATED
    SUBSYSTEM
    ENABLING PLATFORM
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  66. MAKING TEAM INTERACTIONS EXPLICIT
    X AS A SERVICE
    FACILITATING
    COLLABORATION
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  67. ORGANISATION COMMS
    § COMMUNICATION REQUIRES CONTEXT, SHARING THE WHY IS CRITICAL
    § CHOOSE CHANNELS WITH ADEQUATE BANDWIDTH FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE
    § EFFECTIVENESS IS THE PRIORITY, EFFICIENCY IS AN OPTIMISATION

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  68. TEAM
    REMOTE COMMUNICATION

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  69. In teamwork, silence isn’t golden,



    John Sanford
    It’s deadly
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  70. The ability to communicate asynchronously is
    the most valuable skill a team can learn
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  71. Choose the most asynchronous channel that
    has the required social bandwidth to support
    the effective exchange of the information
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  72. The Problem Of Now
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  73. TEAM MEETINGS
    TWO-WAY GROUP COLLABORATION

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  74. Use meetings judiciously. Consider them a
    fallback, not the default
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  75. CERTIFY, DON’T BRIEF
    INCREASED FOCUS
    ACTIVE VS PASSIVE LEADER-LEADER INTERACTIONS
    SHORTER DURATION
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  76. GROUP CHAT
    TWO-WAY GROUP COLLABORATION

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  77. Newsflash! Group chat considered harmful
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  78. Group chat is like being in an all-day meeting,
    with random participants, and no agenda
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  79. Rule of Thumb: More than three back and forth
    exchanges on a design topic, then go long form
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  80. TRUST
    THE CATALYST FOR HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS

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  81. Asymmetry of information leads to an erosion
    of trust
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  82. A CLASSIC CASE OF INFORMATON ASYMMETRY
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  83. Remote workers polling for information updates
    is a strong indicator of information asymmetry
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  84. TRANSPARENCY IS THE SOLUTION
    MAKE WORK VISIBLE
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  85. CASE STUDY: EMAIL TRANSPARENCY
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  86. TEAM COMMS
    § ASYNCHRONOUS OFTEN, SYCHRONOUS SELDOM. THIS IS A SKILL!
    § MEETINGS ARE EXPENSIVE, SHARE THE CONTEXT UPFRONT
    § CHAT IS GREAT FOR QUICK EXCHANGES BUT BE WARY OF GROUP CHAT
    § INFORMATION SILOING ERODES TRUST. TRANSARENCY IS THE BEST DEFENCE

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  87. TEAM MEMBER
    REMOTE COMMUNICATION

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  88. “Communication – the human
    connection – is the key to personal
    and career success
    PAUL J MEYER
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  89. Working Out Loud
    Observable Work + Narrating Your Work
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  90. TEAM MEMBER COMMS
    @ROBDCROWLEY
    § MAKE YOUR WORK VISIBLE AND EXPLAIN YOUR APPROACH AND THINKING
    § SET CLEARING LEARNING GOALS AND LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE
    § BE OPEN TO FEEDBACK, IT WILL COME IN MANY FORMS!

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  91. BEYOND 2020
    PREDICTIONS FOR FUTURE ENVIRONMENTS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  92. Communication worsened within regions
    but improved across regions
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  93. The shift to remote working had
    inadvertently democratised communication
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  94. Hybrid working environments offer the worst
    of both worlds
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  95. Hybrid working environments demand that
    multiple colleague experiences are delivered
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  96. While companies had little time to prepare for
    remote working, they should consider any
    change to stop or change it very carefully
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  97. TAKEAWAYS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  98. @ROBDCROWLEY | ROBDCROWLEY
    THANK YOU!

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  99. QUESTIONS
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  100. RESOURCES
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  101. § The Basecamp Guide to Internal Communication:
    https://basecamp.com/guides/how-we-communicate
    § The Gitlab Communication Handbook:
    https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/
    § Hofstede Insights:
    https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries
    § Stripe Email Transparency:
    https://stripe.com/blog/email-transparency
    RESOURCES
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  102. § Start With Why | Simon Sinek:
    https://youtu.be/u4ZoJKF_VuA
    RESOURCES
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  103. § Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell
    § To Sell Is Human | Dan Pink
    § The Culture Map | Erin Meyer
    § Turn The Ship Around | David Marquet
    § Team Topologies | Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais
    READING LIST
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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  104. § Country flag icons made by Pixel perfect from www.flaticon.com
    § Images source from www.pexels.com
    ATTRIBUTION
    @ROBDCROWLEY #NDCSYDNEY

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