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An American Coder in Paris

An American Coder in Paris

Slides for my talk about being a remote employee for GitHub and what it takes for remote to work, both on a personal level and for a company.

Scott Chacon

March 16, 2015
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Transcript

  1. an american coder
    in paris
    scott chacon

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  2. my story

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  3. why
    Paris?

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  5. View Slide

  6. 70%

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  7. moving
    to Paris

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  8. 1. One application form (English version) filled out and signed
    2. One ID picture glued/stapled onto the application form
    3. Original passport or travel document
    4. Status in the US
    5. Letter promising not to engage in any employment in France (notarized)
    6. Letter of employment in the US stating occupation and earnings
    7. Proof of means of income — letter from the bank, etc
    8. Proof of medical insurance
    9. Marriage certificate or family book + Birth certificates for children
    10.Proof of accommodation in France (lease or rental agreement)
    11. Processing fees
    12.One residence form duly filled out (upper part only)
    13.E-ticket or reservation confirmation email showing the date of departure
    14.A self-addressed prepaid Express Mail envelope

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  9. View Slide

  10. View Slide

  11. View Slide

  12. https://medium.com/@chacon

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  13. View Slide

  14. how to
    remote work

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  15. the
    hard

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  16. Timezones
    the

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  17. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  18. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  19. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  20. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  21. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  22. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  23. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  24. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  25. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  26. Local Currency
    the

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  27. Work / Life
    the

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  28. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  29. Imposter Syndrome
    the

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  30. “They are convinced that they are frauds and do
    not deserve the success they have achieved.
    Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or
    as a result of deceiving others into thinking
    they are more intelligent and competent than
    they believe themselves to be.”
    the
    Source: Wikipedia

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  31. the

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  32. General Paranoia
    the

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  33. the

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  34. the

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  35. the
    nice

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  36. Productivity
    the

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  37. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  38. Schedule
    the

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  39. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  40. the

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  41. the
    tricks

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  42. Separate Space
    the

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  43. Separate Space
    the

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  44. Coworking,
    Meetups
    the

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  45. Get Out
    the

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  46. Schedule
    the

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  47. the
    9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p 12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a
    12a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12a 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
    Paris
    San Francisco

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  49. Feedback
    the

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  50. the
    company

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  51. the
    company

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  52. “The success or failure of a distributed team
    hinges on your organizational culture and
    the strengths of management, not on the
    product you're creating or the nature of
    distributed teams themselves.”
    http://silverwraith.com/blog/2014/12/the-case-for-distributed-teams/

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  53. Electronic
    Available
    Asynchronous
    Lock-Free

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  54. Electronic
    “Discussion, planning, and operations process should
    use a high fidelity form of electronic communication
    like email, github.com, or chat with transcripts
    wherever possible. Avoid meatspace discussion and
    meetings.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  55. Electronic
    “Discussion, planning, and operations process should
    use a high fidelity form of electronic communication
    like email, github.com, or chat with transcripts
    wherever possible. Avoid meatspace discussion and
    meetings.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  56. Available
    “Work should be visible and expose process. Work
    should have a URL. It should be possible to move
    backward from a piece of product or a system failure
    and understand how it came to be that way. Prefer git,
    issues, pull requests, mailing lists, and chat with
    transcripts over URL-less mediums..”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  57. Available
    “Work should be visible and expose process. Work
    should have a URL. It should be possible to move
    backward from a piece of product or a system failure
    and understand how it came to be that way. Prefer git,
    issues, pull requests, mailing lists, and chat with
    transcripts over URL-less mediums..”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  58. Asynchronous
    “Almost no part of the product development process requires that
    one person interrupt another's immediate attention or that people
    be in the same place at the same time, or even that people be in
    different places at the same time. Even small meetings or short
    phone calls can wreck flow so consider laying it out in (a thought
    out) email or sending a pull request instead.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  59. Asynchronous
    “Almost no part of the product development process requires that
    one person interrupt another's immediate attention or that people
    be in the same place at the same time, or even that people be in
    different places at the same time. Even small meetings or short
    phone calls can wreck flow so consider laying it out in (a thought
    out) email or sending a pull request instead.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  60. Lock Free
    “Avoid synchronization / lock points when designing process. This is
    DVCS writ large. We don't have a development manager that grants
    commit bit to repositories before you can do work, or a release
    manager that approves deploys, or a product manager that approves
    work on experimental product ideas. Work toward a goal should
    never be blocked on approval. Push approval/rejection to the review
    stage or automate it, but surface work early to get feedback.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  61. Lock Free
    “Avoid synchronization / lock points when designing process. This is
    DVCS writ large. We don't have a development manager that grants
    commit bit to repositories before you can do work, or a release
    manager that approves deploys, or a product manager that approves
    work on experimental product ideas. Work toward a goal should
    never be blocked on approval. Push approval/rejection to the review
    stage or automate it, but surface work early to get feedback.”
    http://tomayko.com/writings/adopt-an-open-source-process-constraints

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  62. Electronic
    Available
    Asynchronous
    Lock-Free

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  63. is the office
    chat

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  64. Avoiding

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  65. View Slide

  66. View Slide

  67. virtual water cooler
    micro updates

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  68. View Slide

  69. communicating
    across departments

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  70. View Slide

  71. View Slide

  72. good video
    conferencing

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  73. good video conferencing

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  74. face time
    summits
    minisummits

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  75. “My point here isn't that magic can only
    happen in person, rather that magic doesn't
    happen all the time. We cultivate the magic
    with frequent travel. ”
    http://silverwraith.com/blog/2014/12/the-case-for-distributed-teams/

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  76. “If anything, I would contend that magic
    happens more often after work, over food and
    drinks, or during casual conversation. Regularly
    traveling to meet your peers more than achieves
    that, and leaves the rest of your time free to
    focus on implementing the magic you have
    brought forth. ”
    http://silverwraith.com/blog/2014/12/the-case-for-distributed-teams/

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  77. View Slide

  78. View Slide

  79. Modes of Communication
    Before After
    Email GitHub Issue
    Hallway
    Chat
    Summits
    Meeting
    GitHub Issue
    Video Chat
    One on One Video Chat

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  80. GitHub

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  81. the sun never sets on the GitHub Empire

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  82. the
    numbers

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  83. Engineering (67%)
    Sales (48%)
    Support (85%)
    Marketing (36%)
    Product (37%)
    G&A (5%)
    HQ Remote

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  84. Engineering 67%
    Engineering
    HQ Remote

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  85. G&A
    HQ Remote
    Executive, Legal, HR, Finance, BizDev, Comm, G&A

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  86. why
    remote

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  87. why
    remote
    (for your company)

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  88. productivity

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  89. hiring
    anywhere

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  90. employee
    happiness

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  91. lower
    costs

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  92. simpler
    environment

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  93. clarity

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  94. why
    remote
    (for humanity)

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  95. the costs of
    colocation

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  96. One Bedroom
    Two Bedroom
    0 1050 2100 3150 4200
    Source: RentJungle
    Avg: $3469
    Rent in SF

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  97. Source: WNYC
    Avg: 25.4 min
    Commute Time

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  98. inclusivity

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  99. View Slide

  100. why
    not?

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  101. “you just can’t replace
    what happens when people
    are in the same room”
    - everybody, ever

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  102. there is
    no company culture

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  103. less
    creative collaboration

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  104. no serendipitous
    hallway conversations

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  105. less
    sharing of knowledge

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  106. group productivity
    is more important than
    individual productivity

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  107. the
    future

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  108. View Slide

  109. what happens when we can
    remove the disadvantages?

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  110. @chacon
    thank you

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