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kanejim57's review
4.0
This is about work 21.0 – 21st century work which, as the author Scott Berkun points out in the final pages, may also help recover the value and place of work:
“In the centuries of civilization prior, many more of us had crafts and skills that gave us pride. It might just be that progressive companies like Automattic are open to the idea that technology can return some of the meaning of work we’ve lost.”
A Year Without Pants published by Jossey-Bass and written by tech veteran and best-selling writer, Scott Berkun, is a study of one company whose employees are literally scattered around the world, writing code, creating new blogging templates, and helping millions of bloggers resolve issues as they write and publish. It is a fascinating study about new geographic and human boundaries in work.
A study in contrasts between Berkun’s experience at Microsoft and his year at WordPress.com, this book is also a study in contrasts between what he calls Cathedral-style thinking and Bazaar-style thinking alongside the dynamics of open-source culture. As a result, Berkun takes the reader into a new world of work: de-centralized and without the demands and requirements of more traditional workplaces. In doing so Berkun highlights the challenges, and opportunities, of productivity, climate, interpersonal relationships, and organizational culture in a new style of work that is changing the workplace and the interpersonal nature of work. This changing work environment is noted in the challenge Berkun had in reading the emotional climate of the workplace while not being in the same room with his co-workers because it often raised questions as to what others were both thinking and what they were feeling as they communicated electronically over thousands of mile in text and pixels devoid of easily read human emotion.
Berkun also wrestled with leadership and motivation of the team, Team Social, he was selected to lead though they were not face to face everyday. How do you motivate, a group of people, separated by thousands of miles and several times zones to work well and work productively? In that vein, Berkun makes a statement that struck me as both honest and insightful as to the nature and scope of workplace and organizational leadership today which has been built on the long-established culture of the face-to-face workplace:
“My best leadership tricks depended on being in the same room with people. Not being able to look folks in the eye in tough situations feels wrong. Would you propose marriage to someone online? Or tell a child her mother was dead in a text message? I wonder that what made me good at work wouldn’t transfer to a completely online environment.”
Filled with both first person narrative and interspersed with a look back, around, and ahead regarding both personal experience and thoughtful reflection on the changing nature of work and the workplace, A Year Without Pants is an insightful book about the new work place, and, I think, a new style of emerging leadership to lead and serve this new work place. A workplace which maybe closer to you, and already operating near you, today.
I liked this book for both the stories illustrating Berkun’s observations as well as the inside look at the company which has allowed me to connect though WordPress.com and share this review in a wider way than was possible even ten years ago. It has also given me a look at a new workplace environment which is allowing people to live differently and perhaps in a better way than before.
I rate this book a “great” read.
Note: I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine review program in exchange for a review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review.
“In the centuries of civilization prior, many more of us had crafts and skills that gave us pride. It might just be that progressive companies like Automattic are open to the idea that technology can return some of the meaning of work we’ve lost.”
A Year Without Pants published by Jossey-Bass and written by tech veteran and best-selling writer, Scott Berkun, is a study of one company whose employees are literally scattered around the world, writing code, creating new blogging templates, and helping millions of bloggers resolve issues as they write and publish. It is a fascinating study about new geographic and human boundaries in work.
A study in contrasts between Berkun’s experience at Microsoft and his year at WordPress.com, this book is also a study in contrasts between what he calls Cathedral-style thinking and Bazaar-style thinking alongside the dynamics of open-source culture. As a result, Berkun takes the reader into a new world of work: de-centralized and without the demands and requirements of more traditional workplaces. In doing so Berkun highlights the challenges, and opportunities, of productivity, climate, interpersonal relationships, and organizational culture in a new style of work that is changing the workplace and the interpersonal nature of work. This changing work environment is noted in the challenge Berkun had in reading the emotional climate of the workplace while not being in the same room with his co-workers because it often raised questions as to what others were both thinking and what they were feeling as they communicated electronically over thousands of mile in text and pixels devoid of easily read human emotion.
Berkun also wrestled with leadership and motivation of the team, Team Social, he was selected to lead though they were not face to face everyday. How do you motivate, a group of people, separated by thousands of miles and several times zones to work well and work productively? In that vein, Berkun makes a statement that struck me as both honest and insightful as to the nature and scope of workplace and organizational leadership today which has been built on the long-established culture of the face-to-face workplace:
“My best leadership tricks depended on being in the same room with people. Not being able to look folks in the eye in tough situations feels wrong. Would you propose marriage to someone online? Or tell a child her mother was dead in a text message? I wonder that what made me good at work wouldn’t transfer to a completely online environment.”
Filled with both first person narrative and interspersed with a look back, around, and ahead regarding both personal experience and thoughtful reflection on the changing nature of work and the workplace, A Year Without Pants is an insightful book about the new work place, and, I think, a new style of emerging leadership to lead and serve this new work place. A workplace which maybe closer to you, and already operating near you, today.
I liked this book for both the stories illustrating Berkun’s observations as well as the inside look at the company which has allowed me to connect though WordPress.com and share this review in a wider way than was possible even ten years ago. It has also given me a look at a new workplace environment which is allowing people to live differently and perhaps in a better way than before.
I rate this book a “great” read.
Note: I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine review program in exchange for a review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review.
jurgenappelo's review against another edition
3.0
The company described here (Automattic) is very inspiring, and Scott is a very good writer. However, I failed to see the value of stories about geeks drinking beer, and I lost interest after a while.
kanejim57's review against another edition
4.0
This is about work 21.0 – 21st century work which, as the author Scott Berkun points out in the final pages, may also help recover the value and place of work:
“In the centuries of civilization prior, many more of us had crafts and skills that gave us pride. It might just be that progressive companies like Automattic are open to the idea that technology can return some of the meaning of work we’ve lost.”
A Year Without Pants published by Jossey-Bass and written by tech veteran and best-selling writer, Scott Berkun, is a study of one company whose employees are literally scattered around the world, writing code, creating new blogging templates, and helping millions of bloggers resolve issues as they write and publish. It is a fascinating study about new geographic and human boundaries in work.
A study in contrasts between Berkun’s experience at Microsoft and his year at WordPress.com, this book is also a study in contrasts between what he calls Cathedral-style thinking and Bazaar-style thinking alongside the dynamics of open-source culture. As a result, Berkun takes the reader into a new world of work: de-centralized and without the demands and requirements of more traditional workplaces. In doing so Berkun highlights the challenges, and opportunities, of productivity, climate, interpersonal relationships, and organizational culture in a new style of work that is changing the workplace and the interpersonal nature of work. This changing work environment is noted in the challenge Berkun had in reading the emotional climate of the workplace while not being in the same room with his co-workers because it often raised questions as to what others were both thinking and what they were feeling as they communicated electronically over thousands of mile in text and pixels devoid of easily read human emotion.
Berkun also wrestled with leadership and motivation of the team, Team Social, he was selected to lead though they were not face to face everyday. How do you motivate, a group of people, separated by thousands of miles and several times zones to work well and work productively? In that vein, Berkun makes a statement that struck me as both honest and insightful as to the nature and scope of workplace and organizational leadership today which has been built on the long-established culture of the face-to-face workplace:
“My best leadership tricks depended on being in the same room with people. Not being able to look folks in the eye in tough situations feels wrong. Would you propose marriage to someone online? Or tell a child her mother was dead in a text message? I wonder that what made me good at work wouldn’t transfer to a completely online environment.”
Filled with both first person narrative and interspersed with a look back, around, and ahead regarding both personal experience and thoughtful reflection on the changing nature of work and the workplace, A Year Without Pants is an insightful book about the new work place, and, I think, a new style of emerging leadership to lead and serve this new work place. A workplace which maybe closer to you, and already operating near you, today.
I liked this book for both the stories illustrating Berkun’s observations as well as the inside look at the company which has allowed me to connect though WordPress.com and share this review in a wider way than was possible even ten years ago. It has also given me a look at a new workplace environment which is allowing people to live differently and perhaps in a better way than before.
I rate this book a “great” read.
Note: I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine review program in exchange for a review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review.
“In the centuries of civilization prior, many more of us had crafts and skills that gave us pride. It might just be that progressive companies like Automattic are open to the idea that technology can return some of the meaning of work we’ve lost.”
A Year Without Pants published by Jossey-Bass and written by tech veteran and best-selling writer, Scott Berkun, is a study of one company whose employees are literally scattered around the world, writing code, creating new blogging templates, and helping millions of bloggers resolve issues as they write and publish. It is a fascinating study about new geographic and human boundaries in work.
A study in contrasts between Berkun’s experience at Microsoft and his year at WordPress.com, this book is also a study in contrasts between what he calls Cathedral-style thinking and Bazaar-style thinking alongside the dynamics of open-source culture. As a result, Berkun takes the reader into a new world of work: de-centralized and without the demands and requirements of more traditional workplaces. In doing so Berkun highlights the challenges, and opportunities, of productivity, climate, interpersonal relationships, and organizational culture in a new style of work that is changing the workplace and the interpersonal nature of work. This changing work environment is noted in the challenge Berkun had in reading the emotional climate of the workplace while not being in the same room with his co-workers because it often raised questions as to what others were both thinking and what they were feeling as they communicated electronically over thousands of mile in text and pixels devoid of easily read human emotion.
Berkun also wrestled with leadership and motivation of the team, Team Social, he was selected to lead though they were not face to face everyday. How do you motivate, a group of people, separated by thousands of miles and several times zones to work well and work productively? In that vein, Berkun makes a statement that struck me as both honest and insightful as to the nature and scope of workplace and organizational leadership today which has been built on the long-established culture of the face-to-face workplace:
“My best leadership tricks depended on being in the same room with people. Not being able to look folks in the eye in tough situations feels wrong. Would you propose marriage to someone online? Or tell a child her mother was dead in a text message? I wonder that what made me good at work wouldn’t transfer to a completely online environment.”
Filled with both first person narrative and interspersed with a look back, around, and ahead regarding both personal experience and thoughtful reflection on the changing nature of work and the workplace, A Year Without Pants is an insightful book about the new work place, and, I think, a new style of emerging leadership to lead and serve this new work place. A workplace which maybe closer to you, and already operating near you, today.
I liked this book for both the stories illustrating Berkun’s observations as well as the inside look at the company which has allowed me to connect though WordPress.com and share this review in a wider way than was possible even ten years ago. It has also given me a look at a new workplace environment which is allowing people to live differently and perhaps in a better way than before.
I rate this book a “great” read.
Note: I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine review program in exchange for a review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review.
arpitbatra123's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting book, and you feel like you're a part of the story the author is narrating. I am intrigued about the idea of remote work for a very long time, and if remote work is executed like Automattic has been doing in the last decade, it really can become the future of work.
I was impressed with the caliber demonstrated by the author while being a manager at Automattic, and the book is full of wonderful lessons that can be applied in your personal/professional life.
As the book draws to a close, the author talks about how work in the modern era might not be psychologically fulfilling and a better work culture might solve this. This struck a chord with me, as I'm more than often concerned with the "meaning" of work but as the author says, work and play might not need to be mutually exclusive.
I was impressed with the caliber demonstrated by the author while being a manager at Automattic, and the book is full of wonderful lessons that can be applied in your personal/professional life.
As the book draws to a close, the author talks about how work in the modern era might not be psychologically fulfilling and a better work culture might solve this. This struck a chord with me, as I'm more than often concerned with the "meaning" of work but as the author says, work and play might not need to be mutually exclusive.
eikenlady's review against another edition
4.0
As a WordPress developer, I picked up this book hoping I would be able to learn more about WordPress, how it came to be, and even more about remote companies. This book gave me all of that and more.
Scott Berkun talks about how he was hired onto Team Social at WordPress as a project manager and how WordPress/Automattic operates compared to other technology and remote companies like it. One of the most interesting things I learned in the first half of the book was that every employee at WordPress spends time doing support (also known as their Happiness Team). This gives each employee the opportunity to learn more about WordPress that they wouldn't necessarily learn in training as well as to really hear the customer. This allows them to better understand the customer when they move into more of a development role.
This book wasn't as technical as I thought it might be, mainly due to the fact that while Scott Berkun worked with developers every day he is actually a designer. It provided a different perspective for me that I wasn't expecting.
If you want to learn how large remote companies function and how remote work is changing companies as we know it or even a WordPress developer that wants to learn more about Automattic, I'd highly recommend picking up this book.
The only reason I give 4 stars is due to missing words, awkward sentences, etc. that really could've been fixed with a more thorough editing. (I did read this on Kindle so this may have had something to do with the missing words.)
Scott Berkun talks about how he was hired onto Team Social at WordPress as a project manager and how WordPress/Automattic operates compared to other technology and remote companies like it. One of the most interesting things I learned in the first half of the book was that every employee at WordPress spends time doing support (also known as their Happiness Team). This gives each employee the opportunity to learn more about WordPress that they wouldn't necessarily learn in training as well as to really hear the customer. This allows them to better understand the customer when they move into more of a development role.
This book wasn't as technical as I thought it might be, mainly due to the fact that while Scott Berkun worked with developers every day he is actually a designer. It provided a different perspective for me that I wasn't expecting.
If you want to learn how large remote companies function and how remote work is changing companies as we know it or even a WordPress developer that wants to learn more about Automattic, I'd highly recommend picking up this book.
The only reason I give 4 stars is due to missing words, awkward sentences, etc. that really could've been fixed with a more thorough editing. (I did read this on Kindle so this may have had something to do with the missing words.)
michaelanocz's review
4.0
I mostly enjoyed the first half of the book, which was focused more on the actual company and how it works. Relating to the second half of the book, filled with working on a project -> achievement was not very engaging. I also wondered about the Automattic hiring process, since the author mentions that he agreed with Matt that he will only stay for a year to have resources to write his book.
wto7qa9u's review against another edition
4.0
I think the author did a fantastic job of describing the environment at Automattic, and remote working environments in general.
It kept me interested throughout the book, and I can recommend it to anybody who wants to learn about Automattic as a company, or people who are contemplating working for a remote company.
It kept me interested throughout the book, and I can recommend it to anybody who wants to learn about Automattic as a company, or people who are contemplating working for a remote company.
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this book about Scott Berkun's time at the all-remote company Automattic (makers of Wordpress). It was interesting to see how the company works completely distributed, and I learned some management tips from Scott as he described how he led his team. A work model like this simply can't work without dedicated, mature employees who have some good self-management techniques and want to work hard to get a good job done. There is no refrain of "that's not my job" at Automattic, and I find that refreshing. Quick fun read.
statman's review against another edition
4.0
I've read a number of Scott's books and really like them all. This one did not disappoint either. It describes his experience in working as a leader of a software development team and how they worked remotely from all over the world. Very timely with all the remote working that is happening these days due to the pandemic.