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OperationsProcess5 min read
Async by default: making distributed teams work
Distributed teams that try to operate like co-located ones drown in meetings. Async-by-default isn't a compromise — it's an upgrade.
When teams spread across locations and time zones, the instinct is to recreate the office with video calls. It doesn't scale — you end up with a calendar full of meetings that exist to compensate for not sharing a room. The better model is async by default.
Default to writing
Async-by-default means the standard way to share, decide, and move work is written and durable, not a synchronous call. Meetings become the exception, reserved for what genuinely needs real-time. This respects time zones, creates a record automatically, and forces clearer thinking.
What it requires
- Decisions and context written down where everyone can find them.
- Clear ownership so work moves without a meeting to assign it.
- Tolerance for a few hours' delay instead of demanding instant replies.
- Synchronous time saved for connection and the genuinely hard calls.
Distributed teams don't fail from distance. They fail from trying to pretend the distance isn't there.