Illustrations for REMOTE: Office Not Required are being done by the fantastic Mike Rohde again. This one is for the essay “Stop Commuting Your Life Away”. The book is due out in October of this year.
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Illustrations for REMOTE: Office Not Required are being done by the fantastic Mike Rohde again. This one is for the essay “Stop Commuting Your Life Away”. The book is due out in October of this year.
Jason
on 23 May 13I like Mike Rhode’s illustrations very much, but I find this one harsh and off-putting. I’m an advocate for remote working, but relating commuting to lemur-like suicide only insults your readers. The sensationalistic headline of the essay doesn’t help either. Come October I’ll pass.
Nathan
on 23 May 13Thank you Jason, I enjoyed your comment thoroughly.
ecbp
on 23 May 13Harsh or not, add up the time humans spend commuting and you’ll realize that’s time not spent living.
GeeIWonder
on 23 May 13I’m curious as to whether REMOTE as realized (and never-mind how originally conceived) is going to tackle the opposing view. Many might have argued this battle was over and the book is merely a cynical attempt to capitalize on that, but I think you can legitimate argue in light of Mayer et al. there’s a renaissance of opposition to the central tenet of your thesis.
As a result there’s a real opportunity here for a meaningful book not just for the fanboys. Is that the idea? How do you ensure that happens?
Are you going to address that opposition head on? i.e. has anyone asked MM what she thinks? Or are you going to use personas which a few posts ago were argued against as ridiculous? Or maybe helpful anecdotes—but then how do you make sure to not just find confirmation cases?
Luis
on 23 May 13Mike Rohde is the man. Just read his Sketchnotes book. Fun read, and inspiring.
Scott
on 23 May 13Want a print for my home office.
GregT
on 23 May 13@GeelWonder
I have read both 37S books and this blog regularly, and I think they’re probably interesting, fun and creative people.
But, “tackling the opposing view” (or even acknowledging that there could be one) is clearly not something that interests them.
Fred
on 23 May 13About REMOTE, I’m curious how 37signals will tackle flying in everyone from around the world for their annual internal meet ups [1] the larger 37signals as a company gets, employee wise.
The cost of flying everyone in you company back to HQ for an annual trip, given a large number of remote workers, could quickly get extremely expensive.
Also, it’s ironic 37signals still feels compelled to have annual meet up where they fly everyone in … given the pitch they tell everyone about why you should work remote.
For a super small company, 37signals approach might work but as soon as you grow even moderately in size of employees (>100) their approach is just not sustainable.
Anonymous Coward
on 23 May 13[1] http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2987-an-alternative-to-employee-optionsequity-grants?utm
Locke
on 23 May 13@Jason I think it’s pretty clear that the drawing is supposed to be a joke. Hyperbole sells, and if they drew the reality of someone driving to work that wouldn’t really be all that engaging or interesting would it? The negativity of the posts in this blog is unreal. Instead of hating everything else go take some time to think about what in your life is making you so unhappy.
Chad
on 23 May 13I initially thought the illustration depicted 37signals as a company.
Don’t want to sound harsh but you guys have really let me down in the past year.
Don Schenck
on 24 May 13I’ll soon be starting a new job (RACKER!) where I’ll be working from home. I’m looking forward to the book.
Curiously, my dear bride and I will probably relocate (after our third grandchild is old enough to know who we are) so that I can work at The Castle in San Antonio. As much as I enjoy working from my home office, I really like people and the connectedness.
AJ
on 24 May 13For the record, lemurs don’t commit suicide. Neither do lemmings, for that matter. http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp.
Humans, however, have a frightening knack for rationalizing decisions that collectively amount to suicide, or at least a death sentence, for societies, species and ecosystems. We do it because we do it because we’ve always done it and the money is good now, so we agree not to think about things we don’t think about.
We hardly ever question if there’s a better way to plan cities, transit, or workspaces, until we see it done differently and with better outcomes. And this design perfectly captures that dilemma.
Guy sitting at chair with group of children in AT&T commercial
on 24 May 13Wait… What?
Jason again
on 24 May 13@Locke I don’t mean to be negative. I’m a huge fan of 37signals. I don’t hate anything. I just don’t think an illustration of a van full of people about to drive off a cliff makes a good joke. Or a good illustration.
I agree that we rationalize decisions that can ultimately be harmful. I appreciate 37s for always questioning those rationalizations that have evolved to become the norm. Its why I’m here.
Of course its important to question everything, but there is more nuance and ambiguity that goes into the choices we make that I would like to see acknowledged. That lack of acknowledgement is what I find insulting. I love 37s because of their humanity, but that’s exactly what’s missing in this illustration and in the title of the essay. This illustration says to me “Oh, you commute to work? You might as well drive off a cliff and kill yourself. Read our book. It will save your life.”
Perhaps the essay is more nuanced, but I haven’t read it. This illustration is the cover by which I judge the book. And I’ll pass.
Related: http://xkcd.com/610/
Michael
on 25 May 13Fred, the cost of flying in each employee increases linearly with each employee. Ten remote employees = ten flights. Twenty equals 20 flights. That’s as manageable as health insurance and buying Macbooks. It’s way cheaper than staffing an office, especially when people would rather work remotely and do their best work remotely.
Dr Zen
on 25 May 13Too dark… will alienate your readers and depress even your fans. Please reconsider.
You can achieve the same point with levity and have people on your side… think of the commuting scene at the start of Office Space
Ryan
on 26 May 13People who only see the negatives in commuting are kind of silly. There are a lot of great things to do while commuting: listening to books or NPR, for example. Commuting can be a really meditative experience if you let it be, and a terrible one if you let it be.
I’m on the bus for three hours a day, and there is no time in my day that I enjoy or value more. It’s where I accomplish everything on my bucket list than can be accomplished while sitting. Last year, while driving, I commuted in early and caught mind-boggling sunrises every single morning — more than I’ve ever seen in my life. It was awesome.
Advocates for remote work assume that commuting is inherently a frustrating waste of time. That mentality is what should be eradicated, not commuting itself.
Alex
on 26 May 13Commuting by car into big cities in order to spend a day at your “desk” is just an insult to our society. I think that this illustration reflects perfectly how we will end if a large majority of people keep doing that with their cars. If you really need to go a center of a big city, just use a bicycle and/or public transport! Thanks for your inspiring blog and books.
Local
on 26 May 13Do comment sections add any value to anything anymore? From reading this thread and others on this site, I’d say no (or very little).
Keep up the great work, 37signals.
Travis
on 27 May 13@local
The reason why comments in the blog are negative is because 37signals “jumped the shark” long ago.
Billy
on 28 May 13I think the cover illustration sums it up on my side.
I regularly commute from my place to SF which takes me an hour each way, and I have to tell you, it does feel like suicide!
Jimmy
on 28 May 13As a commuter, this illustration is perfect!
I can’t wait for this book!
Steve MacDonald
on 29 May 13Great illustration. We can actually avoid the danger in the road thru remote staffing. Not only the danger, I also believe that we can be more productive in the comfort of our home.
Peter
on 29 May 13An illustration about suicide ?
Really in bad taste guys.
Frustrated Remote Professional
on 29 May 13Please send as many copies of this book as you can to the city of San Francisco. 92% of the world’s population lives outside of this city and yet, they think the most qualified live among that 8%, and that it’s preposterous that applicants don’t.
Gregory
on 29 May 13All
Why is this remote topic such an issue for so many people when the solution is so obvious, either:
1. Move closer to where you work, or
2. Work for a company who is located closer to where you live.
Keep in mind, it was you who selected to work for a company who doesn’t endorse remote work policies to begin with.
Frustrated Remote Professional
on 30 May 13@Gregory: Kudos my friend. You’ve cracked the code! It’s amazing how simple it is. Why didn’t any of us think of that?
This discussion is closed.