Why everything should have a URL
When knowledge lives in people's heads and inboxes, it doesn't scale. Giving decisions and processes URLs makes context discoverable, async, and opt-in.
When knowledge lives in people's heads and inboxes, it doesn't scale. Giving decisions and processes URLs makes context discoverable, async, and opt-in.
Async is what makes remote work actually work. It produces better outcomes, improves work-life balance, and unlocks flow beyond Cold War-era workflows.
Open source isn't a fad. Here are twenty-five economic, moral, and personal reasons your organization should embrace it.
Great leaders don't just communicate decisions—they explain how and why. Without that context, every decision sounds like "because I said so."
If issues, pull requests, and project boards are the best way to develop software, should they not also be the best way to manage software development?
Most meetings are just information downloads that could've been a doc. Treat them as an escalation based on complexity, not the default starting point.
What if we applied open source's cathedral vs. bazaar metaphor to management? Cathedral managers control; bazaar managers empower.
Like Toyota's andon cord, transparent collaboration lets anyone stop the line when they spot a problem in knowledge work.
Async communication is like gzip compression for humans—more upfront processing, but greater throughput with fewer packets.
New book
Open & Async: The collaborative software development playbook for remote and distributed teams
Drawing on a decade at GitHub, these posts are becoming a playbook for thriving in distributed work. Sign up to get notified when it launches.
Announcing noagendanomeeting.net — a single-page site advocating that every meeting deserves an agenda, and most meetings deserve to be a document instead.
AI coding agents aren't replacing developers — they're extending the transparency, code review, and collaboration patterns behind open source.
When I joined GitHub in 2013, I found a company that had rethought how work happens. Thirteen years later, those lessons are more relevant than ever.
Set up LanguageTool as a free, open-source Grammarly alternative that runs locally on your Mac. No subscription required.
Silencing dissent erodes trust, invites negativity, and stifles learning. The best leaders embrace transparency instead.
What if we applied open source's cathedral vs. bazaar metaphor to management? Cathedral managers control; bazaar managers empower.
How GitHub turned its guiding communication principles into prescriptive practices to manage internal signal-to-noise ratio.
Like Toyota's andon cord, transparent collaboration lets anyone stop the line when they spot a problem in knowledge work.
Async communication is like gzip compression for humans—more upfront processing, but greater throughput with fewer packets.
Pull requests capture not just what changed, but who, why, and what alternatives were considered. Treat every PR as a time capsule for future contributors.
Small scheduling choices — writing dates unambiguously, including time zones, and building in breaks — make distributed teams feel included.
Most meetings are just information downloads that could've been a doc. Treat them as an escalation based on complexity, not the default starting point.
GitHub isn't just for developers. A practical guide for non-technical roles to follow along, collaborate, and track work with confidence.
A battle-tested template for handing off your responsibilities before extended leave, so your team stays unblocked and nothing falls through the cracks.
If issues, pull requests, and project boards are the best way to develop software, should they not also be the best way to manage software development?
How to build 404 pages for Jekyll and GitHub Pages that automatically suggest similar URLs to those requested, using Levenshtein distance and your sitemap.
Async is what makes remote work actually work. It produces better outcomes, improves work-life balance, and unlocks flow beyond Cold War-era workflows.
Seven core responsibilities that define the corporate Chief of Staff role, from tactical office management to strategic advising.
Great leaders don't just communicate decisions—they explain how and why. Without that context, every decision sounds like "because I said so."
A customizable GitHub Actions workflow that uses cURL, jq, and Twilio to notify you via text message when a web page or API response changes.
How I used Docker Compose, Ansible, and Caddy to re-over-engineer my network setup for easier maintenance, treating my Raspberry Pi like cattle, not a pet.
A four-part series on managing open source at scale: setting contributors up for success, automating workflows, governance, and moderation.
Keep open source discussions productive with codes of conduct, community reporting, and tiered moderation tools to de-escalate conflict.
Stay up to date
Get new posts delivered to your feed reader.
Subscribe via RSS