> People dedicated to working at home haven't worked in a good office.
I agree.
> The main thing was that we together were shaping the product; if you convinced others, you could have an impact. And to convince others, you needed to do your homework (in your office).
This is not. Shaping a product is not a collaborative work. Thus, product is something different, we talk about the real work environment.
> So it's not really the office or the desk but the rhythm of coming up with an idea and seeing it take root in your peers (or not) -- the opportunity to contribute.
This is another not. Office has nothing to do with that topic.
> Nowadays, it's open desks or cubes and product managers, and any collective discussion is shot through with politics. When initiative is squelched and mutual respect is replaced by influence, the only thing to maximize is slack -- which makes working from home the absolute best.
This is office chatting. Product development is done inside the computer. You don't need an office for that.
On one hand, product-development on the computer is a lot better when people actually use the computer to the best of its abilities. A lot of people will just leave shit in people’s heads or request one-offs to be done EOD because, I swear, this was a last second client request and we really need it. On the other, I’ve done a lot of painful product meetings with PM seatwarmers who refuse to type anything at all into their tickets and devs who barely comment on important things like ticket size or whether or not something should be prioritized differently based on technical factors. I’ve met only a handful of good PO/PM types, and whether or not they work in person has had little to do with it.
I agree.
> The main thing was that we together were shaping the product; if you convinced others, you could have an impact. And to convince others, you needed to do your homework (in your office).
This is not. Shaping a product is not a collaborative work. Thus, product is something different, we talk about the real work environment.
> So it's not really the office or the desk but the rhythm of coming up with an idea and seeing it take root in your peers (or not) -- the opportunity to contribute.
This is another not. Office has nothing to do with that topic.
> Nowadays, it's open desks or cubes and product managers, and any collective discussion is shot through with politics. When initiative is squelched and mutual respect is replaced by influence, the only thing to maximize is slack -- which makes working from home the absolute best.
This is office chatting. Product development is done inside the computer. You don't need an office for that.