There are two ways to work together: synchronously and asynchronously.
Sync way is when you work together in the same office, share a table in a co-working, have a common chat. You exchange links, ideas, and images in real time. This approach has many advantages: it is easier to concentrate, you talk a lot to your colleagues, you remember all the details and do not waste time sorting things out. You can move forward quickly. But this way has disadvantages that we cannot stand: you do not have enough private space and freedom, you cannot work on several projects or in several teams at the same time. And do not forget inevitable slowing down and losing the ability to see things clearly.
That’s why we work asynchronously. It means that each of us does their parts of a project on their own, at their own pace. There are no set limits for reply time and no need to be available at any moment. This works the same for clients and the team. And synchronization with the team is a required part of our everyday work. We sync by meetings, calls, emails, and chats.
When we want to use the advantages of synchronized work, we get together for brainstorming. By default, we work asynchronously.
Async work requires constant syncing
Our job is to manage expectations. We should not surprise. We can do more than promised, but we cannot do something different from what we agreed on. When we understand that we need to create something different, we discuss it and change expectations.
Surprises are no good
What is the worst thing one can do at work? Ignore the comments. No matter if they come from a client, the art director or a team member. You can argue. You can say: “This part is ready, and that one is not”. Or “I don’t understand, please explain”. But you cannot ignore a single comment.
Imagine you have added comments, and they were ignored. What do you do next? Give new reasons? Explain it better? Remind or just wait? You don’t have any chance to make a decision, so most likely you’d want to kill somebody.
One can never ignore comments