The workplace of the future is going to be less centralized, more mobile, and more flexible than ever before. Work no longer revolves around the job and people are not tethered to a single location. More often than not, people are much more productive and happier when working from home. The trend's going to be accelerated by rapid uptake of mobile technology, economic volatility, and the intensifying war for top Drupal talent. Centered on the idea of working remotely, more businesses are adopting the distributed model as a practical way to attract and retain top talent in Drupal. In this session you will learn first hand from someone who has both worked as a remote employee / contractor and now runs her own distributed Drupal Agency. Even though most of the Kanopi team is located in the Bay Area, they choose a distributed model. Come learn why this is favorable, fun and profitable.

1. Track name - Date - & anything else you
need to include that maybe relevant to
you presentation
RUNNING A DISTRIBUTED
DRUPAL SHOP
A N N E S T E F A N Y K
K A N O P I S T U D I O S | @ E S K I M O Y O G I
anne@kanopistudios.com

2. EVERYONE HAS A
‘WHY’

4. WHAT IS A
DISTRIBUTED OR
VIRTUAL AGENCY?

5. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
MOTIVATIONS
B E H I N D G O I N G D I S T R I B U T E D
• LOW OVERHEAD
• RICH TALENT POOL
• SCALABILITY
• HAPPIER, MORE PRODUCTIVE
TEAM
• FREEDOM

6. THE RISE OF THE
FREE AGENT NATION

7. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
FREE AGENT NATION
34 MILLION AMERICANS WORK FROM HOME
• EXPECTED TO REACH 63 MILLION, OR 43% OF THE U.S. WORKFORCE BY
2016*
BYE, BYE, ORGANIZATIONAL GUY
•80% OF INDEPENDENT WORKERS ARE SATISFIED WITH THEIR
SITUATION, INCLUDING 58% WHO ARE HIGHLY SATISFIED**
NO LONGER IS IT ABOUT 9-5, IT’S ABOUT RESULTS
*US TELECOMMUTING FORECAST, 2009 TO 2016
**HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW ARTICLE: THE RISE OF THE SUPER-TEMP

8. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
WHO IS A FREE
AGENT?
• INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OWNERS
• BRILLIANT AT WHAT THEY DO
• THEY DECIDE WHEN & HOW THEY
WORK
• ORGANIZED, PROACTIVE &
ACCOUNTABLE
• INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE AT
COMMUNICATION &
COLLABORATION
Original artwork by Mike Rohde

9. A DIGITAL NOMAD

10. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
REMOTE ISN’T FOR
EVERYONE
• YOU MISS OUT ON BEING AROUND PEOPLE
• YOU MISS OUT ON DOING FUN STUFF LIKE PLAYING
PING-PONG OR HAVING LUNCH TOGETHER
• YOU LOSE A CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN WORK AND
THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

11. WHAT IT TAKES TO
BE A FREE AGENT

12. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
REMOTE ROCK
STARS:
• CONTRIBUTE TRUST EVERY DAY
• COMMUNICATE MORE THAN YOU
DID WITH YOUR FIRST GIRL/BOY
FRIEND
• FIND TIME FOR FOCUS
• DO ONE THING, DO IT REALLY WELL
• YOUR WORD IS EVERYTHING
• BE PROACTIVE
* 10 Secrets to Becoming a Great Remote Developer, Ryan Chartrand: http://bit.ly/1tyqvIH
Original artwork by Mike Rohde

13. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
LEARNING TO WORK
REMOTE
• BUILD A ROUTINE
•A CHANGE OF SCENERY
• DIFFERENT COMPUTING DEVICES
• WORKING ALONE IN A CROWD
• STAYING MOTIVATED
• DISTRACTIONS ARE UNDER YOUR CONTROL

14. Original artwork by Mike Rohde
• CABIN FEVER
• CHECK IN, CHECK OUT
• ERGONOMIC BASICS
• MIND THE GUT
BEWARE OF THE DRAGONS*
* Remote: Office Not Required, Jason Fried + David Heinemeier Hansson

15. WORKING
DISTRIBUTED

16. “Remote teams live and die by their trust.
For remote teams, there are no walls, there are
no tribes, there are no executives on the 5th
floor, there’s no one watching over your
shoulder, and there’s no one babysitting you. It’s
simply individuals bound by trust with one
common goal.”
– RYAN CHARTRAND,
10 SECRETS TO BECOMING A GREAT REMOTE
DEVELOPER

17. PILLARS OF SUCCESS
ORGANIZATION
ACCOUNTABILITY
PERSONAL INTERACTION

18. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
HOW TO
COLLABORATE
REMOTELY
• RE-THINK MEETINGS
• THE WORK IS WHAT MATTERS
• THOU SHALL OVERLAP
• THE VIRTUAL WATER COOLER
• ALL OUT IN THE OPEN
• GOVERNANCE
• SEEING IS BELIEVING

19. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
DISTRIBUTED
CHALLENGES
• TIMEZONES
• LIMITED NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• PRIORITIZATION
• MEASURING ENGAGEMENT
• CULTURE
• HEALTHCARE AND BENEFITS
• TAXES
Original artwork by Mike Rohde

20. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
INVEST IN THE BEST
C O M M U N I C A T I O N T O O L S A V A I L A B L E
• MEETINGS & SCREEN SHARING:
GOOGLE HANGOUTS, SKYPE, JOIN.ME
• GROUP CHAT & WATER COOLER:
HIPCHAT, IRC, SKYPE, YAMMER
• FILE SHARING & EDITING:
GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX, GITHUB
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
TEAMWORK, BASECAMP, PIVOTAL TRACKER

21. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
WORKING WITH CLIENTS
YOU'VE NEVER MET FACE TO
FACE
• LET THE PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS KNOW UP FRONT
• PROVIDE REFERENCES BEFORE THE CLIENT EVEN
ASKS
• BE VERY AVAILABLE
• SHOW THEM WORK OFTEN
• GET THE CLIENT INVOLVED

22. CREATING CULTURE

23. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
OUR VALUES
• FREEDOM & SANITY #FREEDOM FRIDAY
• COLLABORATIVE ENTREPRENEURS
• DO WHAT YOU DO BEST
• UNBASHFUL CURIOSITY
• NO DRAMA OR ASSHOLES
• A GOOD DAYS WORK
• SILLINESS ENCOURAGED!
]

25. WHAT DID YOU THINK?
E V A L U A T E T H I S S E S S I O N :
https://austin2014.drupal.org/session/running-distributed-drupal-shop
Thank you!

26. S E C O N D T I T L E S P A C E
RESOURCES
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/working_home
http://www.fastcompany.com/33851/free-agent-nation
http://mashable.com/2011/10/07/distributed-agency-model
https://medium.com/p/cd2f6658cae3
http://www.agencypost.com/from-virtual-agency-to-distributed-creative
http://www.agencypost.com/from-virtual-agency-to-distributed-creative/#sthash.ZsLq9w3O.dpuf
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/smartwork/201104/8-tips-effective-virtual-teams
http://x-team.com/2014/05/10-secrets-to-becoming-a-great-remote-developer
http://drupalize.me/blog/201312/things-i-learned-managing-my-first-project
http://hbr.org/product/the-rise-of-the-supertemp/an/R1205B-PDF-ENG
http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Office-Required-Jason-Fried/dp/0804137501#
http://www.danpink.com/books/free-agent-nation
http://37signals.com/remote
http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2013/02/why-we-still-believe-in-working-remotely
http://yonder.io/