Chris Herd is the Founder & CEO at Firstbase, which helps companies build infrastructure with a remote-first mindset. He takes the side of remote work being the most beneficial in the future of work.
Jonathan Wasserstrum is the Co-Founder and CEO of SquareFoot, which helps companies find commercial real estate and office space. Jonathan takes the side of in-person work being most beneficial in the future of work.
On this episode, Chris Powers moderates a debate between Chris Herd and Jonathan about which method of running a business will lead to greater levels of success. Enjoy!
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(02:51) - Jonathan and Chris’ Background and What They’re Doing Today
(05:00) - What does remote work mean to each of you and how do you think about the concept?
(10:09) - Jonathan - Do you define SquareFoot as a remote-first or office-first company?
(12:07) - How are leaders deciding whether they’ll be an office or remote company?
(16:36 ) - Trust Between Employers and Employees
(18:56) - What’s the Cadence of Coming Together as a Team and Being Able to Work Remotely
(25:40) - How does size or prestige of a company affect the ability of employees to influence the decision on remote vs. in person?
(31:20) - Is there any danger to your long-term career-worth by choosing to leave a company that mandates in-office work?
(35:47 ) - Relationship/Friendship Building in-office vs. Remote
No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings
(46:27) - What are the signals or data points to see what matters in either taking a company remote or discovering how much time is ‘needed’ in-office over the next 5 years?
(51:03) - Where are a lot of these remote radicals going to live and work?
(55:27) - Data on where people want to start technology companies pre and post Covid
(1:01:19) - How do you think about the next generation of workers coming out of school and only understanding a remote-work life. Do they miss out on mentorship or human interaction?
(1:10:08) - How do promotions get delegated on in-person workers and remote?
(1:11:43) - Trust and Tracking within remote companies
(1:16:25) - Wrap Up & Closing Statements
The FORT is produced by Straight Up Podcasts