Asynchronous Innovation Practices

Cancel all recurring meetings. Seriously, all of them. Try it now. At Buffer we ran an experiment: A month without any recurring meetings. Zero. No daily standup's , or 'weekly check-ins', no cycle planning calls, or 1-1s. What could go wrong? Well, this experiment was so successful, that we've now been doing this for more than 2 years. 2 years operating the business without any recurring calls for anyone in the company. The best part? we've seen the best results financially in Buffer's history. The only recurring meeting for all Bufferoos is our monthly All Hands. A call that the entire company joins. But other than that, teams decide how often they need to meet. I am part of a team that has no recurring meetings. We've been operating this way since this new team was formed 6 months ago. Some of the benefits we've seen from doing this: - Productivity boost: A lot more time to focus for Engineers, Designers, and Product Managers. - A lot more time to conduct user research and dive deeper into data, design or coding. - Less context switching - Less meeting fatigue - More flexibility with your schedule (need to run a quick errand? no problem. Buffer is a values led company, high-trust, high-agency). - When we have calls, they are shorter and really well structured and productive. And, since we have few calls, everyone tends to be top of their game, fresh, creative and present. So, how do we do it? How do we make decisions? Coordinate and work together? (1) Strong documentation and writing-first culture: Writing is thinking. And we've put that to the test with great results. (2) We use great tools to document decisions and replace synchronous communication (calls) with asynchronous communication. At Buffer we use Campsite, Slack and Linear (shout-out to Linear for making amazing software for distributed teams). Each serves a different purpose. (3) We use AI to help us summarize calls and document things (Granola is what we are currently using, but we've also relied on Zoom's AI summaries). So, do we still have calls? We do. Calls are still important. Recurring calls are the problem. But, having an async culture, in which we document our thinking and decisions, actually makes our calls (when they happen) a lot more productive and focused. We meet when we see that async it will take too long to align or if something is not yet properly defined. We also meet to do brainstorming sessions or sessions in which real-time collaboration will be more efficient. We also meet to cook together, bond, and play games We are not at zero calls now. That was only during that first month of the experiment. But we have significantly lowered and shortened our calls. And whenever they happen they are 10X more productive and focused. As Paul Graham said once: "Meetings are a necessary evil. Necessary, but still evil. So there should be as few as possible, and they should be as short as possible". How much time did you spend in meetings last week?

Your best idea this quarter is trapped in an introvert's head. They'll never say it out loud. Not because they don't care. Because their brain won't let them. When you ask "Any thoughts?" in a meeting, an introvert's prefrontal cortex is still processing. The idea isn't ready yet. They need time to connect dots, test logic, refine language. But the meeting moves on. So they stay quiet. Then at 11 PM, they email you a three-paragraph idea that could save the quarter. This isn't shyness. It's neurobiology. Neuroscience shows introverted brains process information through longer neural pathways. More depth. More complexity. More time. Extroverted brains use short, fast pathways optimized for real-time response. Neither is better. But only one gets rewarded in most workplaces. Signs you're losing brilliant ideas from your introverts: → They nod in meetings but Slack you detailed thoughts later → They have a document of suggestions they've never sent → They rehearse what to say, then the moment passes → They speak up once, get interrupted, and go silent for weeks A few months ago, a friend CHRO told me her best engineer had a redesign idea that would cut production time by 30%. He'd been sitting on it for six months. Why? "I needed to be sure it would work before I brought it up." That's not a personality flaw. That's a system failure. Research-backed practices that unlock introvert contributions: ✅ Async idea submission – Let people submit written thoughts 24-48 hours before strategy sessions. Studies show async communication significantly reduces meeting fatigue. ✅ Silent meeting starts – Amazon begins meetings with 15-30 minutes of reading a written memo before discussion. It equalizes participation. ✅ Processing buffer time – Build in 3-5 minutes of silent reflection after presenting a question. Written or mental processing first, then sharing. ✅ Multiple input channels – Create written forums alongside verbal meetings. Many remote workers report better concentration with async options. ✅ Leader modeling – Amy Edmondson's research shows that when leaders share their own uncertainties first, it reduces interpersonal threat and increases team learning. My friend changed one practice with the engineer: async idea submission before strategy meetings. No performance. No live brainstorming. Just written thoughts reviewed ahead of time. Result: 3X more ideas surfaced. Half came from people who rarely spoke up. Psychological safety isn't just about speaking without fear of punishment. For introverts, it's about creating pathways that match how their brain actually works. What's one change you made that finally got your quietest team member to share their best idea? 💾 Save this & ♻️ share it with a leader who needs to hear this 📩 More introvert career insights in The A+Introvert Newsletter (link in my profile)

Yesterday, I met with Stefan Teughels, Medical Director at Domus Medica vzw, on the role of digital tools and AI (does anyone speak about anything else? 😅) in first-line healthcare. Stefan shared something very interesting with me: 👨⚕️ In the Netherlands, a frontline care organization called Flexdokters has achieved remarkable efficiency using digital tools and off-the-shelf solutions integrated through APIs. Flexdokters’ GPs primarily interact with patients through asynchronous chat, switching to phone or video calls when necessary. They also maintain a physical location for in-person visits and examinations. ✨ The result? Flexdokters supports >3k patients per GP! (For perspective: in Belgium, a GP manages around 1,000 patients on average.) The efficiency difference is staggering, with major public health implications if we consider the potential scalability. Flexdokters’ approach brings to mind two other innovations I’ve encountered in health-tech: (1) In Israel, I learned in 2019 that GPs have been using asynchronous messaging platforms for years. Even without today’s AI tools, it was described as a “game-changer,” with GPs saying they’d “never go back to the old model.” (2) In Quebec, the government is now exploring a model where only the most vulnerable patients (those with complex or chronic conditions) would be assigned a family doctor. Healthier patients would book appointments via the Guichet d'Accès à la Première Ligne (GAP), which provides in-person and virtual consultations. This model aims to reassign up to 1.5 million visits, redirecting primary care resources more efficiently. In Belgium, I think that the major hurdle to achieving similar productivity gains is our limitation of GPs to synchronous care (in-person, phone, or video consultations). Though asynchronous care is likely allowed from a medico-legal perspective, reimbursement codes are still reserved for real-time voice interactions. Clearly, the shift to asynchronous care is inevitable—let’s work toward making it a reality. 💡 Final Thoughts: Across all three examples, a human GP remains the anchor behind each chat, call, or in-person visit. The next real breakthrough in productivity and accessibility will come when AI-algorithms handle the least complex cases. That’s when I think we’ll see true “disruptive innovation” (as coined by Clayton Christensen) in frontline healthcare. According to Vinod Khosla, this might occur in the next 5 years (see "What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates" on Netflix). 📢 I discuss this and other health tech transformations in my keynote on the future of healthcare. 👋 Jan Willem Kuenen, Vladan Ilic, Yannis Léon Bakhouche, Giovanni Briganti, M.D., Ph.D., Gilbert Bejjani, Pedro Facon, Hanna Ballout, Puneet Seth, MD, Prashant Phalpher, Morgan Cheatham, Obinna Onyekwena MD, MPH Note: I didn’t directly consult with Flexdokters or Quebec’s health department, so please verify details with them before making any life-altering decisions.

Moving to asynchronous in a large corporate can be tough from a cultural standpoint as meetings historically equated to being busy which translated to working hard. In today’s ever-connected world, it’s important to consider people need different schedules for a variety of reasons and allowing those schedules is a huge attractor for new employees. The question is how can companies move towards a world of asynchronous communication? 1) Recognize that change is going to be hard 2) Ensure the right tools are in place to enable this type of work environment. This can include everything from Asana to Zapier and everything in between. My suggestion is to start with. - A cloud storage platform (Drive, OneDrive, etc.) - A project management platform (Asana, Monday, Smartsheets) - A communication platform (Teams, Slack, etc.) - A place for documentation (Sharepoint, Notion, Basecamp, etc.) 3) Communicate early and often. This change is going to be easy for some and very different for others. There will be moments where you might want to switch back, but I believe the change is worth it. 4) Ensure all team members are on board with the new policy. The basic tenant is that not all teammates will follow the same schedule to work asynchronously but having them all on board to the mission is key. If some don't want it, you may have to find other teams for those folks to work on. 5) Move the default from meeting to written communications. This might be the hardest move for many. Writing is surprisingly a skill that tends to fade over time as emails, text messages, and meeting discussions take the place of long form writing. Tools like Grammarly and now Chatgpt can help with some of this gap. 6) Have a central repository of procedures, policies, documents, and anything teammates may need to be successful at their jobs. Sharepoint normally fits this bill at large organizations while something like Notion can do the same with smaller companies. Getting all the information in one place is absolutely necessary so that there is less and less tribal knowledge that people but cope with. 7) If there is going to be a meeting, make sure there is an agenda. I think this should be mandated no matter what but in the asynchronous world, it is especially important as meetings shouldn't be the default form of communicating. Keep in mind asynchronous communication isn't going to work for every organization and many people may struggle with the freedom it allows but what do we have all these cloud based communications tools for if not enabling more convenient communication. If all else fails, you can reference the below guide from GitLab who has mastered the ways of asynchronous communication. #asynchronous #technology https://buff.ly/3k2ooPE

What if an online course didn’t just teach innovation but operated like a product studio? That’s the design ethos behind New Product Development, a fully asynchronous course I am developing within the Master of Business Management at the University of Auckland. It’s not just about learning innovation theory. It’s about practising innovation as a way of learning and doing so in a way that fits the realities of working professionals. The course unfolds through six studio sprints, each aligned with a real-world product development stage: 🔹Framing opportunities 🔹Discovering unmet needs 🔹Designing value 🔹Building prototypes 🔹Go to market strategy 🔹a final innovation portfolio and pitch Every sprint includes hands-on toolkits, reflection prompts, and optional peer critique. Assessments are artefacts: opportunity maps, personas, low-fidelity prototypes, validation plans, and strategic pitches. These artefacts mirror what students might produce in a product team, innovation unit, or consultancy. But what makes this possible online? I’ve reconceived Canvas LMS not as a content repository but as a virtual studio: 🔹Sprint dashboards replace linear modules. 🔹Toolkits and templates scaffold creative work. 🔹Discussions become “crit walls” for sharing work-in-progress. 🔹Reflection journals trace how students make decisions in uncertain contexts. The pedagogy draws from studio-based learning, design thinking, and agile methodologies but adapted for asynchronous learners. This means no Zoom fatigue, no live workshops, and no assuming everyone’s working on the same schedule. Instead, students build momentum through iterative, flexible engagement directly tied to their own industries, roles, and contexts. Why does this matter? Because the students in this course are not full-time students—they are full-time professionals. Product managers, consultants, public servants, engineers, and social innovators. For them, learning must integrate into the flow of work, not interrupt it. Studio pedagogy allows that. It invites them to explore workplace-relevant challenges, use generative AI ethically and creatively, and produce outputs that can feed back into their own projects. It’s one thing to talk about lifelong learning. It’s another to build courses that make it practical, applied, and meaningful. That’s the promise of studio-based, asynchronous design. I believe it’s a model with broad relevance, far beyond product development. #OnlineLearning #StudioPedagogy #LearningDesign #CanvasLMS #InnovationEducation #ProductManagement #HigherEducation #WorkIntegratedLearning #AsynchronousLearning #EdTech #AIinEducation #Universities

The Async-First Pivot After going remote, an engineering team struggled with endless video calls across time zones. The engineering manager shifted to "async-first": all decisions documented in written proposals, 24-hour response time expected, synchronous meetings only for brainstorming. Developers in offshore stopped working odd hours, productivity increased, and decision quality improved because everything was written down. Leadership Lesson: Constraints often force better communication practices.

Jeff Bezos used to say: no meeting should be bigger than the number of people who can eat two pizzas. The point: collaborate in small groups. The “two pizza rule” gets quoted like it’s the whole answer. That makes sense… if meetings are the way you collaborate. But they shouldn’t be. What we see with high-performing teams: Real collaboration starts before the meeting. It starts asynchronously. In Google Docs. Comments. Shared notes. Where everybody’s voice is heard. And here’s the part people miss: In async collaboration, you can have dozens of people involved… …and still hear everyone. Then, by the time you get to the meeting? You’re not “starting the conversation.” You’re landing the plane and moving on. Compare that to how most meetings work: You start the conversation in the meeting. Only a few people are heard. Then the “meeting after the meeting” happens. Then more meetings get scheduled. And it takes months to get shit done. The reality: If you start collaboration asynchronously before the meeting… You can decrease the cycle time of innovation down to weeks. Instead of months. Meetings aren’t for thinking from scratch. Meetings are for decisions. Async is for collaboration.