DocsFoundation
Communication
Async-first, written culture.
PART 2: COMMUNICATION — Async-First, Written Culture
Authoritative Resources
| Resource | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| GitLab Handbook: Communication | Definitive remote/async communication playbook |
| Basecamp's "Remote" (book) | The original async work bible from 37signals |
| First Round Review: Managing Up | 30 tips on communication within org hierarchy |
| Amazon's 6-Pager Writing Culture | The gold standard for meeting-less decision communication |
Core Framework
The Meeting-to-Doc Ratio: Every meeting should have a written doc as input, and a written decision as output. A healthy company has high doc-to-meeting ratio.
Key SOPs:
- Async default: Don't DM if you can write a doc, issue, or thread
- Weekly written update: Every person (and AI agent) posts weekly: what I did, what I'll do, blockers
- Meeting standards: No meeting without an agenda doc. Every meeting ends with 5-min written decisions & action items
- Slack discipline: Public channels default. No "hey can you look at this" — include context, async expectation
- AI agent protocol: Agents post structured updates in designated channels, request human input via tagged mentions
AI Integration
- AI meeting transcriber → auto-generated action items → auto-update handbook
- AI chat summarizer for busy channels
- AI triage for "who should handle this"
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