These books shaped the thinking:
Remote: Office Not Required — Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
The book that brought remote work mainstream. Still essential. basecamp.com/books
It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work — Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
On calm companies, async communication, and protecting deep work. basecamp.com/books
Rework — Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Contrarian business wisdom. Short chapters, strong opinions. A stylistic influence on this book. basecamp.com/books
The GitLab Handbook — GitLab
3,000+ pages of documented remote-first practices. Free, public, comprehensive. handbook.gitlab.com
No Rules Rules — Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
Netflix’s culture of freedom and responsibility. The source of “highly aligned, loosely coupled.” norulesrules.com
Deep Work — Cal Newport
Why focus matters and how to protect it. Essential context for async-first thinking. calnewport.com
A World Without Email — Cal Newport
The case against hyperactive hive mind communication. Practical alternatives. calnewport.com
The Year Without Pants — Scott Berkun
An inside look at Automattic’s distributed culture. Honest about what works and what doesn’t. scottberkun.com
Start with Remote. Read the GitLab Handbook when you need specifics. Return to these when you’re stuck.
The answers are usually already written down somewhere.