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15 tweets,
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1/ I'm coining the term "Object-Oriented Productivity" as my prediction for the next era of productivity we're entering
2/ As any discipline matures, it gets progressively demystified from "personality-driven" to "object-driven." The focus shifts from what an individual can do (due to mysterious, inscrutable internal forces), to what the tools can do (how they can be combined and used together)
3/ Close parallel to software dev't: coding used to be limited by an individual person's temperament, focus ability, memory, specific knowledge; now it's limited by their ability to use and combine existing tools, frameworks, snippets, microservices
4/ Just as Object-Oriented Programming favored modular pieces of software that could interact via standardized interfaces, we're seeing the same thing happen as personal productivity matures
5/ What's important now is NOT one's personal capabilities: focus ability, self-discipline, raw intellect, good memory. What matters is the ability to orchestrate existing tools, platforms, services, products, programs, etc. into SYSTEMS that work reliably, day and night
6/ This requires other kinds of skills like self-awareness, strategic thinking, externalized memory/thinking, good documentation, rapid learning, communication/collaboration ability
7/ This is well understood I think, but I think it applies not just to inputs, but to work OUTPUTS: every project can be broken down into discrete deliverables, and the design and construction of these objects really matters
8/ We're not used to thinking of ourselves as designers of objects, but this is what we do all day: agendas, outlines, models, summaries, action plans, retrospectives, memos, even emails are designed deliverables with many layers of subtlety
9/ It's very hard to get feedback at this level of detail. Maybe when we start out in our career we get corrections on basic mistakes. But how about later, when no one's going to sit down and work through the design of your event, your plan, your product spec?
10/ I think the design of objects will continue to gain importance as work gets more remote, distributed, asynchronous, cross-organization. Less and less often will you be there to advocate for your idea, your interpretation, your perspective. Your intention has to be embedded
11/ And these objects will gain more and more sophisticated abilities. They'll be able to work together (a la @zapier), make money (@teachable), communicate (@Mailchimp), facilitate discussion (@discourse), manage payments (@stripe), control access (@memberful)
12/ Object-oriented productivity may sound demeaning, but I think it has the potential to free humans from jobs they weren't meant to do. Even a simple meeting agenda template with some thought put into it can save significant time if it's refined and re-used over time
13/ Just as in programming, we're going to get MUCH better at it too. We'll develop new layers of abstraction, with documents that inherit or disinherit certain characteristics, modularity even within docs (like @NotionHQ), interaction rules between modules (like @Airbnbdesig)
14/ Eventually I think entire deliverables and even projects will be algorithmically generated, and we'll just tune constraints, tweak parameters, introduce variables, shape goal conditions. This all happens in programming, but knowledge work is maturing in that dirrection
15/ It will soon be as unusual to sit down to a blank document and just "start writing," as it would be for a software dev to sit down to a completely blank terminal and "start coding." It'll happen, but only for brainstorming, small experiments, self-expression, or play
