Blog
A Team of Devil's Advocates
At Tortuga [http://www.tortugabackpacks.com], when we first discuss an issue, you might have a hard time telling where everyone stands. Surprisingly, this is a good thing. We've built a team and nurtured a culture of taking the "other" side in a discussion. At Tortuga,
The Importance of Trust in Remote Teams
At our first big retreat in Montreal, we talked a lot about what working at Tortuga [http://www.tortugabackpacks.com] is like and who would be a good fit at the company. One word kept coming up: trust. I hadn't slowed down enough to think about it before,
Remote Work Gone Wrong
Sitting alone in his control room, your boss suddenly wonders if you're being productive. He turns his head to the right to check the CCTV feed of your desk. There you are. In your chair. At your desk. Being a good little minion. Thank God you hadn'
Core-Value-Aligned Perks
Have we all accepted that beers and ping pong are not a company's culture? These "perks" have always reeked of: "Are we having fun yet?" What's the point of your company's perks? How should you choose those perks if the
9 Teammates, 0 Employees
Words matter. Notice how Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, uses "I" and "we" in this interview [http://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-interview-on-self-driving-cars-future-driver-jobs-2016-8] (emphasis mine). > Isn't that the thing? [Laughs] I could give you self-driving nirvana if it's in the desert, there'
Hard Work Doesn't Matter
We've heard a lot in election post-mortems about the value of hard work, especially in the Rust Belt. In an industrial model, efficiency is key. Up to a point, working harder yields more or better results. I hear this every time I visit by hometown in Western Pennsylvania.
Busyness as a Proxy for Productivity
"In the absence of clear indicators of what it means to be productive and valuable in their jobs, many knowledge workers turn back toward an industrial indicator of productivity: doing lots of stuff in a visible manner." This is how Cal Newport defines busyness as a proxy for
Mobility is Currency
I've already written about why the manufacturing jobs aren't coming back and the opportunity for remote work to provide a way forward [https://www.fredperrotta.com/remote-work-small-towns]. Today, let's take it one step further. Mobility is currency. If you can't move to
No Jobs are Coming: How Remote Work Can Save Small Towns
For the last year, I’ve been describing my hometown as “the place reporters go to profile Trump supporters.” Unfortunately, regardless of what Trump says, no jobs are coming [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trumps-proposals-wont-help-the-white-working-class-or-the-urban-poor/] to towns like my hometown, New Castle, Pennsylvania. Why would they? I would never start a
Manufacturing in China: Further Reading
Whenever I write about China, people eat it up. Most are curious and appreciate the transparency into Tortuga’s manufacturing process [http://blog.tortugabackpacks.com/made-in-china/]. A few have negative, knee-jerk reactions. Invariably, the post generates more questions about China from potential customers and aspiring entrepreneurs. I will continue to