How the Future Works audiobook cover - Leading Flexible Teams To Do The Best Work of Their Lives

How the Future Works

Leading Flexible Teams To Do The Best Work of Their Lives

Brian Elliott, Sheela Subramanian, Helen Kupp

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Categories:
Management & LeadershipCorporate Culture

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Key Takeaways from How the Future Works

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Mind Map

How the Future Works
Core Premise+
Step 1: Core Principles+
Step 2: Guardrails & Expectations+
Step 3: Team-Level Agreements (TLAs)+
Step 4: Continuous Learning+
Step 5: Digital Connection+
Step 6: Manager Evolution+
Step 7: Evaluating Success+
Ultimate Benefits+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why did Tim Cook's 2021 flexible work policy at Apple face swift backlash from employees?
  • A. It required employees to work exclusively from home, which isolated them.
  • B. It dictated specific days employees had to be in the office, removing their autonomy.
  • C. It reduced the salaries of employees who chose to work remotely full-time.
  • D. It failed to provide stipends for home office equipment and internet upgrades.
Question 2 of 8
What is the primary purpose of establishing 'guardrails' in a flexible work model?
  • A. To legally protect the company from lawsuits regarding remote work injuries.
  • B. To monitor the exact number of hours remote employees spend logged into the system.
  • C. To create clear behavioral expectations that ensure equality and protect career progression.
  • D. To restrict executive leadership from working remotely so they are always visible on-site.
Question 3 of 8
Why do the authors argue against implementing a 'blanket policy' for flexible work across an entire organization?
  • A. Because executive leaders generally prefer to maintain their own set of exclusive rules.
  • B. Because different departments, personalities, and individuals have wildly different operational and personal needs.
  • C. Because blanket policies are too expensive to implement from a human resources standpoint.
  • D. Because modern IT departments cannot support a unified digital infrastructure for all employees.
Question 4 of 8
How should teams structure their workday to balance flexibility with collaboration while preventing burnout?
  • A. By mandating that all team members work the exact same 9-to-5 schedule regardless of location.
  • B. By establishing 3 to 4 'core collaboration hours' each day when everyone agrees to be online.
  • C. By requiring employees to log their daily tasks in a shared spreadsheet every morning.
  • D. By allowing total freedom with no required overlapping hours for team members.
Question 5 of 8
To successfully navigate the transition to flexible work, the authors recommend creating a task force. What is the primary role of this group?
  • A. To police remote workers and ensure they are not violating company policies.
  • B. To experiment with and test potential new ways of working before a universal rollout.
  • C. To negotiate new salary structures for employees who choose to work from home permanently.
  • D. To organize mandatory in-person social events to maintain company culture.
Question 6 of 8
What did Slack’s Future Forum research reveal about employee connection during the pandemic?
  • A. Employee connection plummeted by over 50 percent due to a lack of in-person interactions.
  • B. Employee connection remained exactly the same as when working in the physical office.
  • C. Employee connection actually increased by 36 percent when working remotely.
  • D. Employee connection only improved for extroverted employees who actively used digital tools.
Question 7 of 8
According to the book, how must the role of a manager shift in a flexible work environment?
  • A. From an empathetic coach to a strict enforcer of company policies.
  • B. From a task delegator to a high-level strategic visionary.
  • C. From a productivity gatekeeper to an empathetic coach.
  • D. From a performance evaluator to a purely administrative coordinator.
Question 8 of 8
How should organizations evaluate employee success in a flexible work environment?
  • A. By tracking the total number of hours logged on the company server.
  • B. By measuring specific outcomes and deliverables rather than activity.
  • C. By counting the number of emails sent and meetings attended each week.
  • D. By monitoring how quickly employees respond to messages during business hours.

How the Future Works — Full Chapter Overview

How the Future Works Summary & Overview

How the Future Works (2022) provides a blueprint that company leaders can use to implement flexible work policies. It offers a step-by-step guide detailing how to manage this transition effectively so that organizations can benefit from this new way of working.

Who Should Listen to How the Future Works?

  • Leaders wanting to make flexible work strategies the norm
  • Executives who are skeptical about flexible working models
  • Managers who want their teams to transition successfully to flexible work arrangements

About the Author: Brian Elliott, Sheela Subramanian, Helen Kupp

Brian Elliot is the executive leader and senior vice president of Slack’s consortium, Future Forum. Before working at Slack, Elliott spent 30 years leading teams and building companies as a startup CEO and product leader at Google. 

Sheela Subramanian became vice president of Future Forum after working as Slack’s head of global enterprise marketing. She previously cofounded Google’s Global market development team, as well as several startups.

Helen Kupp is Future Forum’s senior director of product strategy and partnerships. After holding product and BizOp roles at Thumbtack and Bloomreach, she led Slack’s strategy and analytics team. 

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