I always try and keep up with the progress reports from Dropbox’s Virtual First operating model. As well as being a company I’m a long-term customer of, they were also one of the three that I read a lot about when I started to think a bit more overtly about what work might look like in the post-pandemic age (the other two were Gitlab and Buffer). A lot of the routines of my current team took these organisations as an example, in particular how they value asynchronous work, are a remote-first organisation, but still value regular in-person contact; particularly events that put the whole team in one place for long enough to build or reinforce good working relationships. We have been doing this for the last three years; spending one week every six months working in the same place, collaborating closely, and also spending some time getting to know each other as people. It works for us, and is something that allows us to collaborate productively, regardless of where we happen to be.

The 2025 report presents the results of their meeting reduction pilot, which identified that it’s important to understand and articulate the “why” behind meetings, and to try and avoid meetings that don’t have a clear purpose. It’s something we have been trying to do in our organisation, but I think it’s fair to say we have a long way to go. I also like that they are using AI-generated meeting summaries in very much the same way we are; to provide an accurate record for people who can’t attend the meeting, whilst at the same time making it easier for synchronous attendees to be 100% present. That’s what all good meeting transcription tools should do, and I think these tools are now very much a part of how we work; making meetings more accessible to everyone, but also keeping people accountable for things they said they would do.