{"id":37543,"date":"2017-09-01T04:45:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T09:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=37543"},"modified":"2017-09-01T04:45:27","modified_gmt":"2017-09-01T09:45:27","slug":"back-to-slack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/back-to-slack\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Broke Up with Slack\u2014And Went Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

My team and I have been using Slack<\/a> as our primary communication platform since June 2014. As we grew, email became unmanageable and other solutions like Basecamp weren\u2019t a fit. After a full-immersion trial, we were sold<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n

But then we unsold ourselves. It took three years. But, just as email didn\u2019t scale with our growth, neither did Slack.<\/p>\n

Why Slack Didn\u2019t Work for Us<\/h3>\n

We ran into three main limitations with the app, and I\u2019ve heard the same from other users:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Slack made it difficult to track conversations.<\/strong> Slack wasn\u2019t built with threads (topics) as an integral part of the model, so conversations wander from one topic to the next and often back to a previous topic.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
  2. Slack made it difficult to find what you\u2019re looking for.<\/strong> I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find stuff in Slack. The search is robust enough, but, because of a lack of threads, it is very difficult to piece together a conversation. Topics A, B, C, and D might interlace as items are brought up and discussed in the relevant channel. All that needs to get mentally untangled to follow the conversation on just topic A after the fact.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    Slack is built on the wrong communication model.<\/strong> Slack works synchronously<\/em>, like texting or instant messaging. If you\u2019re not careful, you\u2019re always on. That means constant interruption, and time for deep work vanishes. We also have team members in three time zones so the real-time conversation tends to stretch out the day and steal our margin.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These three problems were compounded as the team grew. When there were ten or twelve of us, Slack was manageable. At thirty and growing, we needed something better.<\/p>\n\n

    The Switch to Twist<\/h3>\n

    After reading several positive reviews of Twist<\/a>, I decided it was time for another full-immersion trial. Twist was created by the team that developed ToDoist<\/a>. It felt very beta when we switched, but the developers were responsive and helpful.<\/p>\n

    Most of the team was excited about the test. Twist seemed to address our core problems with Slack.<\/p>\n

    For instance, threaded conversations were baked into the design from the start. Instead of messages going unmediated into channels, as in Slack, in Twist messages fit inside threads that live inside channels. That extra layer of organization keeps the conversations untangled and makes it easy to review them later on.<\/p>\n

    But it wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

    After ten days of using Twist, we decided to go back to Slack.<\/p>\n

    The vision for Twist was right, but the implementation fell short. The threads, for example, were less visible than they should have been\u2014which defeated the purpose. Also, the notifications were a mess. I found the labels confusing and constantly felt like I was missing something important.<\/p>\n

    Worst of all, it wasn\u2019t fun to use. Our team culture<\/a> is core to our business. One of the hidden benefits of Slack that Twist couldn\u2019t deliver was the way it facilitated fun, social interaction with an all-virtual team. Slack did more to shape our culture than we initially realized. Using Twist, I actually felt less connected to my team\u2014and most of them said the same thing.<\/p>\n

    As disappointing as they were, however, I wouldn\u2019t trade those ten days with Twist. They were invaluable.<\/p>\n

    Making Slack Work for Us Again<\/h3>\n

    The more we worked with Twist the more we realized how we could improve our experience with Slack. In fact, I\u2019d say we had to go on this journey with Twist to figure out what we really needed from Slack.<\/p>\n

    It became apparent we could make Slack work for us by making three primary changes. If you\u2019ve struggled with the three main problems I mentioned earlier, I bet these changes could help you as well.<\/p>\n

    1. Clarify Project Structure<\/h4>\n

    Based on the way we work, we have the following organizational entities:<\/p>\n