re: The Problems That Google Docs Never Solved

Here’s a blog from Steve Newman (creator of what became Google Docs) on project management and discourse.

In my experience, there’s only one way for a collaborative project to remain organized. It requires one individual to dedicate themselves to keeping it that way.

The project hero follows up when the conversation dies down. They keep an eye out for folks who aren’t participating. They keep track of unresolved issues. They take meeting notes and update the document to reflect decisions. They make sure ideas don’t get lost.

A really good project hero also helps manage the discussion. They point out when it’s going in a circle. They identify miscommunication. They intervene when the group gets sidetracked by unimportant details (“bikeshedding”).

If that sounds like a lot of work, then you’re not getting an accurate picture. It’s an enormous amount of work.

I really like the framing of being a “project hero”. I think this is a core, extremely underrated part of what leadership is. This level of project management + individual contribution seems like a good definition, at least for me. (Specifically, I could imagine this is different for leaders who are mainly tasked with making good decisions when there are no good options, e.g. presidents.)