Why I never answer team Slack DMs: A CEO's perspective

Even after two posts, Slack Lists keeps surprising me. I started exploring it because we needed a way to stop action items from slipping through the cracks. Meetings ended with good intentions, but ownership was unclear. Some tasks never got followed up. Or worse, the action item wasn’t even recognized in the first place. At first, I tried a quick Google Sheet. It worked for a while, but as soon as multiple groups had different needs, it got messy fast. That’s when I looked closer at Slack Lists — and realized it offered something better. Because Lists are invisible by default, anyone can experiment freely — build a few lists, test the features, and figure out what worked — without worrying about “getting it wrong” in front of others. And in that process, a structure started to take shape. I began thinking about two types of Lists: • Private Lists for myself. Everyday to-do’s, recurring tasks, or even longer-term goals I wanted to track quietly. • Public Lists for collaboration. One visible to the whole department, another for a smaller team, and even a one-on-one list shared with my manager to keep follow-ups in one place. Projects got their own lists too, so tasks and subtasks lived where the work happened. The more I used it, the clearer it became: Slack Lists isn’t perfect, but even with its basic features, it was already more practical than my Google Sheet experiment. And because it’s right inside Slack, adoption was easier — no new tool to learn, no extra login, no change to daily workflow. That’s the real lesson for me: Tools are only as good as the structure you give them. Start simple. Experiment. Build a framework that fits your team. Sometimes, the best solutions aren’t the ones you buy — they’re the ones already in front of you. And with Slack Lists, that simple realization has already changed the way I work.

I hate Slack. Hear me out. Slack is a powerful platform. It has endless integrations, it is robust, and it can absolutely make communication faster. The problem is not Slack itself. The problem is how it is used. When Slack becomes the backbone of your operations instead of a communication layer, everything starts to break. Tasks get handed out in chat with no due date, no assignee, and no details. People spend hours scrolling through threads trying to remember what was asked and by whom. Nothing is tracked, nothing is measured, and eventually things get dropped. The hidden tax is task switching. Every ping pulls you out of focus. It takes more than 20 minutes to get back into flow, and by then you have burned energy without moving real priorities forward. Over time, that leaves people stressed, behind, and frustrated with their own effort. Slack should never be the source of truth. That belongs to your project management and CRM systems. Those systems provide clarity, visibility, accountability, and the ability to measure progress. Chat should support those systems, not replace them. If you want a team that can do its best work, support them with clear systems and use Slack for what it was built for: communication, not operations. Do you agree, or is Slack running the show on your team?

Well, if a product manager had a nickel for every team chat app demo we’ve sat through, we’d still use Slack… to argue about which emoji reaction is most appropriate. Megan Crouse’s Slack cheat sheet is a snappy overview of Slack's modern capabilities—from pricing tiers that require a calculator and a prayer, to integrations with tools like Google Drive and Zendesk, making it more of a digital HQ than just a chatbox. The guide dives into Slack features like Huddles, workflows, and file sharing, along with tips on organizing channels and direct messages so your workspace doesn’t look like the inside of a teenager’s closet. It also gives a decent glance at enterprise use cases and API usage, making it handy for anyone scaling team collaboration or dealing with “calendar Tetris” every Monday. As a product manager juggling global teams and remote workflows, I see Slack as more than a comms tool—it's now a core part of digital product ecosystems, especially in this era of hybrid work and surprise reschedules at 3am. Thanks to Megan Crouse for the comprehensive piece and how it sparked valuable ideas. #Slack #Collaboration #Workflows #Productivity

✨ Imagine running a company where every Slack ping, every email, and every reminder automatically organizes itself into a clear, actionable task list — without you lifting a finger. For founders, time isn’t just money — it’s productivity, focus, and the fuel for scaling faster. I recently built a system that transforms the way C-suite executives manage their communication overload. Key Highlights of the System: 🌟 One-click extraction of the latest emails and Slack messages — instantly classified into predefined categories. 🌟Automatic transfer of task-related emails directly into the to-do list, reducing manual sorting. 🌟Slack mentions turned into tasks — if you’re tagged, it shows up in your task list without you lifting a finger. 🌟Custom email categories — founders can define their own rules using keywords, so only the most relevant items enter their workflow. 🌟Unified task list — all tasks in one place, neatly organized and ready to approve, act on, or delegate. 🌟An option to reply to important slack messages directly from platform 🚀 And this is just the start. we can also integrate google calender scheduling and delegation to a team member etc The outcome? No more wasted hours scanning inboxes or chasing Slack threads. Executives get clarity, priority, and control in one place. This project is part of my larger journey — building solutions that remove friction from a leader’s day, so their energy goes into strategy and growth, not managing noise. I’d love to hear your thoughts — if you have suggestions to make this sharper, or if any founder/executive would like to try it out, I’d be glad to connect and discuss.

Teams and Slack messages are becoming the enemy of productivity and creativity. --------------------------------------------- I'm fascinated by the impact tech has on how we communicate both in the workplace and outside of it and particularly how this is changing over time. Sometimes we slip into workplace habits that might not be the best way of doing things. There does seem to be a problem around how any of us are meant to get real work done with the constant ping-ping-ping of Teams or Slack messages. You know the feeling... a thought is just taking shape in your mind or you're mid-crafting a fabulous opener for an article or report on your keyboard and then DING! Someone wants a “quick view” or is “just checking in.” There's so often a "just" involved in the requests. Multiply that by five or ten in an hour, and your deep thinking is gone, replaced by frantic surface skimming. Instant chat tools were meant to save time. Instead, they’ve become the enemy of focus, concentration, and productivity. They reward speed over substance, reaction over reflection. Writing, strategy, problem-solving, creative thinking; none of these flourish in three line bursts between notifications. They need quiet, time, and space. I know you can turn notifications off or go on do not disturb but lots of people don't feel they can do that all day and still fufill their role and meet expectations of being responsive. So here’s my small plea: before firing off a chat, ask yourself: Does this really need an immediate answer NOW? Could it wait for an email or tomorrow’s meeting? Am I helping or just interrupting? There IS a time and place for that "quick Teams message" and I do it too but have a momentary think before you "fire one off" about whether there's a better way to ask your question. And as a recipient, drop the pressure to reply straight away. Can this wait? Because "deep work" is where the real value lies. And no one ever produced their finest ideas in the middle of a Teams barrage. 🤹

Controversial Opinion of a Dyslexic: Slack, Discord, Teams chats and all other instant messaging systems are bad for software engineer productivity. Don't get me wrong. They CAN be very useful, but the way they seem to be used now is chaos. Whenever you need to focus on something they constantly flash at you to say "Someone just said something... It MIGHT be important!" (spoiler, it probably isn't), breaking you out of the flow all for a reaction gif, or someone complaining (to the entire company) about a broken light. And it's like Schrödinger's Cat. If you read the new message, it'll be just fluff. if you ignore it until the end of the day, it'll be a critically important request that you absolutely must reply to 3 hours ago! We all know context switching is a burden, yet this is one we tell ourselves is fine, because it's "asynchronous communication". But it's not. not really. people expect a prompt reply - Especially those guys who open with "Hey..." and wait until you respond. To make matters worse, the number of conversations seems to grow out of control. In my previous role there were approximately 70 Slack channels that needed my presence just to "keep on top of things" plus all the private group chats. In my current role, I don't know how many there are because I keep finding more that I'm not a member of, but it's probably a similar number (or more). I seem to spend most of my life just catching up on a million conversations. Why does it need to be this way? We need a new way to do things, because this isn't sustainable.

Unpopular opinion: Stop using Slack for everything. You're drowning your team in noise. In my experience, email beats Slack for 80% of business communication. Here's why: Slack creates an urgency addiction. Every ping feels important when in reality most conversations could wait a few hours. Email forces intentional communication. When you can't fire off a quick "thoughts?" you actually think through your message. Context gets lost in Slack threads. Try finding a decision made 3 weeks ago in a busy channel. Good luck. Email respects deep work. Your team members aren't and shouldn't be checking Slack every 5 minutes when they're in flow state. My rule: If it needs a response within 30 minutes, Slack it. Everything else send an email. I feel like way too many companies are over-Slacking their way to an illusion of "productivity".

Slack: where chaos meets collaboration and pings you at 2 a.m. just to keep things exciting. This article is a digestible cheat sheet on how to navigate Slack, the popular cloud-based communication platform used by teams to collaborate—whether in-office, hybrid, or fully remote. It outlines Slack’s key features like channels, threads, integrations, and search functions (yes, finally find that message from six months ago). Pricing tiers are explained, from free to enterprise, with a focus on what each offers. It's basically your survival guide if your workday starts and ends in Slack, with tips on connecting tools like Google Drive or Zoom to streamline the daily madness. As a product manager juggling war zones of messages and stakeholder requests, I see this as a strategic reminder that communication tools are not just tactical—they're make-or-break for velocity, especially in globally distributed product teams navigating everything from AI automation to war-driven supply chain hiccups. Thanks to Megan Crouse for the concise piece and how it sparked valuable ideas. #Slack #collaboration #productivity #tools

Slack: From Failed Game to Workplace Essential Less than a decade ago, Slack wasn’t even meant to be a workplace tool. It was a side project that came out of a failed online game. Today, it’s used by millions of teams across the world. The story of Slack isn’t one of straight-line success — it’s about a game that didn’t work, a team that refused to quit, and a shift in how people think about getting work done. From Gaming Dreams to Work Realities In 2009, Stewart Butterfield and his team were working on Glitch, a quirky online game. They put everything into it, but the game never managed to find a big audience. Interestingly, the thing that worked wasn’t the game at all. It was the little chat system the team used to keep themselves organized. Simple, but effective. When Glitch finally shut down in 2012, the team faced a choice — move on, or build on the tool that had actually helped them. They decided on the latter, and by 2013, Slack was officially launched. The Rise of a Digital HQ Slack didn’t just try to be a “better email.” Instead, it reimagined the way teams communicate: ● Channels instead of endless email chains ● A searchable history instead of messy inbox digging ● Integrations with the tools teams were already using It felt faster, clearer, and more human. By 2019, Slack had gone public. Two years later, Salesforce acquired it for $27.7 billion, cementing its role as the digital headquarters for modern work. Why Slack Works ● It solved a real pain point. Everyone was drowning in email, and Slack offered relief. ● It played well with others. With thousands of integrations, Slack became the hub where all workplace tools connected. ● It had personality. From playful loading messages to a friendly design, Slack didn’t feel like cold corporate software — it felt like a teammate. Lessons from Slack’s Journey 1. Failure can lead to success. Glitch didn’t work out, but its side project thrived. Sometimes what looks like a setback is really a redirection. 2. Build for yourself first. Great products often start as tools made to solve a team’s own problems. 3. Communication shapes culture. Slack wasn’t just about messages; it changed how teams collaborate and share ideas. Final Thought Slack wasn’t built to reinvent the workplace. It started as a small internal tool that helped one team survive. But by focusing on simplicity, flexibility, and a human touch, it transformed the way millions of people work together today. It’s a reminder that the best ideas don’t always come from chasing success. Sometimes they come from paying attention to what people actually need. Institute of Engineering and Technology | Vineet Kansal | Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), Lucknow | Seethalekshmi K. | Pushkar Tripathi | Anurag Verma, PhD 💡 | Navyug Navachar Foundation IET Lucknow | Sandeep Kumar

Meta Smart Glasses vs Smart Slack Integration - Which One Actually Makes You More Productive? Everyone's talking about Meta's new smart glasses that can display information right in your field of vision. Pretty cool, right? But here's the thing - while we're all getting excited about futuristic AR displays, most support teams are still stuck in the stone age of email ping-pong. You know the drill: Customer emails you → You forward to Sarah → Sarah replies to you → You reply to customer → Customer replies back → You realize Tom should have handled this from the start → screams internally Meanwhile, your Slack is sitting there like "Hey, I could solve this whole mess if you just integrated me with your email..." 🤷♂️ Here's what actually makes you more productive than fancy glasses: ✅ Emails that automatically become Slack tickets ✅ Your whole team seeing the same context in real-time ✅ No more "Did someone reply to this yet?" chaos ✅ Actual collaboration instead of inbox archaeology Sure, smart glasses might help you read notifications while walking. But smart Slack integration? That helps you actually close those notifications without losing your sanity. Read how to set up Slack-email integration that actually works (spoiler: it's easier than you think): https://hubs.ly/Q03K3RVB0 #ITSupport #Slack #CustomerSupport #Productivity #TechTrends