Dr Callum Brodie
remote-work researcher
Evidence-based; write more, meet less
Distributed
A product launch in four months, a team that only meets on video and trust fraying across cultures.
Planned · not started yet
Work & careers Belonging Competing advice Workplace Across borders Lightly witty Reflective
The premise
A product launch in four months, a team that only meets on video and trust fraying across cultures. Ines learns to run remote work deliberately, and discovers that the quietest engineer has been carrying the project.
The protagonist
Ines Marwick-Strand — Software team lead with colleagues across six time zones
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Rania Haddad-Keller
operations manager
Pragmatic; protects overlap hours
Kazuo Lindberg
intercultural trainer
Perceptive; culture shapes how people disagree
How the story moves
Four months toward launch; the team’s trust builds slowly and is tested by a missed deadline.
What readers take away
- Asynchronous communication
- Documentation habits
- Meeting design
- Time-zone fairness
- Intercultural communication
- Remote onboarding
- Spotting burnout remotely
- Building trust without an office
- Write a decision record
- Run effective retrospectives remotely
- Manage across holiday calendars
- Measure team health
The books
- 1The team Planned
- 2The launch plan Planned
- 3The conflict Planned
- 4Launch Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.