## Session I: Foundations and definitions

> [“Async is the operating system; remote is the hardware.”](https://open-and-async.com/q/operating-system/)

### Discuss

- Where has our team confused “working from home” with actually working remotely — the same office habits, just moved onto Zoom?
- Walk through a normal week: which of our rituals quietly assume everyone’s awake at the same time? What breaks when someone joins from another time zone?
- Where do we work in the open but still default to meetings — or try to go async without actually sharing our work? What does that half-measure cost us?

### Split the room

**For managers:** Name one process you own that assumes co-location. What would it look like rebuilt for a team that’s never in the same room?

**For individual contributors:** Pick one thing you did silently last week. How could you have made it visible without being asked?

### Debate

“We’re already remote — we use Slack and Zoom all day.” Argue that that’s enough. Then argue it’s exactly the trap the book warns about.

### Try it

Map your team’s default channel for five situations — a decision, a status update, a quick question, a crisis, an FYI. Which are still findable and searchable a month later? Optional: run `triage_sync_vs_async` from the [companion tools](https://open-and-async.com/#mcp).

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From the [*Open & Async* book club guide](https://open-and-async.com/book-club-guide/#foundations).