Phil Simon - Slack For Dummies

Slack For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. Slack is a trademark of Slack Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020937263

ISBN 978-1-119-66950-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-66952-4 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-119-66951-7 (epub)

My cofounders and I never could have imagined that our internal collaboration tool would eventually revolutionize workplace communications and change how people work. At that time, email was the default coordinating point for communications and information, but inside our company which was split between New York City, San Francisco, and Vancouver it was simply too slow. We wanted a better, quicker solution than email for working together and across great distances. So, like any group of engineers would, we set out to build one.

Designed to bring the tools you use and the people you work with every day into one place, Slack, we believe, is a better way of working together than email. Meaningful teamwork and engagement on Slack happens in channels, which you can read more about in . Channels and shared channels (between multiple organizations) represent a more efficient mechanism for workplace communication and are organized by team or projects, which helps facilitate relevant exchanges and productivity.

These channels quickly become rich, dense, searchable archives of information, giving users quick access to all the information they need in one centralized location. (You can find out more on the power of search in Slack in , Slack has thousands of apps in its directory all designed to make your workday more productive.

Even in its earliest iterations, we viewed Slack as more than a simple messaging tool. When we talk about Slack as a collaboration hub, we dont just mean people sending messages to one another, but more broadly, the work that is enabled across teams on a single platform. Slack started as a tool we built to answer our small companys needs, and it turns out those needs were pretty universal, from coffee roasters to healthcare offices to some of the worlds largest financial services companies. If youre reading this book, its likely youre in a similar situation.

I hope Slack For Dummies gives you strong foundational knowledge about what Slack can do to improve your workplace communications, and by reading it, youre able to pick up a few tips and tricks along the way. In the end, every business is made up of teams who are looking for a better way to work together. Were happy and grateful to be a part of your journey.

Cal Henderson, cofounder and Chief Technology Officer, Slack Technologies, Inc.

1. Chapter 3
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 6
5. Chapter 10
6. Chapter 11
7. Chapter 13
8. Chapter 14

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11

Not that long ago, the worlds most successful organizations relied upon typewriters, landlines, inter-office memos, and secretaries. Email and even fax machines didnt exist. Back then, employees took actual vacations.

Dont believe me? Watch a few episodes of AMCs Mad Men. Odds are that you probably wont recognize the 1960s world of work. Although it predates me by a few years, its an authentic portrayal of office life back then.

The modern-day workplace is a far cry from those quaint days. Employees today are bombarded with a constant barrage of often pointless emails, text messages, meeting requests, phone calls, and information. The era of Big Data is here, and far too often multi-tasking reigns supreme. The idea of working without interruptions is foreign to many employees. Thanks to smartphones, were almost always reachable, even when we are supposed to be on vacation.

If youre stressed while on the clock, at least take solace in the fact that youre not alone. According to a 2018 Korn Ferry survey, Nearly two-thirds of professionals say their stress levels at work are higher than they were five years ago. (Read the study at