The Little Things

I’ve enjoyed reading the Slack release notes for years. Aside from their creative writing and humor, I’ve pondered why I find them so appealing. It’s a narrative about craftsmanship and the art of creation.

Someone, or perhaps a team, puts time into writing these release notes. They could easily write “Bug fixes and performance improvements” like most other release notes. However, they choose not to. There’s a level of care, thought, effort, and creativity present, even in something as trivial as release notes. I find that beautiful.

It reminds me of a Steve Jobs quote:

When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.

He’s right. It’s about the details. It means caring enough to make sure every part of your product reflects its purpose and tells its story. From the copy, to the emails, to the interface details, you strive for the product to consistently present its best self. You do this because you value the details, the work, the craft. You understand that someone (like me!) will read the release notes and care. But even if they don’t, that’s okay because you do.

Care about the craft. Sweat the details. Strive for the highest quality in your work.

This goes out to the person / people writing the Slack release notes.

I see you. I appreciate you.