Is Slack Destroying American Companies?

Slack destroying American companies is one of the core points of discussion in Ezra Klein's interview with Cal Newport, nominally about his new book "A World Without Email"[1][2]. Great conversation. We feel weirdly run aground at this minima, to me.

I think there's still an unresolved but asked question about how we got stuck here. I forget who observed, but worth noting that the workers themselves tend to demand the popular, already mainstream product, which entrenches tools like Slack.

But I think there's a general lack of willingness & interest in catering to more alpha geeks, in trying to enable humans, in giving them means to tool themselves up. Industrial software is, almost universally, highly massified in nature.

Worth noting that Ezra's already a fan of Cal's work. From 2017[3], discussing Cal's book "Deep Work",

> I was asked recently to name a book that changed my life. The book I chose was Cal Newport’s “Deep Work,” and for the most literal of reasons: It’s changed how I lived my life. Particularly, it’s led me to stop scheduling morning meetings, and to preserve that time for more sustained, creative work.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/podcasts/ezra-klein-podca...

[2] https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2021/03/15/one-step-closer-t...

[3] https://www.vox.com/2017/4/21/15382282/cal-newport-taking-li...