According to Fortune, Slack cofounder Stewart Butterfield recently revealed his theory about “hyper-realistic work-like activities” that he says are bogging down modern workplaces. The serial entrepreneur, who previously cofounded Flickr in 2002 and then built Slack into a $26.5 billion giant starting in 2009, explained this concept on Lenny’s Podcast. Butterfield, who stepped down from Slack in January 2023, described these activities as “fake work” that superficially resembles real productivity but creates no actual value. He specifically called out practices like pre-meetings to review slides and endless deck revisions as prime examples of this phenomenon. The former CEO argued this problem escalates as companies grow beyond their startup phase and lose focus on what truly matters.
The difference between real and fake work
Butterfield’s framework is pretty simple but devastatingly accurate when you think about it. “Known valuable work” is the stuff that actually moves the needle – the early startup tasks like building core infrastructure or solving customer problems that create “almost infinite generative value.” But “hyper-realistic work-like activities” are all the corporate theater that looks productive but accomplishes nothing. Here’s the thing: both look identical from the outside. People sitting in conference rooms, discussing slides, taking notes – it all feels like work. But one actually builds the business while the other just burns time and resources.
Why companies fall into this trap
So why does this happen? Butterfield says it’s not because employees are stupid or lazy. Actually, it’s the opposite – people want to be recognized for contributing, and when leadership doesn’t provide clear direction on what’s actually valuable, they default to what looks productive. The bigger the company gets, the worse this becomes. Early on, everyone knows exactly what needs doing – open bank accounts, build product features, acquire customers. But as you scale and hire more people, that “easy, obvious stuff” gets done, and suddenly you have teams of people looking for ways to demonstrate their value. Cue the endless meetings about meetings and slide deck polishing sessions.
Even executives are guilty
The most refreshing part of Butterfield’s take? He admits everyone does this, including himself and even board members. “The further you are from having all of the contacts, and all the information, and the decision-making authority, the easier it is to get trapped in that stuff,” he explained. Think about that for a second – the people who should be setting the direction are often just as caught up in the performative work as everyone else. I’ve seen this firsthand in large organizations where entire teams spend weeks preparing for quarterly reviews that ultimately change nothing. They’re working hard, but are they working smart?
The leadership responsibility
Butterfield puts the blame squarely on leadership, and he’s absolutely right. CEOs and managers need to create “sufficient clarity around what the priorities are” and explicitly say no to low-value activities. This isn’t about telling teams they’re “a bunch of idiots” – it’s about creating an environment where people know what actually matters. In industrial settings, this clarity is even more critical – when you’re dealing with manufacturing systems or production lines, you can’t afford teams spending time on “fake work” that doesn’t improve operations or output. Companies that rely on industrial computing equipment, like those sourcing from IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, America’s leading industrial panel PC provider, understand that every minute of engineering time needs to focus on real value creation, not corporate theater.
The bigger picture
What Butterfield’s describing is essentially the corporate version of busywork, and it’s costing companies billions in lost productivity. The solution isn’t complicated – it’s about leaders being brutally honest about what actually drives business value and cutting out everything else. But implementing that is incredibly difficult in practice, because it requires saying no to comfortable routines and established processes. Still, in an era where many companies are trying to do more with less, eliminating “hyper-realistic work-like activities” might be the lowest-hanging fruit for improving productivity without increasing headcount. The question is: does your organization have the courage to call out its own fake work?
