# Building tools for teamwork

> Justin Rosenstein recently wrote in Wired about why we need to rethink the tools we use to work together.

Source: https://asana.com/inside-asana/workgraph

## Building tools for teamwork

Our co-founder, Justin, recently wrote in _Wired_about why we need to rethink the tools we use to work together. The article generated a lot of interesting comments, from ideas on knowledge management to fatigue with the “meeting lifestyle,” to this protest on the typical office culture:

_Isn’t the root of this problem that, within our own organizations, we fiercely guard information and our decision-making processes? Email exchanges and invite-only meetings shut out others– forcing the need for follow-up conversations, summary reports, and a trail of other status/staff meetings to relay content already covered some place/some time before._To reach its goals, we think a team needs clarity of purpose, plan and responsibility. Technology and tools can help us reach that kind of clarity, but only if they target the right problem. From their roles at Facebook, Asana’s founders have extensive knowledge of social networks, and the social graph technology they rely on. _But Asana isn’t a social network._ Why? Because, as Justin outlines, the social graph doesn’t target the problem of work:

_Our personal and professional lives, even if they overlap, have two distinct goals — and they require different “graphs.”_

_For our personal lives, the goal is love (authentic interpersonal connection), and that requires a social graph with people at the center. For our work lives, the goal is creation (working together to realize our collective potential), and that requires a__**work graph**__, with the work at the center._

_Don’t get me wrong: Human connection is valuable within a business. But it should be in service to the organizational function of getting work done, and doesn’t need to be the center of the graph._So, how does this change the experience for you and your teammates? Asana’s Work Graph data model means having all the information you need when you need it. Instead of blasting messages at the whole team, like “Hey, has anyone started working on this yet?”, you should be able to efficiently find out exactly who’s working on that task and how much progress they’ve made. That’s the target Asana is aiming for.

- [Welcoming Kevin Knieriem, Asana’s Chief Revenue Officer](/inside-asana/welcoming-kevin-knieriem-cro)

Company

Team Asana

#### Content writer

We’re excited to welcome Kevin Knieriem to Asana as our Chief Revenue Officer.Kevin joins Asana at an important moment for the company and our customers. As organizations move tow ...

- [Asana Named a Leader in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Collaborative Work Management for Third Consecutive Year](/inside-asana/leader-in-2025-gartner-magic-quadrant-collaborative-work-management-report)

Company

#### Content writer

We're pleased to share that for the third year in a row, Asana has been positioned as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Collaborative Work Management (CWM). We believe, t ...

- [Asana’s FY25 ESG Report: Accelerating Impact for People, Planet, and Product](/inside-asana/fy25-asana-esg-report)

Company

#### Content writer

At Asana, our mission is to help humanity thrive by enabling the world’s teams to work together effortlessly. This mission extends far beyond just our product; it’s deeply woven i ...

- [Charting a new path: How we’re building the future of work management with Asana Partners](/inside-asana/future-work-management-asana-partners)

Company

#### Content writer

Partners have been integral to Asana’s story from the very beginning. Even before we had an official partner program, we had committed ‘partners’ in our legacy Certified Pros prog ...

- [Building tools for teamwork](/inside-asana/workgraph)

Company

Our co-founder, Justin, recently wrote in Wired about why we need to rethink the tools we use to work together. The article generated a lot of interesting comments, from ideas on ...

- [Company](/inside-asana/company)
