I was recently listening to an HBR Ideacast interview of Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp, talking about how to take back productivity in the workplace. The conversation was wide ranging on Jason’s beliefs about work from suggesting a strict 40 hour workweek to reducing meetings and creating a “no-talk Thursday.”

As an introvert, I find a lot of Jason’s ideas appealing. The idea you could be in an office for an entire day and not have to talk to someone sounds fantastic. Many of Jason’s ideas seem right out of the book Quiet by Susan Cain, whose subtitle is “The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” It also strikes me that many of Jason’s ideas are a little one-dimensional in response to the epidemic of poorly run meetings and unrealistic “always-on” expectations. As much as I like some of the specific suggestions Jason makes, one size does not fit all.

There are plenty of folks for whom talking is their primary way of communicating. They don’t sit down to read what has been written, and they don’t like putting their thoughts into writing. I recall early in my career assuming everyone read my emails with the care I took to write them. I found that a number of key folks would not read my email. In particular, my boss would pick up the phone before reading my email and ask what it was about. I couldn’t imagine why he would ignore my careful written thought.

It turns out, some people prefer to communicate differently than I do. They may not even realize they’re doing it. These folks feed on the discussion with others and the sound of their own voice. Establishing a policy of “no talk Thursday” for these folks is tantamount to sending an introvert to a cocktail party. Horrifying.

There is value in aspiring to shake-up any assumptions you have about how to work effectively. I especially agree with the aspiration to make meetings more effective. It is worth trying something new and getting better in your organization. I can see the point that some organizations have taken collaboration to an extreme and lost focus on the value of productivity (in favor of activity). However if you’re collaborating and producing amazing results, don’t stop collaborating.

The first question you should ask yourself before making a change is what problem are you trying to solve. It’s clear in the discussion with Jason that he is promoting a particular way of working and his values. These values seem to make up a lot of the culture of his organization. I’ve been a part of a number of organization that deliver results with a very different culture than he describes.

It is worth refining the problem as “if you want to make your organization more friendly to introverts, these are tactics worth trying.” And recognize that in any large population, you won’t have only introverts or extroverts. It will not make sense to cater to only one or the other style. Solutions are not one-size fits all