Listen to this blog post.
Audio Voice Source: Aaron R. Plush
Additional Audio Source: Jimmy Castor Bunch (Troglodyte), The Jetson’s Theme, Back To The Future (interpolation by Ted White)
I have already lived the future of work operationally.
Moment of truth: Believe it or not early career, I struggled to get into the office by a set time because I did not see the point; if I am working late, or if I am working from home early, why does it matter if I am in the office by 8am or not, why does it matter to have a receptionist to track the time a Director comes in, this same receptionist was not there to notate the time I left. (Yeah, this is an unbelievable real-life example, and yep, I am still salty about it lol; yet I digress)
In many different occasions and with varying companies, clients, assignments, engagements and/or projects since then I have already lived the future of work. I have always been a focused results and outcomes kind of guy. I do not care what hours you work from where; all I care about is the performance. (Outcomes & Results) All being done with a spirit of excellence and on time; below budget always helps as well.
On-site, hybrid and 100% remote is not new territory for me. I have been working like this for over two decades now. I have had colleagues, employees and even managers who I have never met in person, and we all were high performing successful teams.
I am not drinking the Kool-Aid, that in person anything is necessary for successful work and teams. I am certain that any and all work may be done remotely for teams that are committed to making it work. The concept that some things require a handshake, in person interaction is simply a mindset of the past and one that will not withstand much longer. Yes, there is certainly something nice about human interaction, yet in the work place I have the operational experience that simply proves otherwise; that in person meetings where thousands of dollars are being spent is simply not necessary. Self-fulfilling prophecies of failure before even starting is quite real if you are not careful in the remote world. You plan to fail, and you will, if you think you will; if you focus on what you cannot do; you will not be able to do.
For those who are all in and committed to making remote work; It works, and it works exceptionally well. We all truly do get out of work, just like life what we put into.
A specific project comes to mind when I managed a team in India. We were working on Contingent Labor in India and me, as the Manager, never met the team in person. Even hired the team based upon remote interactions only and guess what we thrived. We thrived because we all were committed to thriving.
We normalized our meetings whereas sometimes the US team operated during normal work hours aligned with India and other times, the India team aligned with the US work hours.
The key was we made it fair for all. What we had was a shared vision to succeed. We focused on the can do’s only and did not even think about any potential barriers. We found that this mindset even helped us to avoid and eliminate barriers that may have arisen by only focusing on the positive what we could do.
Reach out to me today to find out how this Operations/Operational Management model will work for you at [email protected]
To this end, yes, I have been an advocate of remote work all my life; and in this instance clearly, I was right 20 years early. LOL Focus on the can dos and watch your world change right before your very own eyes is a true take away of this 4th blog entry.
With each entry we will take a deeper dive into the how of this process; how the implementations really work, and how we make The Spectacular happen together.
Until next time, that’s all folks…
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Working within the same industry for over 15 yrs., I’ve experienced the best of both worlds (remote + onsite), and I’ve come to understand both. I believe the remote method can and does work, but I also believe it has to do with the industry, the culture of the company, and committed teams. I encourage forward thinking, and can’t wait to hear what’s next and share this info.
Thanks for your sentiments, Genell and certainly industry is a factor as well as company culture. I appreciate your feedback and know with certainty that that future of work is something we all will define together. The key is having a willingness to be open and to normalize our new ways of working for many.
As a former Big 5 management consultant I definitely know remote works when people are committed. Many companies, depending on the industry, still require a hybrid approach and struggle with how to make it fair for those who need to be on site. Looking forward to hearing future blogs and your suggestions on how to implement.
Absolutely Ingrid thank you for chiming in regarding the complexities associated with getting hybrid right. I look forward to continuing this dialogue. Thank you for chiming in for this ongoing conversation.
Working in a remote capacity the last 15 years of my career, I agree 100%. Building your organization based on results and not when someone “punches a clock” is the way towards creating a thriving organization.
Thanks for your supporting perspective Albert. The goal is certainly a “thriving organization.”