office space

I have spoken out for many years about using the tools we have to enable remote work.  I promoted remote work to skeptical managers at AT&T and other companies, in what was called telecommuting at the time.  I thought it was crazy or sheer stupidity to require employees to come to the office every day when we as a company were creating and selling the tools that allow companies to manage and benefit from a remote workforce, in much the same way that IBM had implemented remote work when I was there in the late 1990’s.  They gave up leases on entire office buildings and had up to 60,000 remote workers at the time.  But AT&T, the purveyor of the tools for remote work, felt they needed to watch their employees work so they required staff to be in the office.  I remember going in every day and sitting between a man who worked on his fantasy football team all day and a woman who managed contractors for her house flipping business.  They were in the office so they must be productive, right?

I am quite fortunate to be working in China and Hong Kong for a month because my job can be done remotely and I asked to do it from here. My manager and his manager get it. Of course there is risk involved if the work doesn’t get done, but that is always true. Seeing a parking lot full of cars and cubes full of people is not and never has been a good measure of productivity.

I am spending a month in our hotels – and we are a hotel company!  Every day I learn more about our company and how I can make a difference.

Thanks for the opportunity Matt and Gina!

David

(The photo is my office for today.  I wish you could feel the breeze.)