Where I Work: Is My Office Still Relevant?
Working in M&A used to require being tethered to rooms full of paper files; but the cloud has changed all that.
I have an office with my name on it in Fayetteville, and there’s even a corner office dubbed, “Dan’s Office” in our Santa Monica building. In reality though, if “Home is Where the Heart Is;” then “Office is Where the Team Is.”
Technology has played a major role through the years in changing how and where we work. When I started my career in M&A in New York; we were all pretty well bound to our desks and conference rooms. We even needed to be near a closet-like room called a library that held tens of thousands of S&P tear sheets and a copy machine. Now though, the brick-and-mortar world of the mandatory corporate office is increasingly being replaced by the cloud.
Neither of my ‘real’ offices is especially inspirational – they aren’t creative spaces or anything. Keeping costs down was always the objective. I distinctly remember us working out whether it was worth springing for the $18 to install an additional electrical outlet in my Arkansas office.
The Santa Monica location usually makes for some interesting people watching; the Fayetteville location would make for more interesting bird watching. Sometimes I will walk the trail next to the building during a conference call; it’s not unusual to see deer, frogs and turtles. I’ll often need to mute the phone while flocks of ducks fly by on their way through the Mississippi Flyway. One time, I almost stepped on a water moccasin during a call; fortunately, I was muted during the snake encounter.
But, the reality is that our business is mostly cloud-based. I work wherever our team, partners or customers are – in person, on the phone or via Skype. It’s pretty typical for me to get emails out of the way on the elliptical machine at the gym, in the car, at a coffee place, a gas station, an airport, a plane or even in the bathroom.
Most importantly, the objective is to collaborate with people wherever and however that might work. The ‘place’ isn’t really important anymore.
Journalist / senior analyst Talk Business & Politics and NWA Business Journal
11 年Love this blog. I have worked from home for the past 13 month as journalist / editor for an online business news publication. Prior to that I spent 7 years in a newsroom for traditional print media covering several business sectors. My productivity, creativity and overall health have improved since I was liberated to a home office. My weight has decreased as there is more opportunity work on the move. I have interviewed sources during my daily run, and even filed stories from bed on days when I felt so inclined. There is no doubt my new employer get a bigger bang for his buck than my former employer who required that I punch a time clock and keep regular office hours as much as possible. My massive story log is filed in the Cloud and I will be working remote next month when I go to Spring Training in Florida for a week. Let me say, I am the classic over-achiever and working from home isn't for everyone, but for those who can do it; There is NOTHING better.
Implementation Expert
11 年There are more and more people working from home which always sounds like a great thing but what people need to understand is that it takes discipline to do this. I found myself in that situation 5 years ago and although I was a disciplined worker at the office it took time to develop and implement my new new work habits at home. It took a good 3 months before I felt like I had working at home really under control. Now it's such a routine for me that when I have a day off, I have to pull myself away from my laptop. I will say that I feel I've finally achieved the balance I was seeking between my family and work. As more and more employers send their employees home to work, they need to provide some guidance and direction to help them achieve this transition.
Community Volunteer at BROADBAND FOR THE RURAL NORTH LIMITED
11 年Great if you can get a decent connection...
While I have historically been a HUGE proponent of a 'work anywhere' type environment, I find that it doesn't work for everyone. I do feel I am reachable and efficient no matter where my laptop, iPhone and I are, but there are a few people who seem to go off the grid when working remotely....
Managing Director | Product Education, Sales, Marketing, Leadership Development
11 年Embrace the cloud, working from home, technology and new opportunities in health, science, wellness and technology! It's where it's at!