It’s only an opportunity if you’re there to grab it.

It’s only an opportunity if you’re there to grab it.

Here’s some free advice: all good things in life come with caveats attached. All of them!

Christmas in Australia? Great fun, but it’s way too hot. Pub meal? Love one, but I’ll be running the next day. Weekends? Sorry, Sunday night is here already.?

Another caveated case in point: the rise of flexible work.?

Just to be clear, I reckon it’s a great development and a well overdue one at that. Sure, it’s a shame we had to wait for a global pandemic to be the catalyst, but things will hopefully be made easier for millions of workers across the globe who are in the pursuit of that healthier work/life balance.?

And here comes the inevitable caveat: physical connection is something humans have always thrived on, and it’s a bit tricky to achieve this if we’re all working from home.?

Okay. So, what do we do then?

Balancing the balance

Awarded writer and New York Times columnist Malcolm Gladwell recently interrogated this very issue.

“It’s not in your best interests to work from home,” he declared. “Don’t you want to feel you’re a part of something?”

These and other comments of his quickly went viral, with many pointing out the hypocrisy of someone like Gladwell — who has happily admitted that the majority of his career happened behind a laptop in cosy Manhattan cafes — was now trying to tell us to all go back to the office.

But I suspect the nuance of what he was really saying got a bit lost at the bottom of the pile on. Malcolm was simply highlighting the fact that being present is being open to opportunity.?

Fair point.

Of course, there’s no one size fits all flexible approach. Some of us will work happily from behind a screen in our spare bedrooms for the rest of our careers if that’s what satisfies the role, while others will need to work in a face to face team or with stakeholders.?

A four-year honeymoon

I was lucky enough to live in Thailand from 2004 to 2008.

What was supposed to be a delayed honeymoon with my wife for just a couple weeks, ended up being a litttttle bit longer than planned when my brother-in-law auspiciously convinced us not to take the return flight back to Australia.?

We ended up staying, and some amazing work opportunities popped up. Thailand had a thriving expat community, so it was easy enough to connect with like-minded people. My wife found work with the consulate, while I helped establish the Thai version of ‘Barbeques Galore’ and then tried my hand at hosting a ‘Getaway’ style travel show for a number of years!

If we took the return ticket home after just a fortnight of honeymooning, none of these life and career affirming experiences would’ve precipitated.?

Being in it to win it

I was thinking about this sliding door moment as I was organising my trip to Dreamforce in San Francisco this month.?

It’s not that dissimilar to the decision to stick around in Thailand so I could be ‘in front’ of people. The whole notion of networking hinges on physical connection too, and even though I’ll be hanging out with folks I know from Australia and New Zealand, there’s a different level of camaraderie and bonding that happens.?

If you can strike the right balance, I’m convinced that getting out there and meeting new people will always be a great thing for your career, your soul and your energy levels.?

Anyway, this time I’ve definitely locked in that return flight.?

Because the chats I’ll have and connections I’ll make in San Fran will undoubtedly translate into good things back at home for my team and our customers — caveats and all.

[If you’re heading to Dreamforce too, shoot me a message if you’d like to catch up!]

Dhara Mishra

Join our 10th Anniversary at B2B Global Conference on 25th of October at Parramatta | Up to 50 exibitors | 10 plus sponsor | 200+ Attendees

1 年

Toby, thanks for sharing!

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Cassandra Ashworth

CEO | MD | VP | Board of Directors | Senior Sales Executive | Growth Strategist | DE&I Leader | ARN Management Excellence Finalist | Mentor | Advocator

2 年

This is a great ??

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Clyde Fernandez

Enabling responsible AI use by helping enterprises safely embrace GenAI at pace and scale, supercharging innovation and effectiveness while maintaining human dignity with robust security controls.

2 年

Thanks for your share Toby Wilcock One definition of luck is that it occurs at the intersection of preparedness and opportunity. Even if you’re prepared though, you need to be open to see the opportunity.

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Victoria Lucas

Family + Food + Adventure = LIFE

2 年

Love it Toby! I am still waiting for my honeymoon.... maybe I can pull this off now too!

Rowan Train

Solution Engineer

2 年

Enjoyed that, thanks Toby Wilcock

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