THE MEZZANINE LOUNGE

2 minute read

#workingfromhome #workingfromanywhere #capability #innovation #procurement #advisoryboardcentre #videoconferencing #videochat #zoom #co-workingspaces

The Inspiration: Perched on one of the top floors, the Club Lounge is an exclusive social space reserved for special guests. It is often a welcome escape from your room when you need to work or take some time out, catering for guests around the clock. “Bite size” culinary offerings beckon throughout the day, culminating in relaxing evening cocktails and canapes.

The Reality: Alas, it’s been a long day, however, the lounge beckons with one of your favourite cocktails on ice (okay - maybe a beer or wine!) A place to unwind and reflect on the day that was, indulge in some conversation (if you’d like), and have a few bite-sized “snacks” to allow you to recharge for the next day of Working From Anywhere (WFA)… So, welcome to The Mezzanine Lounge!

#2: Tigers 'n' Tech

“Hey all you cool cats and kittens!”, a familiar line to those of us who have succumbed to the hype otherwise known as “Netflix’s Tiger King”. Well, ruefully, I fell hook, lion and sinker into the world of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and the rest of the circus, I mean zoo, but thank goodness, I now have my iso-life back!

After watching the Joel McHale “Tiger King After Show” which was all done with ease via #video chat, it prompted me to think about how easily we have all shifted into this not so “new” world of video conferencing as we never have before.

As a career #procurement professional, I remember many moons ago leading a business case to deliver video conferencing facilities to our business, with one of the quantifiable benefits being a reduction in travel, accommodation and ancillary costs. While the project was approved, the full value of this investment was never realised because the perks of business travel and the direct correlation to level of importance were far sexier than the “less hot” burning platform of delivering bottom line savings to a profitable business.

Fast forward to today and Zoom, alone, has seen an increase from about 10 million daily meeting participants in December 2019 to over 200 million in March 2020. Source: Zoom 

#The Advisory Board Centre, with @Louise Broekman at its helm as Founder and CEO, has successfully established a weekly virtual “Advisor Village Meeting” with the cohort of chairs and advisors globally to ensure the network remains connected, collaborate and share knowledge. The use of breakout rooms for smaller group discussions has worked seamlessly. 

While businesses are certainly using similar services to the abovementioned, including Skype, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams and more, the current restrictions in terms of social distancing have also meant that, on a personal level, this virtual connection is providing us with a lifeline.

Source: “The Coronavirus Page” (Facebook)

But what is the potential “upside” for businesses that can continue to rely on Video Conferencing to maintain meaningful connections?

• Could it mean a considerable reduction in travel and accommodation costs, particularly now, for what could only be considered “non-essential” travel? In fact, if you are able to spend a large chunk of time in transit to face-to-face meetings, have you actually calculated your ROI? Ask yourself, how have you performed over the last six (6) weeks without access to airlines? Do you have a greater ROI to offer by doing things differently?

And, if we take a broader view on “travel” and include the regular “commute” perhaps we could also see:

• a lesser footprint required in terms of office space, particularly if coupled with a #Work from Home or #Work from Anywhere Policy?; or
• a greater shift to #co-working spaces (to allow for the need to only sometimes be in the office) perhaps encouraging greater collaboration outside the comfort zones of our own organisations?;
• in terms of Government, could this lead to a reduction in infrastructure costs (e.g. due to less wear and tear on our roads) allowing for a different focus for taxpayers’ dollars or God forbid, initiate a different purpose or role for Government overall?
• in terms of the Social Order, could this bring about positive impacts on the environment through less emissions and less waste driven by more self-sufficiency?

Is COVID-19 inadvertently bringing about the "disruption we’ve always needed to have", particularly within the travel industry, real estate industry, the key pillars of Government as well as our home life? 

In the words of Joe Exotic, “I saw a tiger, now I understand”.

As a “Work from Anywhere” advocate, and with a few minutes to spare each day - courtesy of my home office, I’ve decided to share some thoughts on a regular basis via “The Mezzanine Lounge” to spark some conversations, ideas and innovations. I welcome your thoughts, in agreement or not, as long as put forth in a respectful manner. Until then, catch you on the flip side!