E-Learning, E-Working and the life of a NOMAD
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
Ah the 5:00 a.m. hour, my time, the world sleeps, and I get to dump thoughts on a white screen. We survived day one of the polar vortex, we worked from home in the morning, but did the trek to the office, got a massive amount of work done and then headed to the mall to pick up some things.
It was a 50/50 proposition with stores being open or closed at the mall, some just said “due to the weather we are closed” others enslaved their employees to battle mother nature and open those doors. It was not busy, but we still found a way to drop some coin on the coldest day of the decade.
I noticed yesterday that our school system is closing today. The superintendent stated tomorrow the school would be closed and we are dedicating it an “E-learning day.” So if the school is canceled today, they just call that a learn from home day. My question is, why do we need all the bricks and mortar, why not make every day an E-learning day?
We had an E-working day; our employees can work from home. Some of our team never comes to the office, they E-work daily. Our operations manager went to the office to take care of any walk-in traffic (there was none), but the rest of the staff used their laptops and company I-phones to work from home.
Aside from the comradery that comes with bringing a team together, I think working from home has been good for our company. Our employee in Louisville whom I’ve never met works from home. Our Lafayette, IN team member whom I’ve met works from home.
If you can find talented people, but they are not located close to an office, you are now able to plug them into your company, allow them to work in their jammies and be a functioning part of your team.
We had our sales meeting a couple of days ago. We don’t all come together; we use Zoom. On that call we had folks in multiple states, most working from home, but some were at one of our offices. I guess we ran an E-sales meeting.
The old school thought of having a central location to have your employees come from 8:00 to 5:00 is an antique idea. Find great people across the country and plug them into your organization.
I hear business owners say “we can’t find good people” and I think you’re not looking very hard. There are good people everywhere, but you have to get out of your head they are going to walk in your office at 8:00 and leave at 5:00. That idea the 8:00 to 5:00 work day from an office is like a landline phone. It’s T.V. before Netflix; it’s a flip phone mentality.
I first had employees working from home in the early 2000s. The internet was clunky, but we made it work. Now that we have rocket ship internet, we can have employees anywhere in the world.
I’ve written once or twice about my not having an office. I still don’t have an office. Instead, I have a 4-foot by 4-foot room in our main office where my mail is sat on a table. I’ve not had an office for years, and I don’t think I’ll ever have that mystical place again. I’m a nomad owner moving across the land dragging my bag with all my necessary tools.
Another bitterly cold day, but today I’ll be out and about most of the day. I’ve got an 8:30 at one of our offices to set up training for one of our producers. Some meetings with friends and clients, I’ll not get home until late, it’s how I like to roll.
So, get up, get out and work, but don’t feel the need to go to the same place every day where you have a phone, photos of your family, and a T.V. to watch the stock market rise and fall. Not every profession lends itself to this way of life, but if you are reading these words, I’m guessing you could do some E-work in your company, you have to let go of your old outdated ideas.
Success is possible, but it takes bravery and courage to think and work a different way. I did, we do, and for us, it has made all the difference.
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."