One of the great paradoxes of working remotely is this: getting good information out to all the team members in a timely manner is a time-consuming challenge, but rumors, gossip and bad information spread faster than hot butter. If you’re a manager, this can be frustrating. If you’re a remote employee, it can be tempting to take the first information you get and react … [Read more...]
Can Remote Work Help Save Small Towns?
When many of us think of remote work, what comes to mind are people in cities or suburbs who don’t want to fight traffic. But one of the really interesting long-term effects of working anywhere you want, is that people can work...well, anywhere they want. This could mean a second chance for small towns and isolated communities which have been losing population for … [Read more...]
Is 2019 the Year You Plan for Remote Work?
Can you believe it’s 2019 already? For some of us, that was a year we only thought possible in science fiction movies; but ready or not, it’s here. For many of the clients we’ve talked to, it’s finally time to quit dealing with remote work as something aside from their normal planning, and to make it a standard part of how things get done in their companies. The truth is if … [Read more...]
Can I Work Remotely and Still Have a Career?
Twice in the last week I’ve been asked the same question: “Can I work remotely and still have a career path with my employer?” That’s kind of a trick question, because it largely depends on the employer, but in general the answer should be yes—if you’re willing to put in the work. There is a difference between a job (employment and a paycheck) and a career (a continuing arc of … [Read more...]
Getting Along Isn’t Rocket Science
Because next year is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, (and because I’m old enough to remember the actual event) I recently read James R. Hansen’s terrific biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man. It was fascinating on many levels, but one of the most intriguing things for someone who studies team dynamics is that the crew of Apollo 11 were not particularly … [Read more...]