And the count down to ROWE Implementation Workshop Begins - 27

Today was the first day back to work after the "big announcement".  I didn't get to interact much with anyone other than the management team as my day was consumed with meetings, Web demos and enrolling my kids in school. 

But I was able to reflect some and it occurred to me that the feedback I was getting yesterday, while terribly positive, seemed to mainly focused on and centered around working REMOTE.  Not much chatter about getting RESULTS.  I suppose this is a natural thing.  They haven't read the book yet.  And what they just heard is "you're FREE!"  And I also suppose that having been chained to a desk all their working lives, they cannot imagine freedom can also be achieved from within the company provided work space - it likely seems foreign to them to consider doing work there, and just leaving whenever they feel like it to do whatever they feel like doing.  It likely seems more comfortable to envision ROWE is achievable from the privacy of your own home - where no one can see you not-working during what we've come to believe are core working hours. 

But it also tells me that we will have to immediately get busy on setting goals and results with these folk so it becomes clear that this doesn't mean everyone works 6 hours a week and gets paid the same salary as when they were present 40 hours a week.  We still have WORK and we still have RESULTS that must be met.  But I didn't want to kill their enthusiasm by pointing that out just yet.  And as they read the book, things will become more obvious and clear to them.  I think that the energy they exuded yesterday will propel them into wanting that freedom so badly, that being agreeable to achieving results will come naturally.  I hope I'm right anyway!

Full speed ahead on the move - strange thing - I'm actually looking forward to being in the office a bit more tomorrow so I can interact with everyone and engage in conversations with them about ROWE and about the move.  The next two weeks will be hit and miss for my availability to be on-site due to a million personal commitments on top of staying on task and meeting our goals at work.  I feel almost slighted to have to be out as much as I'm going to need to be during this time.  But I can and will make it work.