With deference to Ricky Gervais, how many of you have a corner office? I still see an alarming number of hands up. How many of you go to work, to the office or to the city to sit at a desk, cubicle or office and process? Most people for now but what about the future? How many of you make stuff?
All questions that hark back to the industrial revolution which finished a long time ago but we still find ourselves with a hangover from that time and in a frame of mind where we go to a certain place every day and work. The majority of people no longer Lean Strategy Example make widgets or work on a production line. The majority of people, don’t don overalls and get their hands dirty producing a product. We have machines making most of our everyday requirements so why are we still so fixated on going to work at the office?
I have a desk I frequent when I need space in the city for appointments and there are company related meetings to be had but I don’t consider that my office. My office is in my mind, yes it’s still cluttered but it’s a lot easier to carry around with me, like my laptop. I don’t make anything on a production line, I negotiate, I persuade, I strategise, I discuss, I meet, I build relationships, I tell stories, I connect people and I do that on the move. My office is the ferry, the train, the coffee shop, the restaurant, the walk to work and even the lounge in front of the evening news.
Of course technology has allowed us the mobility to embrace this openness but there is still a vast chasm between the majority of workers (another industrial revolution hangover) and those who embrace the wide open spaces of their mind (no jokes here). Not being in an office or work environment does not mean you are not productive nowadays. With most companies pared down to a slim workforce you can’t hide, just because you aren’t in the office. So why are people still fixated on that 9-5, clock on clock off, regiment? Why do people stay at their desks till the boss leaves, even though they finished their project, assignment, process an hour earlier? Even our education system pumps out the masses for an industrial thinking work force, looking to go somewhere for a job, so the change will still take some time.
So clear that clutter from your desk and start your new mobile revolution with a clear mind and take your office with you. You may be surprised at Industrial Technology News the view and what you can accomplish when you take your office on the road. Your mind will thank you every day you are not sitting at that desk.