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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: business strategy
Are Remote Employees Value Killers?
Remote employees can have a dramatic impact on the value of your business. If your exit strategy is to sell to a third party, take some time to think about the areas where offsite workers could have an impact. Curb … Continue reading
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The Downside of Remote Work
I came in this morning planning to write about the downside of remote work. It isn’t for everyone. In fact, it creates new long-term problems for businesses and will continue to do so. (For a related topic, see my previous … Continue reading
5 Responses to The Downside of Remote Work
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Return to Work Owner’s Guide
Return to work policies are a new COVID-related minefield for business owners to negotiate. As more states make COVID control measures less restrictive or optional, the “requirements” of a safe workplace, and what we can demand of employees, are becoming … Continue reading
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The Coaching Skill in Exit Planning
Technical advice is a requirement in exit planning, but coaching skills are too often overlooked. Continue reading
One Response to The Coaching Skill in Exit Planning
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Great points, John.
I don’t completely disagree with you on this. Remote work is disconnected and collaboration and communication is hard. But we do it. I have been able to expand my reach for finding quality team members as well (I live in Oklahoma and talent can be limited here). But I do offer something that not many others can offer. I offer part-time flex work mainly for moms who are raising kids and want to work, but don’t want to go back to the workforce full time. There is a huge network of highly qualified women out there that fit this mold. As I’ve grown my team, I’ve learned there are more and more people out there piecing together remote part-time jobs so they can have flexible hours and flexibility of schedule. That’s the one thing the traditional companies cannot offer.
Your point is well taken, Tracey, but I can only partially agree. I recently read the new flex-work policy for one of the largest accounting firms in the country. They have options including part-time (scheduled by employee choice by days or hours), seasonal, surge, total-remote, partially remote, hot-desking as needed, sabbaticals, extended PTO, split-shift, and several others I never saw detailed before. The big-salary jobs I described are admittedly full-time, but that doesn’t mean large companies can’t match your flexibility.
I think that you missed a significant benefit for remote workers employed by Main Street companies… diversity, growth and burnout. The best thing about my job is that there are constant challenges and as a result, you get to wear a lot of hats. You get to try and solve wide-ranging problems outside of your expertise and that’s just plain fun (at least for weirdos like me). I know what it’s like to work for a large corporation. I have worked for several Fortune 500 companies and I shudder to think about going back to that world… even remotely. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE coding but I also love all of the side projects, the unpredictability and opportunities to do something I’ve never done before. I get to move back and forth between projects at my pace so, I don’t burn out. Every day is a new adventure. Don’t forget about that when you are talking about the advantages of working for a Main Street company. For me, it’s a pretty big deal.
Though I kind of see your point about culture, John, I completely disagree with JP Morgan’s, “It doesn’t work for those who want to hustle. It doesn’t work for spontaneous idea generation. It doesn’t work for culture.”
When employees show up to work after sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic only to find another spewing off his/her own complaints upon arriving, how does that help with company culture or the bottom line? That spawns a full morning packed w/ negativity and unproductivity.
I have worked remotely for almost 10 years. The flexibility allows individuals who are hustlers, get ‘r done-type workers, to decompress and come up w/ spontaneous, out-of-the-box ideas that they may not have in a cubicle. I have found that the largest obstacle to overcome working remotely is building trust, but that happens in-house as well..it takes time.
Remote workers often don’t have the benefit of clocking out; the tasks and means to get it done are only a hand’s throw away. Us, not so hustlers, are typically the first to get the job done, regardless of personal schedule.
I think JP Morgan needs to hire a new PR firm , possibly some new strategists.
During and now post COVID I have started to remote work two days a week, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is getting me an additional 4 hours of my weekly time back to make me more productive and a better quality of life. I do agree that remote work does degrade if not eliminate culture and spontaneity of idea/collaboration. It is also not for those that aren’t goal oriented or those that need others for motivation. Thus a part time model I think is best if it can be worked out.