Monday, April 19, 2010

kiss my ash

Interestingly, as I watch the chaos in Europe because of a cloud of volcanic material that paralyzes air travel, I can’t help feeling heartened. How can this be? Hundreds of thousands of people are disrupted in their journeys, travelers are stranded as far afield as Australia, and the impact to companies and commerce has only begun to be counted. Why in the world would this be encouraging to me? While I appreciate the plight of those affected, there are two aspects of this that are missing from the headlines and news photos. Events like this only reinforce the ubiquity of our virtual world, and there is an equalizing affect to people. Hunh? Jim, are you dreaming? Let me explain.

The coverage I have been following on this event has spent little time on the subject of how people cope – much more on the typical media whining about how inconvenienced people are – but where it discusses coping, one thing comes out clearly. There are many stories of people who are relying on their mobile devices, wireless connections and the ability to use mobility productively even though they are stranded miles from their workplace. Over the past few days, I have heard from friends who are stranded in Kenya because they can’t get home to London, or have to return home from India via Bangkok, Tokyo and California instead of their 2 hop trip through Europe. Yet they continue to communicate, they continue to be productive, and they use their virtual capability for continuity. As a virtual work practitioner, I can’t help but be grateful for a little of Mother Nature’s help in proving our model’s validity.

And this situation has not just affected everyday people, but the powerful, the wealthy, and the famous too. Famous speakers have had to resort to video, the President has had to alter agendas and cover things virtually, and – my favorite tale thus far, as covered by The Wall Street Journal® – the Chancellor of Germany was forced to return home from abroad via a circuitous route that took her to extra countries over several additional hours. Not only did Ms. Merkel keep up with her duties by using mobile networking and telephony, but she even had to wait alongside a Tuscan road with hundreds of other everyday Europeans for transport; admittedly gaining a unique perspective that comes through such an event. 

Two of the strongest themes that virtualwirks drives while helping others with dispersed working are that virtuality makes for great business continuity, and that remote working is all about tapping into the strength of people who are spread afar. I am sympathetic to the downside of the Icelandic volcano’s affect, but I am grateful to it as well. Disruption breeds creativity, responsiveness and innovation. Acts of nature also affect people from every strata. Watching millions of people find ways to respond – together, and mostly equally – is heartening. 

So I am not coldhearted or crazy. There is a benefit to seeing the migrant, the tourist, the business woman and the world leader forced to think, to work and to travel differently and with each other. Their planes may be stuck at the gate, but they’re all in the same boat now.

– Jim