Sunday, December 13, 2009

questions…and answers

This week I have spent a fair bit of time working on a handbook for at home workers. It covers the many things that are necessary to succeed when working virtually. But what comes to mind as I write it is the question of why people want to work from home in the first place. It is a worthy question, given that the real value behind virtual work is that it taps into superior people. When you do that, you get superior results. As always, once I get questioning things I can’t rest until I come up with what I think is the answer. Over the years doing this, I have talked with many virtual workers about exactly why they want to do it. Some jumped at the chance thinking it would be profoundly better than working in an office only to find that it wasn’t; as the strain of not having colleagues nearby overtook them. Some have discovered that their best business fit came through it, as they found that the intensity of being individually responsible while adding to the strength of their team was more powerful than they imagined. Still others have found virtual working to be the salve that soothes the pain of disability, infirmity or inconformity and thereby makes their lives better. 

There is a special recipe for virtual work. It is a few parts uniqueness, a few parts resoluteness, a few parts commitment and all of those – plus other parts – add up to excellence. No matter who writes or talks about virtual work models, the unequivocal conclusion is that it produces high quality and astonishingly good people. Part of this is the value of choosing people from across a wide geography. Part of this is that virtual work naturally separates those who can thrive from those who are better suited for a traditional environment. There are nearly as many reasons for being a virtual worker as there are virtual workers themselves. So as I thought about it, I realized it is a question without one answer. Virtual work makes sense for so many because it is makes their vocation a good bit about them. When that happens, it becomes all about their customer too. That is why it works, and that is motivating. My questions about why we’re doing this always seem to reinforce the fact that we are to begin with. And lessons from people become my own handbook for success.

– Jim