caliandjody's Blog

Great to hear that the Scrum development process looks like it can survive "Every meeting is optional". People are still accountable for communicating and getting the work done. Good work!

There are many Voices from a ROWE in the book. Which voice did you most identify with and why?

@jcztampa - thanks on the language. We had a decision to make while writing the book - were we writing it for the top of organizations or were we writing it for the masses/everyday office employees? We chose the masses, and we wanted to use the language that we had heard day in and day out in the halls of offices everywhere.

Yes - now let's get people to actually implement ROWE!

@gjason - great to hear that you're interested in starting a ROWE in your organization. Your concern is very valid. We recently migrated a company of 20 people to a ROWE and their main concern was "What about the receptionist?"

One of the core elements of a ROWE is that it's for everyone in an office environment. It's the shifting of a work culture and that pertains to every employee. Would there be issues if some people were not given the same freedom as others? Yes.

We can tell you that the 20-person company understood that ROWE would need to work for everyone or it was a no-go...they held themselves accountable for using what they learned during the months of their ROWE migration to figure out how they would all work together to ensure their receptionist had autonomy. There are times when other staff members take care of reception duties (and often times, they can take care of their own duties at the same time).

Just a thought: perhaps the receptionist and retail sales counter folks could work together to figure out how they will back each other up? Stepping outside "job descriptions" and increase cross-training is another benefit of ROWE - personally and for the business.

Right - you can't force them, that's for sure! But if you keep referring to it, they'll be bound to take a peek at it. When you get wind that one of them has read it and might be starting to understand what you're going for, give him/her lots of positive reinforcement...take what you can get and run with it.

Hi John,

The challenge you're having with reactive behavior is a common one. In the current work environment, proactive behavior is not rewarded the way it should be. In a ROWE, as you know, it pays to plan because time takes on a new meaning.

What you're doing with PTO slips is great - it reinforces to your employees that you mean what you say with "Results over Time". They have their own beliefs about work engrained in their heads about how they should do things - and to them, it's weird not to request time off for family issues, etc. We've heard people say they'll feel guilty if they just take the time and don't submit a request. Until they actually migrate to a ROWE, that is! Then they realize it's not about their time requests at all - the only question is whether or not they are delivering on expectations.

To help your employees understand where you're trying to go with them with "Results over Time", perhaps you could give them copies of Why Work Sucks. In our experience, it's not until people actually read the book that they really understand what the whole results vs. time thing means. Might be a good step to take...might also want to have a few key members of upper management read it, too :)

C&J

@mikesmind you are right on. In a ROWE, time becomes your own - finally. There's no more blaming anyone else for not getting to do the things you want to do with your life. It's all in your hands...and it's beautiful.

Oh my goodness - when will this madness end? This reminds us of the monitoring some companies are setting up in some people's homes to make sure they are really working when they are telecommuting.

The traditional work environment will fight very hard to stay alive with things like this - and it's up to us to keep change moving on the other side.

If you could pick one thing that you want to change about the way you’re doing your work – one thing you would fight for – what would it be?

Hi ljl,

We'll take the personal interactions part of your question and leave it up to the other Forum readers to give you input on the rest. In a ROWE, personal interactions get stronger - which is contrary to common belief. There was actually an academic study done at Best Buy to find out if communication suffered in a ROWE and the results showed no change - which means communication stayed the same, and according to anecdotal comments, even got better in some cases. Interactions become more purposeful and planned, and also more genuine because you're not forced together with people...you're choosing when to interact with them.

Hope this makes sense - now the rest of you can jump in on the rest of ljl's questions!

C&J

arkanjel,

Marissa's got it. 'nuff said.

C&J

mikesmind,

The truth? Most companies have a model or system in plae to plan for and document results, but they aren't using it because time/hours are more valued than results anyway.

A great place to start with the good old SMART system - this is a great way to get the conversation geared toward the right things. Especially the measurable part. The problem with SMART in the traditional work environment is that the wrong things are being rewarded, and there's too much leeway to lose the measurement aspect.

Once you have ROWE as the foundation, SMART works famously. Both employees and managers become ultra-accountable for the outcomes - and that's a beautiful thing.

C&J

mikesmind,

We're with you on this one!

It's people like you that are going to do wonders in making this change become real. Believe it or not, it's downright scary for some people to think of leaving on a Friday afternoon if their work was done - without asking permission to do so. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

So to have people like you who are willing to stick your neck out there and say "That's not what dedication looks like" is wonderful.

Keep it up!

C&J

mikesmind,

Thanks for the review - and glad you read the book despite the title!

C&J

Hey jerwilkins,

Marissa had a great response to your question. And you are right on - it is indeed difficult to systematize the measurement of outcomes and make sure we're measuring the right ones. This is a journey - not the flip of a switch. It's going to take some time for the manager/employee conversations that Marissa mentions to take the form of something that works well. It will also take time for paradigms to shift to thinking about outcomes vs. activities.

As these things happen, the right system will settle into place and then as an organization or as a work team, you can fine tune it. But don't expect to systematize the process until ROWE is in place and some of the hiccups (which are to be expected) are worked through.

As they say, no pain, no gain - right?

C&J

We can't wait to see how the discussion picks up once the book is released. There will be no end to the topics that could appear on this Forum!

Cali and Jody