Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It is arriving in bookstores June 2^nd!  As most of you know, the book is the Results-Only Work Environment manifesto: How it began, what it is, and how it works…complete with a section of “Yeah, Buts” to answer all of the nagging questions people are bound to ask.  

Our virtual book tour starts on Tuesday, 6/3, and we want you to join us!  For more information and to register for the [FREE!] call on 6/3, please go to: http://www.caliandjodybooktour.com

We are excited to be joined on this first call by Michael Port, author of Booked Solid and Beyond Booked Solid, and Pamela Slim, author of the forthcoming Escape from Cubicle Nation. 

Can’t make the live call?  Register anyway, and you’ll gain access to the recording.

See you on Tuesday!

With the book coming out early next week, the press coverage is starting to come in.  The first piece is a review from Reuters. (We love the headline.)  The second is from The Daily Telegraph.  (Not sure if it’s just online or if there was an on-paper article as well.  Also, not sure if it really matters.)  Enjoy!

A freelance lifestyle in a corporate workplace

Calling time on nine to five

Thanks to Michael Salamey for interpreting the Workplace Signs with such gusto and verve:

These posters endorse conformity to a status quo of Mediocrity. The basic premise of all three is, “Do not make (me/ everyone else) look bad”. The last poster especially, in the guise of promoting politeness and courtesy, in actuality insinuates that out-performing or not conforming to “the way things are done around here” can be just cause for revenge.

Further, these posters exploit the lack of recognition that should be granted for producing results. They foster a mentality of cynicism and promote an “Us versus Them” attitude, coyly stating that regardless of how well you perform, “no one else will notice”. (But then, why would anyone notice if the favorite activities of subordinates include “running down the boss”, “dodging responsibility”, and “pushing their luck”)?

Despite being sometimes humorous, these types of posters/ sayings/ quotes, etc. are perpetuated, frankly, by those who would fear things like a “Results-Only Work Environment”. Who could blame them? It would be terrifying for someone whose apparent success has come by “putting in the time” and getting to know “the right people”, to have a truth uncovered—a truth about themselves they may not have even been present to.

In a ROWE, lack of ability to produce results is clearly and obviously detectable. What CEO with a sixth-grade reading level (I have met many) would not fear that? Indeed, the cynicism of these posters is the cynic’s natural defense to keep their (glaring) secret covered… even to themselves.

Yup. That’s pretty much it. Michael, your book is on the way.

First, the book officially comes out in two days. We can hardly believe it.

Second, we appreciated being mentioned in Adam McFarland’s thoughtful post on Brazen Careerist. We especially appreciate the fact that he has decided to take action:

I realize that this all starts with me. I’m the one usually “proposing” these wacky things to my partners so I have to prove the concept before I can expect them to get on board. 20 hours isn’t realistic right now because we don’t have an employee and won’t for a while. However, I’m always looking to make progress and prove my point so I’ve decided to limit myself to 35 hours of work each week. After a few months, I’m going to make it 30. Then I’ll stay at 30 until we have our 2-3 employees in place and trained.

We’d like to see more people like Adam challenge the 40-hour workweek. But we’d also like to see people push themselves even farther, and do something even more radical:

Stop thinking about work in terms of time.

We’d love for Adam to work 35 hours a week, or 30 hours, or 20 hours, or four. For entrepreneurs like him, the work-life balance issue is the amount of time spent working. But for most rank-and-file employees, the bigger issue is control.

In a Results-Only Work Environment, you may work less than 40 hours, or you may work more, but even if you work 60 hours a week, you do it on your own terms. In a ROWE, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, as long as the work gets done. In practice, this translates to working at non-traditional hours (and in non-traditional places) but it’s all up to you. You choose when and where to work, and when you have that kind of power and control over your life (when you get to truly live as an adult) you’re not counting the minutes like you do in a traditional work environment.

Working in a ROWE is a lot like getting things done on the weekend in a traditional workweek. You don’t track your hours while you’re running errands on a Saturday. There is an awareness of time, but not a strict accounting of time. Just that simple change can make a world of difference.

Perhaps these signs are funny. Perhaps they are sad. Perhaps they are funny-sad. (Or sad-funny.) Whatever they are, they reveal a lot about what we believe about work. A free copy of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It to the person who best translates the hidden meanings.

Thanks to Scot Herrick over at Cube Rules for the idea to repost our five least-appreciated posts. Are they bad posts? Not at all! Some passed with little comment. Others are from when we first started blogging. But they are all very, very good posts. Here they are, in reverse chronological order, with a sentence or two about why your clickings will be rewarded:

Focus on the work

A post that responded to a previous post about workplace rudeness. We ask who is more rude? The person who is “late” or the person who cares more about time than results?

Working from home

Starts with a compilation of links to silly how-to-work-from-home links. Ends with the eternal question: Does dressing like a pirate while working at home affect productivity?

Election Day in a ROWE

A post from Election Day ‘07. Now that we’re coming up on ‘08, we thought we’d run it again. Why have Election Day on a Saturday or make it a holiday when instead, you can just give people control over their time?

The Myth of “Face Time”

Our first effort to slay the dragon that is “face time.” Beware of Home Week!

Your Moment of Peaceful, Productive Reflection Begins . . . Now!

From back when we thought long blog post titles meant good blog post titles. This one’s about a pilot program at Intel that treats adults like kids. Shhhhhh! (On Tuesdays.)

More exciting news - Tim Ferris just posted Part 2 of his interview with us about ROWE.  The more the post gets “Buzzed”, the more exposure ROWE will get - and the revolution will take off!  When you read the post, go ahead and click on the “Buzz It!” button at the bottom.  Then, forward it to anyone you know that might be interested in it.

Post is here:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/05/22/no-schedules-no-meetings%e2%80%94enter-best-buy%e2%80%99s-rowe-part-2/

Now - ready, set, BUZZ!

We were honored today to be guest panelists on a teleseminar with Michael Port to promote his new book Beyond Booked Solid.  Other panelists on the call were Dr. Ivan Misner, from Business Network International, and David Meerman Scott, author of the book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.  In Beyond Booked Solid, we noticed many themes that align nicely with the ROWE philosophy:

·         Get clear about what you’re trying to achieve and how you’ll measure it

·         Design your business – or work -  so it serves your ultimate lifestyle

·         Be clear on the focus of your business – and stick to it

·         Reduce policy or paradigm constraints that can hold you back from achieving success

·         Systemize the business – or what you do -  so it doesn’t need you everyday

To listen to the banter among Michael, us, and our fellow guest panelists, click on:

http://marketingmarshall.com/recommends/beyondbooked4

We’ll be hosting our own teleseminars to promote Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It very soon – stay tuned for news about when and how to register for these [FREE] calls!

It’s not because he featured us on his blog today. (Although we can’t thank him enough for that.) The reason we love Tim is because he embodies one of the core truths behind a Results-Only Work Environment:

It’s your fundamental right to have control over your time.

Just because your company is paying you to produce a certain amount of work, it doesn’t mean that they get to tell you where to be and when. Back in the old days, where work could only happen in a certain place, then making you show up at 8:00 a.m. and sit at your desk for the day made sense. (It sucked, but it made sense.)

Today, technology allows us to break those old norms. It”s ridiculous to rush to work to be there at 8:00 a.m. and then sit at your desk reading the paper for a half hour. (If someone needs you, they can call your cell, right?) It doesn’t make sense to come in to the office at all if you can handle your work from home, or a coffee shop, or wherever. Most of all, it doesn’t make sense to put such a huge premium on the time we spend working. The only thing that should matter is results.

It’s up to all of us to challenge our assumptions about what work looks like. We need more people like Tim to stand up and say, “I have a life. I’m going to contribute what I have to contribute, but once I’ve made that contribution, then I get to choose how to live.” We also need a workplace culture that supports people standing up for their time. (That’s what a ROWE does.) But first we need people to believe that they actually have this right.

So that’s our question of the day. Who owns your time? And if you don’t own your time, do you believe you should?

A nice piece by CareerBuilder.com blogger Anthony Balderrama about the five lies we all tell at work. In the spirit of ROWE, we thought we’d show why you don’t need to tell these lies in a Results-Only Work Environment.

1. “I’d be happy to.”
In a traditional work environment, when someone asks you to do something, you’re agreeing to the person, not agreeing to the work. You don’t have a right to question whether or not that task has value, because you serve the company hierarchy instead of serving results.

In a ROWE, people say “I’d be happy to” all the time, provided the request fits in with the desired outcome. If it doesn’t, then they have the right to decline.

2. “No, I don’t have any questions.”
Questions are dangerous in a traditional work environment, because they lead to questioning the wisdom (and the authority) of management. Better to keep your head down and follow orders. If something goes wrong, there is always plenty of blame to go around.

In a ROWE, you’re constantly asking questions. You challenge the work (Is this necessary?). You challenge the deadline (Is this realistic?). You challenge the desired outcome (Does this really serve our customers?). When you’re all working together to get results, questions are your best friend.

3. “My alarm didn’t go off.”
In a traditional work environment, you always have to have an excuse ready, because people are constantly judging based on time. It doesn’t matter if you do great work. If you’re “late” then you need to explain yourself.

In a ROWE, you don’t need to make excuses. Your time is your own. And if you’re not doing your job, your manager’s responsibility is to focus on what needs to get done. Not whether or not your snooze bar is broken.

4. “I’m not sick – it’s just allergies.”
In a traditional work environment, you come to work sick because any time away from the office is a big deal. For some reason your company would rather have you be present and ineffectual than out of sight and healthy.

In a ROWE, if you’re sick and want to work from home, go for it. If you’re really too sick to work, then you tell your manager and the team adapts. No more getting punished for being human.

5. “I’m right on schedule.”
In a traditional work environment, managers act like hall monitors. They “check in” on your progress. But do they really want to hear how it’s going?

In a ROWE, conversations about deadlines happen more often and are more collaborative. Your boss is there to make that deadline happen, not stand there and mark your success or failure.

***

There you have it.

One more thing: Can we stop lying now?