Where I work: Quiet time and influence time

Following on from the LinkedIn INfluencer posts today we thought it would be interesting for the authors of Successful Workplace to share exactly the same, after all it’s not exclusive. So here goes:

We work from a combination of home office and corporate offices. Each has its highs and lows, but there are two ways our work gets done that describe ‘where I work’.

Quiet and productive

The home office is where the hard thinking and writing happens. Without a comfortable chair, healthy snacks and relative silence, the most important ideas would never get the time they deserve.

But it means more than just getting things done as that would work in a library or another quiet place. The ability to get up early or stay up late and work through a problem in the comfort of a home office is ultimately a strategic advantage over the Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm crowd.

And there’s no commute.

Interactive and influencing

All of the quiet time in the world isn’t going to sell an idea or solve a personal problem. The corporate office is where relationships are created, sticky problems worked out, and trust established. There’s no substitute for spending time with peers in a professional setting.

When we’re in an office environment, it can be exhausting as every minute is potentially ‘show time’.

It’s the balance, Stupid

Finding the balance that makes work…’work’ for everyone is the challenge. Too much of one, not enough of the other and work gets stressful and arduous. Finding that balance isn’t about setting up rules, either. The need for quiet versus influence time changes. Getting it right means being flexible and accommodating.