The New Reality - working independent of time and space

Background

Today there is a lot of talks about when we can expect when we go back to “normal”. For me it means nothing because the life it selves and moving forward has nothing to do with what has been in the past, so waiting for things to become “normal” is quite useless.

We need to adapt to a new reality with or without the Covd-19, with or without a vaccine and with or without … It’s more interesting to design your life and what outcome you can expect of your new lifestyle.

This paper is trying to outline som ideas around the new reality that we are facing. It’s not just the pandemic our way of living have created a lot of problems and it’s time to face the consequences.

The picture below describes our different options and how we can find a way to advance with abundance.

Figure 1: Different options

The main question to ask with our without a pandemic is to ask your self what is the outcome of my chosen lifestyle. Am I happy or do I need to change. If you look at the graph above how is your outcome today? and where do you want it to be say 5 years from now or evan 10 years from no. Are you living a caged life where its all about Work, Eat, Sleep and Repeat or are you have a comfortable life but no real meaning. The challenge is to live to the next pay check, take vacation and just let the days pass or are you living a charged life. You can’t wait to go up in the morning to accomplish great things. Do you have an energising purpose in your life?

Working-from-Home - an opportunity or not…

The Pandemic has been a catalyst for Working-from-home (WFH) and are now new reality, either full time of part time. Today has many companies adapted.

Personal technology and digital connectivity had advanced so far and so fast that people had begun to ask:  “Do we really need to be together, in an office, to do our work?”

There are many implications when the WFH become the new reality, many implications that has not been discussed or solved.

Figure 2: Working-from-home (WFH) the new reality

According to several psychological studies, both family and business can be seen as a system that defines people in terms of their relationships with others in the same environment, rather than as individuals.

Let’s use a system view when we discuss WFH.

The family system is primarily emotionally founded with emphasis on loyalty, caring and the relation to other family members.

The corporate system is task oriented with emphasis on execution and results rather than on the more emotional considerations in family life.

In a "normal" situation, the overlap is within reasonable limits and can therefore be handled. One should not be surprised, when these two incompatible systems overlap, that conflicts arise.

Figure 3: Normal situation between family and corporate system

The corporate world is not a world without emotion but that it is different in relation to the family system. In the company, factors such as status, power and prestige dominate; In the family, appreciation, love and care apply. When overlap becomes large, conflicts arise:

Figure 4: The new reality between family and corporate system

Furthermore, the company's situation is an area that is difficult, dynamic and creative, which means that the business system can be perceived by the family that it takes up too much space.

We must also take into account that part of the company's activities are conducted in the home, ie in the family's soul. This places great demands on everyone in the system. 

Workation - an another opportunity

I came across this word in 2004 when I attended a work shop in Sweden. One of the speaker was William Baumol, an American economist. I asked him what he has been doing and he told me that has been on a working vacation in Costa Rica writing 2 books. The word working vacation hit my heart and I feel in love with the working vacation lifestyle. Finally in 2018 I was able to start having this lifestyle. It’s a challenge but now I am trying to live this lifestyle 100%.

Many destinations are now positioning themselves as the place for workation. One is Aruba who brand themselves as the one happy workation place.

Figure 5: Aruba - one happy workation

What does working vacation means and what are the opportunities?

Firstly, it’s about your WHY’s. Try to write down as many WHY´s as you can so that you can go back and understand why you trying out this lifestyle.

Secondly, set up your working conditions in such away that you can work independent of time and space. Think about your tool box. 

Thirdly, what is the impact on your social life. Friends and family and others. How will you stay in contact with them.

Lastly, if you are an employee you need to talk to your boss and if you are self-employed what do you need to change your business model so that you can get cash-flow

“Baumol was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2003, and Thomson Reuters cited him as a potential recipient in 2014, but he died without receiving the prize.”

The Family Business System - an another opportunity

The family business world may consist of the following parts:

• The family
• Ownership role
• The Board Member  
• Role Model
• Leader
• Coworker
• Man/Woman

In the picture below, these parts are assembled into a whole. Which then fits well with the roles we discussed within the company:

Figure 6: Different roles for an owner of a family business

Translate this image into your own environment you can develop your own roles looking back 5years, today and plus 5 years:

• The ownership role
• Leadership 
• Co-worker
• etc

so when you are comfortable with the picture you can start making conclusions.

What are the largest changes and why to adapt to this new reality?

Summary

If you want to succeed in setting up a long-term solution for this new reality you need to find answers on many different questions. The process below will help you to carve out the different items that needs to be changed:

Figure 7: The process to adapt to the New Reality

The process to adapt to the New Reality consist of the following steps:

Step 1: Designing your area lifestyle

Step 2: Create your unique way

Step 3: The die is cast

Step 4: Accelerate in the new

Step 5: Live fully and Advance with Abundance

Here are some questions that you need to find sustainable answers to:

Do I have the space for a good working environment, home and abroad?

-  Broad band?
-  Desk and Chair?
-  Can I work focused with disruption?
-  Does my work insurance cover that I work from home or abroad?
-  etc

The list can be long and for short-term situations, like I will do some work over the weekend you don’t need to answer these questions but if you plan to work part-time or long-time from you home it’s needed.

Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you need a sounding board or need more advice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you after answering these questions feels that you need a sounding board, a coach and an Augmentor please contact us at Growise on [email protected] or call Göran +467034340086