I think it is probably a pretty easy statement to make that our work environments have changed. With the advent of the Internet and the miniaturization of technologies like laptops and phones there is no longer a need for a ‘8am-5pm mentality’ that we’ve been holding on to since the Industrial Revolution. We are in a knowledge economy and we rely on our employees to bring their brains, not their brawn, to get the job done. That’s why I was so thrilled to come across this book that challenges those assumptions.

Cali and Jody formalized the concept of a ROWE (Result Only Work Environment) and have been preaching the concept across the country. I enjoyed their book so much I got through it in a couple of days. Here are some of the concepts from it:

You’re an adult. Believe it or not folks, professionals are adults that can manage their own time. Nobody should have to mandate to you when you need to work. You can handle your own time on the weekend, why is every other day different?

Stop playing the politics game. We’ve lived in a business world of ‘playing the game’ and to get promoted you need to be the first in and last out regardless of what you get done. “Make sure the boss sees me around and I’ll rise to the top faster.” That mindset is tired…it’s all about the results in a ROWE.

Manage results, not time. As a manager, your goal is to manage results. Working with your team to figure out your end results and making that the goal NOT Friday at 5. We’ve been calling it capacity planning.

Those are just a few points but there many more great concepts and I’d highly recommend the book. The ROWE mantra is what really sends it home for me.

Work when you want, wherever you want, as long as the work gets done.

It’s that simple. This is the next evolution of business and I want our company to help set the example. The concept has already been introduced to all our folks and we are working on implementing this by December 1st. Our challenge is to how to introduce this to our client base and make them comfortable, my thought is we’ll let the results speak for themselves.

As a cool aside, Cali & Jody are also on Twitter!