More Snow Please!

This is not going to be about the terrible time we all had in the UK dealing (or not) with the recent countrywide snow, or how we all need to revise our Business Continuity Plans. This is about the upside of the snow – yes I believe there were several upsides!

Many of my contacts were ‘forced’ to work from home for a number of days and found a surprising number of benefits to this. Day 1 of the snow was a novelty for most and the ‘drama’ of cancelling meetings, organising childcare, transport home and a few sneaky snowball fights probably meant that it was the least productive day. By day 2 the forecast was for this to continue and in fact for about a week (more or less depending on where you live) – living and working this way became business as usual. I picked up from my online community that this caused people to slow down, think more, try out new technology to communicate, read professional journals, spend less time commuting and more time being productive (or having ‘quality’ time with the kids).

A coaching client told me he had around 10% of his usual e-mail traffic, leaving plenty of time to work on a strategic project he had been struggling to get into. Even those who made it into the office reported less interruptions and a different, more relaxed atmosphere.

Whether at home or in a quieter than usual office the conditions were ripe for more innovative and strategic thinking:

• Different environment
• Change to normal routine
• Fewer interruptions
• Communication challenges
• Unusual visual stimulus
• Slower pace/more relaxed
• Time to read about other organisations

What was your experience?

How many of you went back to work reinvigorated and energised?

What new ideas and creative solutions did you go back to work with?

How committed are you to recreating some of those conditions throughout the year to encourage more of this type of thinking?

How many of you are looking at ways to encourage your team to think more creatively?