Setting up times with busy customers and prospects can be a headache.
“Monday at 5 or Friday at noon?”
“No, how about next week, 3pm on Wednesday?”
You’re chatting with a potential customer and they’re a little confused about your policy.
“What do you mean?” they keep asking. Zoom (or Google Meet, or other platforms) could help you clear things up fast, but you don’t want to irritate them while you fiddle with links.
Inspiring creativity in a remote team means bringing your whole self to work.
As a product manager and musician, I’ve seen that small moments of openness can cement your team’s—or band’s—ability to collaborate.
On the Thursday of our engineering retreat, I found my new calling as a professional wrestler fighting my way to the top of the Luxor Hotel, in a live streamed pay-per-view event. All this to claim the coveted contract and millions of dollars. My teammates were right there with me, each showing off their skills in their gambit for the top prize.
Only it was a virtual Luxor, and we were playing The World Wide Wrestling roleplaying game (RPG). It was as ridiculous as it sounds, and we had a blast!
Our game day was one segment of a re-imagined retreat, after COVID-19 put the brakes on our in-person gathering in Vegas.
I’ll never forget the second day of my first remote job. The first day was the usual — signing all the things, attending all the things, logging into all the things. But when the second day arrived, I had no idea what to do.
It's that time of year again — when colleagues 'round the world gather in restaurant lounges, hotel bars, and tinseled-up conference rooms for that most eagerly-anticipated of events...the company holiday party!
As we scaled our startup, we knew we needed more than just a mission statement to focus our team, improve our hiring practices, and keep communications issues in the workplace at a minimum. In 2012 Olarkers began formulating a list of values to do just that.
You’ve probably heard that Olark is a 100% remote company, and that we have some cool ways to connect virtually. Once a year, we get the whole crew (and families) together for an annual retreat. Retreat 2018 starts tomorrow, Saturday August 25.
This is the fourth post in Rhoda’s Tips from a Farmer series. Read her first post on working smarter, not harder, her second on Prioritizing like a farmer, and third on Getting Help.
The myths
When I tell people I work from home, I usually get one of a few skeptical reactions: