From on ro-ar.com
An odd week this week. It seemed like there was not a lot going on however news-wise, in Collections and Recoveries that is! Maybe this was just more of a function of attention being elsewhere, rather than it being quiet. However, there were a couple of interesting themes and discussions.
The conversation regarding a return to the office is starting to get more and more nuanced, almost in anticipation of it starting. This was nicely illustrated in an informal online coffee session this week.
On one hand, working remotely has been a tremendous boom for productivity. We have all been able to concentrate to get things done. It is not just the quiet. With video calls are you able to fit more in the day, back to back. Exhausting yes, but productive too.
Then there is also the factor of travel time, now large eliminated allows more time for more meetings, finishing things off, exercise, spending time with family or walking the dog… take your pick!
On the other hand, there is a more eloquent discussion now starting on what exactly we miss. It is not just about it be able to be more social in the office or finding the environment more pleasant. The argument is now being explained in terms of how missing that random conversation, the casual comment, misses a spark that can create an idea and enable creativity.
I agree. Sometimes it is not the intense three-day workshop that creates a new direction, but the throw-away comment, made in passing, over lunch that creates a spark, that leads to innovation.
Yes, we may need the workshop to make it happen, work through the details, but an idea is in the moment. Maybe these moments are just not happening as much in our hyper-structured lockdown world.
The other interesting question is what happens when we do return to the office. Travel will restart and all of a sudden it may not be possible to make the same number of calls, write the same number of proposals or turn around the same number reports in the speedy timeframes we have got used to over the last year… will we need to reset our expectations too? Maybe, or maybe we will once again need to reach a new balance.
So as we start to approach more yet change, we need think about how we structure our time to build in the creativity and preserve some of the productive time going forward…. Busy but creative and fun I think, or maybe hope.
Other stories this week
Have a good weekend everyone….
