9 - Reasons why you need to learn to Work from Home - Quickly!

9 Reasons why you need to learn to work from home – quickly!

1. The agrarian age is not coming back!

No, the agrarian age has not come back, but we are now moving past the age of technology. In the agrarian age (before the industrial age) people worked on farms. Production was measured in terms of manual output. When people moved to offices and factories, production added the cost of equipment, administration, management and technical skills. Today technology has shrunk the tools of production from factories to phones! By sending people to work from home we are asking them to partially meet the cost of production equipment and fully meet the cost of (self) administration, management and skills acquisition. In other words, it costs less to employ an “independent worker” than an office bound employee.

2. The nature of “work” itself has been moved out of the office

The nature of work itself, has moved out of a central office location into “space”. You can log in to work from anywhere on the globe. You do not need to report into a physical office to be available for work. While hospitals have been the place where people find doctors, the costs incurred by ten patients travelling to see one doctor may be ten times the cost of one doctor visiting the ten patients. Work can be done in the “customer space” rather than office space. One question though? What will we do with all this office space?

3. Office systems are already available online

Needless to say, a substantial amount of software and communication tools already exist to enable a full time move away from the office with hardly any loss of quality. All it will take will be a little calibration of hardware and human behavior adjustment.

4. Outsourcing is a proven cost reduction approach to business

Employers have known for a very long time that outsourcing is the way to go, they just did not have an opportunity to convince the world of it. Employers do not want to carry the burden of administration and would rather buy this package from an independent worker. Outsourcing dramatically turns cost centres into profit centres! By outsourcing work to independent workers, employers are able to cut costs and control profits per business transaction.

5. Reclaim the cost and time loss of travel

There being no need for transport to and from work presents workers with an opportunity to lower their personal employment expenses. Of course, the measurement of productivity and reward will change. The people who will benefit directly from this shift are the high producers!

6. The career development ladder ends with self-employment

Career development has forever taken a corner. The institutional career development ladder has been exchanged with the personal development plan. By decentralizing production and farming out work, organizations have eliminated administrative bureaucracy. They have adopted productivity monitoring software in its place effectively taking several rungs out of corporate career ladders. The upshot of this is that self-employment (the same as enterprise) becomes a viable option.

7. Welcome to the new normal

New things only become “normal” when they are adopted by a critical mass (approx. 30%) of any given population. We have a situation at present that has forced exposed literally 100% of the world’s population to a new standard of behavior. This is the new normal! In other words, “working from home” is now an acceptable and in some cases will be an expected way of life.

8. Massive environmental benefits will follow

One major benefit that will accrue to the environment is the de-cluttering of cities. The massive movement of people moving through in waves in the morning and evening will be a thing of the past. The massive air pollution from private vehicles will decrease the smog.

9. Every sector of the economy is on the redrawing board.

For those who do not believe that working from home is a sustainable option, let me remind you that the motorbike economy can deliver anything to your door from anywhere in the world. The concept of “social distancing” is changing the very nature of home, school, education, holidays, voting as well as church and religion.

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Happy Sunday!

Hello Mum,

I thought of you today and decided to wish you a Happy Sunday! It was so nice to see that you had put on some weight since your recent illness. The happiness and joy of our last meeting still keeps us going. This COVID thing has changed a lot of things around here and I know that you told me to pray; that God would take it away. I do, but it still aches when people look at each other sort of funny.  I am working hard, studying and trying to keep the family alive. But I sure miss the old days when we did not have so much to worry about.

I wonder how you and Grandpa are keeping. It must be tough. This social distance thing. But then remember, it is only for a season. Yes mum, I will be strong and even if it is hard to say john 3:16, I just wanted to let you know that I do believe.

Everyone is edgy these days, in town and at home. The government is doing all it can. People just need to cooperate. It is hard for the teenagers to stay inside all day and to explain to the kids that they can’t go out and play, and why we have to eat the same thing every day. It is amazing how we take so many things for granted. Alice is taking it in her stride, she is at a critical point in her career, she is working hard to keep her spirits up and emotions in control. She is a strong woman. As a doctor it is hard for me to see so many people hurting in so many ways, but that is our calling you know – to keep people well. I guess that is why I try to work as hard as I can to ease some of the pain,…. I have just got a call and I have to run, stay well mum! Your loving son.   

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How to Work from Home;Tips from the Grandmaster!

For some, the opportunity to work from home is exciting because it sounds like you can get more time to spend with the family. But your food budget is likely to go up because you are working next to the fridge. The only real benefit of working at home is that you cut out transport costs, because your employer is going to expect the same amount of work to be done. For some the prospect of working at home is a distraction. They find it hard to concentrate when they are in their comfort zone where all their earthly "les enjoyables" are at hand. However, there are some who have never tried it and don’t know how to go about it. This article is for you.

In order to work effectively at home, you need to develop four qualities; personal discipline, generativity, production and a profit orientation.  These four competencies will enable you to work independently, manage your work and maximize your output. Indeed, if you master these competencies you will be able to run your own business. These are the same skills entrepreneurs learn in order to make the best use of their time to earn the most profit.

Discipline is about setting aside a time, space and place to engage in strictly work-related activity. This may be achieved by setting aside a desk and agreeing with your “roommates” to leave you alone to work. You may also need to agree on space allocation and zoning areas where you keep your work-related materials. This will ensure you don’t find your documents stashed behind the sofa or under the kitchen sink. If you are lucky you can have a room to yourself. However, having a room to yourself does not make you work. The discipline is from within. Working alone is a test to find out if you are one of those people who cannot work without supervision. Without a supervisor to drive you and a distant deadline to meet can be a "freedom nightmare”. You may be found dead on the line after pushing yourself to work at the last minute. Some people say they work best under pressure, but think about how much more of a quality product you could produce with a little planning and scheduling of your time.

The second skill you must master is generativity. Generativity is more than just being busy. It means that you can creatively add value to a situation, circumstance using your gifting or professional skill set. For example, if you are an accountant and someone gives you a bunch of receipts and invoices, you should be able to “generate” an income-expense report. If you are an artist in front of a canvas, at the end of the day, there should be an artistic drawing on the board. Note that it is possible to have the time an tools, but not be able to generate anything of value. Working at home presumes that you have the capacity to think for yourself, work without supervision and generate solutions to the assignment you have been given.

The third skill is production. This is not the same as generativity. Though the two are related, production is more of personal organization and management. It involves planning, programming and processing your work to produce a product against a schedule. Let me give you an example. Perhaps you have had the unpleasant experience of working with a person told you, “I am just about to finish it”, every day for two weeks. This frustrating experience rendered you unable to plan your next move regarding the project until they actually completed the work. You had no idea whether the person was at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the assignment. On the contrary, A person with production skills will tell you, “I am at stage 3 of the project and I need another day to complete steps 4 and 5”. You can trust that person because they are working to a schedule and they also have a good understanding of the tangibles that need to be produced. Indeed, you will not call that person until the time they requested has elapsed.

Fourth, you need to be profit centred or profit oriented. Think of it this way; if you are being paid to do a day’s work, why do you want to waste a week on it? You are not only wasting your employers time, but your own time as well. Why do you want to take a long time to earn a fixed amount of money? Just spend the needed time to get the payment. Another way of thinking about a profit mindset is to think of yourself as a business that needs to give you a return on your investment. In this way you will equate your engagement in an assignment with how much profit you earn. If you learn this secret, you will be able to prioritize your work, but also keep an eye on your profitability and get the most out of your day every day. By doing so you will learn “enterprise” and motivate yourself to get the most out of your career.

Finally, if you really cannot work at home, perhaps you could find a dedicated place in the neighborhood and hire a “work-station” for the day. There is great power in developing the ability to manage your own output and eventually controlling how much you earn. Get many more tips on how to prosper in employment from this app.

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A business recovery strategy from the impact of COVID-19 around the world

A few months after it was first announced, the COVID 19 cloud has infected thousands of people and worried governments around the world. It has also disrupted business and sent organizations scrambling for cover as they search for a cure from this extraordinary attack. The world is beginning to realize that the damage caused by the flu is not going away in a hurry. The confusion is palpable as big and small business owners anticipate a new economic era in which no one has pat answers for recovery. Business will have to grope, crawl and wriggle out of the backhander dished out by nature with unmitigated wrath. Sadly, many businesses will just pack up, go home and wait for things to unfold. However, successful business minds will be thinking hard to develop a return to work formula. To help us build a business case to recover from the influenza outbreak; we must soberly describe the event the world is going through.

A sudden disorienting environmental experience, causing long term disruption and shut down of operations beyond the power and control of an enterprise. A completely unplanned, unknown, unexpected and unexperienced economic lockdown. An event that takes an entrepreneur back to the drawing board to ask, “what exactly are we doing here?”.

The following eight steps are not a panacea, but neither are they a placebo. Every recovering business will go through a regeneration process incorporating elements of the following steps.

1.       Acknowledge Disruption

Take a deep breath and let it sink in. Articulate and communicate the extent of the new reality as far as you understand it. Consult with others in your field to confirm that you have not misread the broad industry signs, trends and core issues. Work with the facts and data. Avoid alarmist opinions and baseless views of unfolding circumstances. Since the situation is “unfolding”, it may be wise to observe it for a while to determine trends and direction.

2.       Stop

Count your losses. Asses the collateral damage and consider the possibility of aftershocks. Establish your resource bases and ring fence your strategic reserves. Draw up a business case outlining your current situation in terms of immediate impact, short term initiatives and proposed medium term action. If you present this to your board, let them know that the circumstances remain fluid and that proposals may change as matters unfold. However, liabilities, risks and commitments must be evaluated and communicated to stakeholders as soon as is practical to mitigate against mounting liability, confusion and failure to meet contractual commitments.Step two is essentially a business response proposal.

3.       Engage Survival Measures

A business is a “going concern” and must therefore engage measures to ensure it survives the long term. Decisions will need to be made to keep your business alive as long as possible. These critical measures may be financial, operational, managerial or human resource decisions that preserve your strategic ability and capacity to continue in business. These immediate decisions are essentially survival measures and may be revised with timelines and implemented in phases as the environment evolves.

4.       Reflect on the Future

A great deal of time and resources can be wasted trying to resolve things you can do nothing about. Focus your energies on the “new normal” as opposed to hoping that things will go back to business as usual. The environment moved on and the future arrived before we were ready, we cannot go back, we need to work out how to move forward. This requires some clear-headed thinking and may mean corporate transformation, realignment of operations and the design of new business plans. Top of the agenda will be an answer to the question, “how do we want to define ourselves in the emergent future?”. How do we position ourselves for success in the new environment? What are the new realities, expectations and most of all opportunities that litter the landscape at ground zero? What else do we have the capacity to do?

5.       Develop a Critical Path

Develop a strategy canvas mapping out a critical path out of the chaos into order. Identify prioritized steps to guide the business to a relevant future. Remember the environment has undergone a paradigm shift. It has moved past a strategic inflection point that has created new realities (permanencies) of a new era. Old permanencies have dissolved. This strategy canvas could be anything from a six-month action plan to a several-year transition strategy depending on the size and complexity of your business.

6.       Facilitate Deep Conversations

Address the culture, tradition and organization software that enables the business to run and align it to the new reality. Openly address the implications of the facts on the table. Let the people converse and deal with their own fears and realities regarding the future in an accommodating atmosphere. But draw their attention to the limitations of the present and lay the groundwork for a new institutional culture. Let the people moan, but enable them to move through the groan zone to production mode. Identify obstacles that will halt desired change and discuss innovative ways to overcome them. In as far as is practical, exercise inclusivity to obtain buy-in to the proposed way forward.

7.       Disengage Dead Weight

Identify old technology that will take you no further - get rid of it! Consider redundant methodology and off load excessive luggage. Be very clear about what must stop, what we must no longer do and what we must start and continue to do. Start retooling, relearning, rethinking and re-kitting the organization to take advantage of new opportunities and equip it to deal with anticipated challenges ahead.

8.       Restart your Engines

“Ladies and gentlemen, restart your engines!” A pilot gets into the cockpit with flight plan A and preferably B and C. They know where they are taking the plane and the people. Pilots never start up everything at once nor do they do it in a haphazard manner. Every function is checked and rechecked before moving out of the hangar. There will be no tine to test equipment functionality in the air. A pilot starts the engines one by one before taxiing to the runway, obtaining clearance from the tower, executing take-off protocols, clearing the runway, climbing to cruise altitude and engaging the comfort of autopilot far above the clouds. Finally, don’t forget to pray your way all through.

©Allan Bukusi, March 2020

Consultant profile

Allan, is a management consultant and author of the book How to Lead Corporate Transformation. He can be reached at allanbukusi@mdi.co.ke

 
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Celebrating the spirit of humanity

As I have watched one world leader after another make authoritative statements in the eye of an evil storm, I have been amazed by the meekness of the human spirit to obey orders in the face of crisis. Indeed, I have learned seven things that COVID-19 has done to us, or should I say, done for us.

I have learned that authority is not a burden, but a word of protection; that submission is not a measure of weakness, but a path to safety and security.

I have been amazed by the smallness of the globe we live in. I realize that Wuhan is a village right next to mine, in which no one can hide, unless we all unite. We literally share the same sun, wind and rain.

I have been amazed by the generosity and sacrifice of those who have given up their freedom so that others might live. To know that all this good has always been within, brings tears of grief and relief, but also belief that there is yet hope for humanity.

I have watched with a sense of "deja vu" as the disruption of stock markets around the world have ground all busyness to a halt. For once, there is no sense in the pursuit of money at the realization that something bigger is here. Each one of us must give up something and let the land rest.

I have wondered as people spend their days at home whether they think of their luck, fate or doom? Are these family or forced reunions to make up for lost connections, or are they opportunities to ask questions about the existence of God? We all strain to hear that still small voice that tells us, “you are not alone”.

And when I think of what has to be the biggest hand washing event of all time, next to that of Pontius Pilate, I wonder whether it will cleanse our hearts and minds and make us ready for the rebuilding that must surely begin.

Leadership is about taking authority, submission, unity, sacrifice and getting our priorities right. It is about relationships and the fear of God. It is about searching our souls for the treasures that lie deep within to serve them as gifts in the places we live. The season can bring out the worst in us because of what we fear, but I chose to believe and celebrate the best we have within.


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Earlier this week the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 Flu a global pandemic spanning all continents. Government leaders all around the world are publishing policy and structural responses to protect their citizenry. This is commendable and should be supported to the extent that it helps the world fight the disaster. Nonetheless, insurance companies are unlikely to compensate anyone for what they consider to be an Act of God they cannot account for in the physical dimension. 

All the military might of the governments of men, legislation and policy framework seem helpless in the face of crumbling economic activity, a discouraged populace and an unseen enemy. Closing borders does not stop the blessings of the sun, the wind and the rain on the earth. The fact that we are all locked in on this orb of earth means that none of us can escape a tragedy that befalls a neighbor. One country may be at loggerheads with another, but neither of them can leave the earth. We are all related. 

Our solution is in our resolution to work together to overcome this pestilence. Let us borrow from the wisdom of the chronicles of men in their engagement with God to call upon heaven to act on our behalf. This argument may not have an equivalent in terms of academic conversion, but it is not foolishness to ask for help to address what befalls you. Let us pray, as we act, that this too shall pass.

What is employee mentoring all about?

What is employee mentoring all about?

Employee mentoring is about helping employees achieve three things in life; career satisfaction, personal development and financial empowerment. Most professionals will have chosen a particular career for any number of reasons. They may have chosen the career because jobs in that sector pay well, or they were “A” students in the material subjects in school. Others may have chosen a career because it was the only available opening at the time.

Nonetheless, once you get a job the question of whether you enjoy what you do becomes a nagging reality sooner than later. Few people want to spend a life time doing what they least enjoy, but it is also possible to learn to enjoy what you do. If you are unable to reconcile the question of whether you do what you enjoy or enjoy what you do to your own satisfaction, it is probably time for some deep reflection on your life purpose. If not, you will begin to feel that you are wasting your time on the job.

The second question you must answer as an employee is whether you are growing and developing as a person. Are you developing skills, knowledge, understanding and wisdom that makes you better and better and a more fulfilled person each day? Are you gaining experience, changing and realizing your full potential? Does your job become you or are you becoming your job? The opportunity to develop, express and contribute your gifts, talents and abilities to society is one of the most rewarding aspects of your career. Fulfillment does not have to be tied to promotion or climbing a corporate ladder. If you do not grow and remain stunted in life, you alone bear the disappointment of never doing all you could to become all you could to be of service to God and to humanity around you.

Thirdly, every employee wants a job that pays well. Ironically, very few employees leave employment with much money. While finances are a major consideration when taking up a job, financial empowerment is not a priority engagement for employees, yet it is an important life goal. Financial goals should encompass more than spending money on things you need and desire and include accumulating wealth and capital to sustain you in enterprise after employment. Having a financial plan to empower and sustain yourself during and after employment is a mark of a successful career. Leaving employment without anything to show for all those many years of labor says more of what you did not do than what you achieved on the job. It is also a recipe for frustration and depression. Employment should be a profitable, wealth creating experience. Achieving financial empowerment is a liberating career accomplishment.

click to download How to Prosper App

Employment and Enterprise are the same thing!

Employment and enterprise are the same thing!

I have spent many years trying to help employees come to an understanding that employment and enterprise are the same thing. No, I am not about to give up on this quest because the more employees we have who are able to grasp this concept, the more wealthier people we will have in society.

Unfortunately, many employees firmly believe that they are not in enterprise and therefore never benefit from the wisdom they could learn from the enterprises they work in. Let me clarify five major similarities between an entrepreneur (employer) and an employee.

1. Both are human beings. There is no special genetic code that makes one different from the other. They may have different gifts and talents, but there is no saying that one cannot take up the role of the other.
2. They work together. Whilst an entrepreneur may work alone in the beginning, he soon realizes that he can only expand the business if he employs other people to do more work. In other words, entrepreneurs rely on employees with the capacity to create wealth to expand their business.
3. Both work! An employee who does not apply him or herself to the job is unlikely to last in that job for a very long time. Similarly, and entrepreneur who does not put in his time cannot expect the enterprise to thrive.
4. Both earn an income. The operative word here is “earn”. The capacity to “earn” is an entrepreneurial competence.
5. Both aim to make a profit. Entrepreneurs need to make a profit to stay in business. Employees need an income to create wealth.   

The only significant difference between an entrepreneur and an employee is clearly observable in number five. Entrepreneurs are very focused on making a profit and creating wealth for themselves and their families. Employees, on the other hand, are only desperate to make enough money to pay the bills at the end of the month! Both usually achieve their goals.

An entrepreneur is acutely aware of the capital and the energy he must put into the business to receive a return (profit). Unfortunately, not many employees are aware of the capital and the energy they have put in to receive an income at the end of the month. While the entrepreneur uses his capital to accumulate his profits, the unwise employee uses his salary to defray his expenses. He does not have the sense to save, profit or create wealth from his income. The wise employee treats his income as capital. The foolish employee consumes all his income!     

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ALSO SEE

The five laws of successful employment

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The age of the employee has come to an end

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Employee mentoring

Employee mentoring

You probably know about employee induction programs and may even be familiar with employee orientation and probation. However, looking back, do you wish someone had told you how to make the best use of the benefits employment provided you? You may have done better along your career if you had someone mentor you on how to get the best out of a job.

Most employers will provide on-the-job training and engage staff on skills development programs to ensure that employees become productive as quickly as possible. This provides employees with confidence and competence to do their jobs well. However, forward looking employees will also take personal initiative to ensure that they develop the skills they will need in future to remain relevant, employable and accumulate wealth in the years ahead. This requires effective personal development planning.

Employee mentoring helps staff achieve career milestones alongside meaningful personal development goals. For example, while employers faithfully pay staff a salary to meet their living expenses, mentoring might go further and help employees investigate how best to use their pay to improve their quality of life and make wise investments for the years ahead. Employers are not obliged to give this kind of counsel to employees or teach them How ToProsper on the job, but successful and socially responsible employees take the initiative to develop themselves and mentor those around them to improve themselves as well.

How To Prosper - The App

If you liked the book, you will love the App 

Today, we launch into new territory sharing employment wisdom and insight on wealth creation at a very personal level. We’ve created an application you can download and read from the convenience of your phone, meditate on at home and manage your own private journey to prosperity anywhere in the world. The book is great, but the App will easily get the message into the hands of a million of employees who need to hear this message!

HOW TO PROSPER makes available to you all the wisdom and insight on wealth creation from the book How to Prosper in Employment. However, the App offers more including testimonies, group work and a mentoring plan. The story is set in Africa, but the principles are applicable all over the world. If you have never been able to get a copy of the book or always wanted to get one for a friend, well here is the perfect opportunity to connect. Send them the link to download HOW TO PROSPER today!

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