kidmercury

We've talked about the future of work before; see our previous post, "The Future of Work." In this post I wanted to highlight some examples from my business that I consider to be consistent with the future of work.

1. Business meetings at all hours. I've had numerous business meetings that start at 9 PM or even later and can run for several hours. These are face-to-face meetings with independent businesses; not just my co-founder.

2. Casual, but serious. The meetings are always over a meal. They are never in an office, probably because we don't have an office. We don't have an office because (1) we can't afford one and (2) we don't need one. There is no real dress code; I've shown up in sweatpants and even pajamas before. (Of course, if I thought this would be a problem, which I know it would be for some, I would dress to impress). The honesty is usually appreciated, and my attitude communicates that I am very serious about my business, even if my clothes suggest otherwise (although in reality my clothes also reflect my seriousness about my business, as I am interested in getting work done, not in being a supermodel).

3. Customer mentality, not boss mentality. I'm the co-founder of the company, so with the exception of my colleague who is an equal shareholder, I'm the boss. But I certainly don't think of myself that way. I treat everyone with a lot of respect and view each person as their own business, and I encourage them to think this way too. This encourages them to be accountable. Also, I want to be a helper to a thousand geniuses, not a genius with a thousand helpers. The whole "I'm a genius and all my employees are my helpers" is an old school mentality that will severely limit a company's growth potential, in my opinion. In many ways this was the biggest lesson I learned from my former employer. That company was founded by six guys who did not start out with much, but turned it into a very profitable company with over 500 employees and offices around the world. The CEO is a business genius, the smartest business person I've ever encountered and by a very wide margin. But the only reason that company is not a household name that has 5,000 or even 50,000 employees instead of 500 is because the CEO is very into command and control and has a "you don't think unless I tell you to think" type of approach. That is the best way to drive talented people out of your company, and is also the best way to ensure that your company reflects your strengths -- and your weaknesses. The "helper to a thousand geniuses" approach is more challenging, but I think it is absolutely essential to building a truly world class company.

4. Monetizing the network. Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of the internal workings of my business is that since we work with independent contractors and encourage everyone to think of themselves as their own business, we have opportunities to refer independent contractors to each other. For instance, we have one video editor we work with, and another stock market trader we work with. We referred them to each other, so that the video editor could help the stock market trader make the videos he needs to sell his products/services. And as we introduce your own virtual currency and pay everyone with it, we'll soon be able to get a small piece of all such transactions, and will offer intermediation services to ensure safe and honest transactions for all involved. It's important to note that the virtual currency is not a gimmick we are using to try to rob people; instead it is the opposite: a way we can create greater economic efficiencies which in turn will result in greater wealth for all.

Well, I obviously think that the nature of work is set for an immense and radical change. Of course, as the adage goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And one thing that is not changing, and in fact is becoming more true, is that you have to satisfy your customers -- all of them. And so, the song for the post is "Keep the Customer Satisfied" by Simon and Garfunkel.