management won’t see the light, you’ll just have to use the next chapter to fire their asses.
An Alternative: The Hourglass Approach
It can be effective to take a longer period of absence up front in what some NR have termed the “hourglass” approach, so named because you use a long proof-of-concept up front to get a short remote agreement and then negotiate back up to full-time out of the office. Here’s what it looks like.
Use a preplanned project or emergency (family issue, personal issue, relocation, home repairs, whatever) that requires you to take one or two weeks out of the office.
Say that you recognize you can’t just stop working and that you would prefer to work instead of taking vacation days.
Propose how you can work remotely and offer, if necessary, to take a pay cut for that period (and that period only) if performance isn’t up to par upon returning.
Allow the boss to collaborate on how to do it so that he or she is invested in the process.
Make the two weeks “off” the most productive period you’ve ever had at work.
Show your boss the quantifiable results upon returning, and tell him or her that—without all the distractions, commute, etc.—you can get twice as much done. Suggest two or three days at home per week as a trial for two weeks.
Make those remote days ultraproductive.
Suggest only one or two days in the office per week.
Make those days the least productive of the week.
Suggest complete mobility—the boss will go for it.
Q&A: QUESTIONS AND ACTIONS
Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him.
—THOMAS J. WATSON, founder of IBM
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
—GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
While entrepreneurs have the most trouble with Automation, since they fear giving up control, employees get stuck on Liberation because they fear taking control. Resolve to grab the reins—the rest of your life depends on it.
The following questions and actions will help you to replace presence-based work with performance-based freedom.
If you had a heart attack, and assuming your boss were sympathetic, how could you work remotely for four weeks?
If you hit a brick wall with a task that doesn’t seem remote-compatible or if you predict resistance from your boss, ask the following:
What are you accomplishing with this task—what is the purpose?
If you
Why would your boss resist remote work? What is the immediate negative effect it would have on the company and what could you do to prevent or minimize it?
Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. Based on your work history, would you trust yourself to work outside of the office?
If you wouldn’t, reread Elimination to improve production and consider the hourglass option.
Practice environment-free productivity.
Attempt to work for two to three hours in a cafe for two Saturdays prior to proposing a remote trial. If you exercise in a gym, attempt to exercise for those two weeks at home or otherwise outside of the gym environment. The purpose here is to separate your activities from a single environment and ensure that you have the discipline to work solo.
Quantify current productivity.
If you have applied the 80/20 Principle, set the rules of interrupting interruption, and completed related groundwork, your performance should be at an all-time high in quantifiable terms, whether customers served, revenue generated, pages produced, speed of accounts receivable, or otherwise. Document this.
Create an opportunity to demonstrate remote work productivity before asking for it as a policy.
This is to test your ability to work outside of an office environment and rack up some proof that you can kick ass without constant supervision.
Practice the art of getting past “no” before proposing.
Go to farmers’ markets to negotiate prices, ask for free first-class upgrades, ask for compensation if you encounter poor service in restaurants, and otherwise ask for the world and practice using the following magic questions when people refuse to give it to you.
“What would I need to do to [desired outcome]?”
“Under what circumstances would you [desired outcome]?”
“Have you ever made an exception?”
“I’m sure you’ve made an exception before, haven’t you?”
(If no for either of the last two, ask, “Why not?” If yes, ask, “Why?”)
Put your employer on remote training wheels—propose Monday or Friday at home.
Consider doing this, or the following step, during a period when it would be too disruptive to fire you, even if you were marginally less productive while remote.
If your employer refuses, it’s time to get a new boss or become an entrepreneur. The job will never give you the requisite time freedom. If you decide to jump ship, consider letting them make you walk the plank—quitting is often less appealing than tactfully getting fired and using severance or unemployment to take a long vacation.
Extend each successful trial period until you reach full-time or your desired level of mobility.
Don’t underestimate how much your company needs you. Perform well and ask for what you want. If you don’t get it over time, leave. It’s too big a world to spend most of life in a cubicle.
LIFESTYLE DESIGN IN ACTION
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