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crankylibrarian's review
3.0
Useful antidote to corporate drivel
Todd Miller thinks brick and mortar offices are a waste of time and resources, both for companies and individual employees. He estimates that recouping the energy wasted in commuting and maintaining office spaces could end US dependence on foreign oil and halve our carbon emissions, as well as saving workers 23% of their paychecks. Using his own successful start-up as an example, Miller takes potential entrepreneurs step by step through the essentials of virtual office set up, looking at legal questions, time management, multi-state recruiting, and nuts and bolts questions: (who provides the computers and office furniture?).
I would love to sit Miller and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer down for a chat. Mayer of course, famously ended telecommuting for her employees in 2013, stating that "communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home." Quality at Yahoo doesn't seem to have improved much since then, yet I wonder why Miller doesn't address the question of spontaneous communication and bonding between co-workers hanging out at lunch and around the coffee pot. There are intangible benefits to interpersonal camaraderie, which can't be replaced by an awesome teleconferencing system.
Still, Miller makes excellent points about the waste and inefficiency of the typical office environment, getting in some great digs about the banalities of corporate mission statements and buzzword management techniques as well. Worth a read.
Todd Miller thinks brick and mortar offices are a waste of time and resources, both for companies and individual employees. He estimates that recouping the energy wasted in commuting and maintaining office spaces could end US dependence on foreign oil and halve our carbon emissions, as well as saving workers 23% of their paychecks. Using his own successful start-up as an example, Miller takes potential entrepreneurs step by step through the essentials of virtual office set up, looking at legal questions, time management, multi-state recruiting, and nuts and bolts questions: (who provides the computers and office furniture?).
I would love to sit Miller and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer down for a chat. Mayer of course, famously ended telecommuting for her employees in 2013, stating that "communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home." Quality at Yahoo doesn't seem to have improved much since then, yet I wonder why Miller doesn't address the question of spontaneous communication and bonding between co-workers hanging out at lunch and around the coffee pot. There are intangible benefits to interpersonal camaraderie, which can't be replaced by an awesome teleconferencing system.
Still, Miller makes excellent points about the waste and inefficiency of the typical office environment, getting in some great digs about the banalities of corporate mission statements and buzzword management techniques as well. Worth a read.
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