Be Part of Something

The recent mandate by Marissa Mayer to bring her employees back to campus sent shock waves through Silicon Valley.

How dare the boss make demands of her employees!

Why would a workforce need to be in the same place to be productive...?

Well, she is the boss and there is an unquestionable organizational value in having people in the same place. I would be the first to agree that cramming people into cubicles for 10 hours a day is not productive. I would also have to admit that never seeing the office negates a critical element of organizational culture.

Our personal brands are now more powerful than our company logo. We have free resources at our disposal that can raise millions of dollars and crowd source any organizational directive. We also know that the more friends we have online, the fewer we have in real life.

Get Real
We often tell our children to put down the video game while they order their grilled cheese. Then we retreat to our cell phones. In any given social situation, when the conversation lags we flip on our phone. We are losing our ability to drive enticing conversation, to interact with meaning, and to articulate the Terabytes we devour before lunch. All the knowledge in the world means nothing if you don't know why it matters...or how to vocalize it!

The Trouble With Words
They have not created a narrative tone application for email as of yet. Too often, our actions are misinterpreted when conveyed in the typed word. We may cast ourselves onto the "people to fire" list by posting something on our company intranet community that we thought was funny. Words without human interpretation are dangerous little creatures.

Returning Home
So it stands to reason that the employees of Yahoo might benefit from a few days in the office. Some of them may be realized for their inefficiencies when they are "exposed"; others may be promoted when their voice is finally heard.

We need friends at work. We need to be around other people. We need a support network to help us grow. If we are left in solitude with only our thoughts and our monitor, our progress is stifled.

None of us want to admit it...but it is a fact!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave