that you are capable of much more than what other people might expect from you. You'll find your way to get up to speed again, no matter what your circumstances. Whatever race you're running, this book will show you how to find the confidence and innovation that you need. And maybe even try some new dance steps along the way. Reinvention is waiting for you. You just have to recognize that you are more than your circumstances. Are you ready to say, #ChallengeAccepted?
James Hinchcliffe
Professional race car driver, runner‐up on Dancing with the Stars, and the mythical mayor of Hinchtown (https://www.hinchtown.com).
1 Entering the Shift
We are all shift workers now.
Working from home, under current conditions, is more than just a big change. The new normal is a shift for all of us, shifting from commutes and cubicles into a brave new world, where the line between work and home isn't just blurred – it's been erased.
COVID‐19 has transformed the way that we work, interact, and live. But the change to working from home was happening long before the global pandemic. Post‐coronavirus, much of work will not return to the way it was. And many workers won't be returning to headquarters anytime soon. As I write these words, it's difficult to predict what the new normal will look like exactly. Whatever the future holds, the odds are that you'll be looking at it from your home office.
This might be difficult to hear, but when the future is uncertain it's up to you to create it. To step into the shift, and thrive, you must create an environment that works for you. The change toward a remote workforce was already underway, even before Twitter and other organizations made the decision to make work‐from‐home a cultural norm:
A recent Gartner CFO survey (https://bit.ly/wfh-Gartner1) reveals that 74% of financial leaders intend to shift some employees to remote work permanently.
The same survey finds that 75% of CFOs plan to shift at least 5% of previously on‐site employees to permanently remote positions post‐COVID‐19.
Based on over 100 million data points from 30,000 users, Prodoscore (https://bit.ly/wfh-prodoscore) reports that remote workers are 47% more efficient than on‐site employees: telephone calls are up 230% and Customer Resource Management (CRM) activity 176% in a post‐COVID‐19 survey conducted in the spring of 2020.
This book is about helping you to navigate these shifts, so that you can survive and thrive in a work‐from‐home world. My intention here is simple: to help you shift into the realm of success, so that you can be virtually successful no matter where you are. Because work is a thing you do – not a place you go.
Success is not a location. Neither is impact. Or personal branding. Or career management. Today, you can succeed from anywhere. You can make a difference from your kitchen table, if you want to. You can restart your career and reinvent yourself from your laptop – and this book will show you how.
As we move into a work world where the coronavirus has caused the biggest shifts in modern history, you (and your company) must adapt. There is no going back. Paraphrasing Robert Frost, the only way forward is through.
Adaptation requires a mindset shift. A cultural shift. And coaching that can help you to make the mindset shifts you need. That's where we are headed in the pages that follow. Specifically, I'm going to take you from adaptation to acceleration regarding your home office space. You'll learn how to turn video calls into powerful tools – and how to know when not to Zoom into a meeting. We'll go from challenge to change, as we learn from experts and top‐tier organizations how to create a culture that adopts the new normal. Finally, we'll move from resistance to resilience, finding new ways to advance your career – even when your career is happening inside your home. Or you're trying to re‐start one.
You've probably already realized that working from home takes different mental muscles than what you've been used to using. This book will challenge you to “work out” in new ways, so you can contribute without burnout. I'll show you how to address your home workspace with finesse, connect remotely with your entire team, eliminate Zoom zombie syndrome, and even deliver your best presentations ever. You'll learn how to manage multiple duties – from surviving in super‐small spaces to managing a remote workforce of hundreds of employees. You'll be able to create impact for your customers, elevate your entrepreneurship, and more.
The good news is that working from home, ultimately, is better. Your journey has a great payoff for everyone involved.
That may be hard for you to believe as your dog starts to bark, your doorbell rings, and you've decided your two homeschoolers both deserve detention until 2026. Yet, through my involvement on the Work from Home Taskforce at Salesforce, I've seen one thing clearly: there is a better way to manage working from home. This book is designed to help you to find it.
And to find it on your own terms. I'll share my story with you – I've been working from home since 2002 – but this book isn't about my story, or even my solutions. It's about helping you to find yours. Because everyone has a different experience of what working from home looks like, we'll look at specific examples that can influence yours. Perspectives that focus on what really matters here: your success. Sometimes you find that perspective in the most unlikely places. I know I did.
“Here. This is for you,” my aunt said, her tiny salt‐and‐pepper curls framing her silver‐rimmed glasses. As soon as she had placed the box in my hands, my aunt turned to walk down the driveway. Strange that she would give me a gift as she was saying goodbye. “I want you to open it by yourself,” she said, pulling on the car door. She paused to smile at me. “You'll know why.”
The box was barely big enough to hold two decks of playing cards. I could tell there wasn't any jewelry inside it. The rectangle shape was wrong, the thickness didn't feel right. Forever the kid at Christmas, I shook it – no sound. The only thing I heard was my aunt driving away. What could it be? Back inside, I pulled the light blue bow. It came apart easily in my fingers. The package was flawlessly wrapped, with crisp folds and perfectly placed tape – a reminder of my aunt's methodical attention to detail. As I removed the paper and eventually the lid of the box, I could smell that faint cloud of nostalgia – as if a piece of an old library book had been placed inside. Turns out, I wasn't far off.
A small red hardback book was nestled inside the box. On the book was some gold lettering, unclear and mottled like an out‐of‐focus picture from days gone by. I brushed my hand across the cover. As I pulled it closer, the title became clear: Another Chance.
I opened the first page to see if I could discover who had written it. From the faded lines and careful penmanship, I realized what I held in my hands.
I was holding my grandmother's diary.
She had started writing it when she couldn't head off to university because of what was happening in the world.
The first entry was dated Friday, September 28, 1945.
As I flipped through the pages, a new image of my grandmother began to take shape in my mind's eye – like seeing the San Francisco skyline after the fog fades away. Inside the pages I met a bright young woman, trying to find her place in the world during
