What’s the purpose of an office? It may seem straightforward at first, but for many an office can have a lot of negative connotations. If we don’t step back and define it, by default it can just become whatever the work dictates: frustrating, hard, trapped, boring.

For us, offices aren’t just a means to the end and a place where people have to “clock-in” to get work done. Offices have to be a catalyst for great work. Don’t get us wrong, offices aren’t the only way for us to get our jobs done. We all travel a lot and at times find our best inspiration while visiting a coffee shop, sipping on a cocktail, or sitting on a beach.

However, when work is scheduled to be at least 30% of our day (the 9-5), where we work needs to be exciting, encouraging, and inspiring. That way we can do better work while at the office and be excited to return to the office (Sunday Scaries shouldn’t be a thing). We’re not saying we need to work 24/7, but we are intentional about the way an office looks, feels, and motivates for the time we are there.

As you might be able to tell, our current office doesn’t exactly fit the definition of a great office as described above. It’s been a great springboard to our Orange County home, but it’s time to announce the countdown and excitement about our new office (or for as much time as we spend there, our new home).

This is a place I designed to inspire great work for our clients and a great work environment for our team. The new office may only be across the street, but it seems like a huge upgrade to the top of the cool street.

To help celebrate the countdown and official move-in, we’re launching a ’New Office Giveaway’. All you need to enter is guess how long it takes our 6’4” CEO Jeffrey Bates to run from the current office front door to the new office front door. He’ll be the first to admit he’s not an Olympic sprinter (or even a jogger), but he does have some long strides.

Winner will receive a gift basket of some of our favorite OC products! 

We’ve provided a cheat sheet below, but research the coordinate, confirm satellite images, and enter your best guess in the form below (or by clicking the link here):

• • Point to point distance if taking a straight line is roughly 750 feet
  • Following more of the ‘legal’ pedestrian rules, it measures roughly 845 feet (pictured below)
  • Jeff is 6’4″
  • The last time Jeff ran or jogged for fitness or leisure was 10+ years ago.

*Limit one entry per person

There’s a classic quote that business leaders and managers love to throw around (and spoiler alert, I’m about too as well). It comes from Peter Drucker, one of the original management gurus. He classically states that “what gets measured gets managed.”

Before you roll your eyes and cringe from hearing this quote again, let me tell you that it’s most often taken out of context. It’s typically used as justification to eliminate measuring tasks that cannot easily be quantified. However, there’s a big difference between a business quote, and the application to business.

The ‘business application’ that Drucker was addressing was identifying the difficulty in measuring work and making sure the right work was getting done; right work being defined as work that contributes most directly to the bottom line.

The real challenge in business is identifying the tasks and activities that, when tracked, provide the greatest business insights and ROI possible. To further quote Drucker, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” Finding the appropriate measurement is hard work, and often executives apply simple concepts for complex decisions; utilizing models that include straight line metrics for everything from staff reductions, to increased sales, to expense reductions.

In an industry fueled by people with detailed expertise and an extensive knowledge of the product and process, how do we blend that passion and knowledge with data and strategy to quickly evaluate our most profitable systems, processes, and products?

Data can’t be the final decision maker, but with so much time spent in front of a screen and in software applications, are we missing potential opportunities and threats by not better leveraging data points that are easily accessible? You think Customer X is so profitable, but do you know how much time it actually takes to complete their work? Do you know how rude and unprofessional the customer is to your employees and what this costs in production time? Do you know how happy your employees are at their jobs? Do you know your ‘compliance confidence score’?

In order to find the best answers, we first need to identify the right questions to ask and then we can effectively use data at our disposal to provide better insights and decision making.

This post was co-authored by Andrew Acker and Tish Bush. Andrew is the Chief Operating Officer at D. Bello Associates; Tish Bush is the Founder and Principal of TBD Advisors.  They'll both be speaking on this topic at ALTA ONE, the week of October 9-12, 2018. Make sure to attend their session if you'll be there. Check out the schedule here! Or contact us for links to their content and presentation!

• Get Sleep
  • This one might seem obvious, but we’re not saying sleep a lot. Rather, get the right amount and be strategic. Naps are a conference secret to help extend energy and allow for more time socializing in the post-session hours.

• Always Be Hydrating
  • We’re not exactly at high altitude, but your liver will thank you later. Drink as much water as you can, because it will help you out when you’re drinking everything but water. Also, high quality h2o will make up for a lack of sleep from not following our first bullet point.

• Powerplay
  • If you’re thinking personal power, than look no further then a strong cup of coffee. Our favorite local Boston coffee shop is the Thinking Cup, which is luckily just a couple blocks away from the Westin on Newbury Street. You’ll thank us later.
  • As fas as technology power, follow the Scouts motto and ‘Be Prepared.’ The only thing worse than a dead battery is being chained to a power outlet trying to rescue a dead device while everyone else is listening to sessions and having fun. We recommend a portable power pack, specifically the Mogix ones (they charge two devices at once, so you can always help a friend out!).
  • Lastly, common sense maybe, but if you’re a laptop user, charge your computer the night before, it can always serve as an emergency phone charger need be.

• Get Connected
  • New school meets old school with this one. Obviously make sure you have plenty of business cards (how else will you win the raffle drawings at the vendor booths), but don’t overlook the power of social media. Make sure you have the Twitter app downloaded and are signed up. You might not think anything valuable happens on social media, but you won’t actually know until you join the conversation (#ALTA15). Some of our best industry friends were first introduced via social media.
  • Don’t limit yourself to just the conference sessions to meet new people. Tag along to dinners and post-session drinks; and if you ever unsure where to go, there’s bound to always be a group setting up home base at the hotel bar.

• Take Notes
  • Chances are you’ll have a case of information overload at some point. Whether it be all the new names, all the new acronyms, or just the sheer amount of information. Do yourself a favor and make sure you have a place to write down those details. Otherwise there’s a chance you might not remember it the next day…so find a good pen (like a Montblanc) or a favorite app (such as Evernote) and store and lock down those memories.

• Play the Game
  • This might sound a bit confusing, but let us explain. There’s a lot of fun to be had at amazing dinners, cocktail parties, and trying local establishments. All should be enjoyed, but don’t forget that no matter how late you stay out, you always have to be sure and show up ready to go the next morning. If you’re going to play the game, you have to show up to the field on time (how well you play is up to you). Pacing yourself during a long conference is never frowned upon either, but always expect to have a great time!