Lessons from Jurassic Park - why we shouldn't let the dinosaurs take over

I know the film Jurassic Park doesn’t have talking dinosaurs, but recently, I’ve heard several roaring loudly online, about people needing to get back to the office. Just to be clear, dinosaurs are a species, not defined by age, but by a reactionary mindset. Recent examples have included a British cabinet minister, a suite of US banking executives, the Apple Corp and just last week, this T-Rex level rant from TV celebrity and peer of the realm, Lord Sugar. His comments were in response to PwC giving consultants Friday afternoons off during summer.

“This is a bloody joke. The lazy gits make me sick. Call me old fashioned but all this work from home BS is a total joke. There is no way people work as hard or productive as when they had to turn up at a work location. The pandemic has had long lasting negative effect.”

He doesn’t sound happy, does he?  But is he right? I don’t think so, though old fashioned, certainly. The pandemic forced us not only to do things differently, but also to think differently and consider carefully what we value most.  As a result of our shared experiences, work is changing, society is changing. Dinosaurs don’t want to.

For some of the dinosaurs, the move to WFH, means being unable to keep an eye on their staff and provoked some into seeking out spyware, to track employees at their desk, by monitoring mouse-scrolling or typing. ActivTrak and StaffCop – I kid you not, these are both real software products – are monitoring people’s work right now. The lack of trust is astonishing to me, but apparently not to some 'bosses'. If the fear that people aren’t working is driving your leadership to take such steps, can I politely suggest a shift in culture might be required. If you’re in a company that has just installed such software on your laptop, you might also consider joining the great resignation. Trust your management, as much as they trust you – actually, less. I love the stories of home-workers finding ways to cheat this ‘big brother’ approach, by installing programs that produce fake mouse movements. 🤣🤣  

What the dinosaurs want is the world back to normal, but just as sure as the meteor that wiped them out before, there is a forward momentum that can’t be halted. People that have been able to work successfully from home have discovered benefits they didn’t know were available. No one in our company set out to work from home until the events of 2020, but now we have all had to, each one has discovered things they like and things they don’t, and has adapted accordingly. We are learning together, which is surely the only reasonable route to take. In more than 40 yrs of work, Hilary has never worked from home. Now, she will never work from an office again. She loves WFH. She’s created a new way of life for herself and her partner. It includes a long walk at lunchtime, no commuting, no working on a Friday and whilst there have been adjustments for us all to make, she is happier now than she has ever been, working in this way. Who am I to tell her that must all change and she must return to the office 5 days a week, or 3 or 4 come to that? More importantly, if she is enjoying the way of working and the work is being done well and on time, then why would I?  Why would anyone, except a scaly prehistoric beast?

This week, we had an all-hands meeting, with 8 of us gathered on the sofas in our greenroom.  Robin decided not to make the 300 mile round trip and as befits a ‘virtual first’ company. He joined online, along with two external consultants. They were able to see and hear every one of us clearly in the room, and we them. Technology has moved on, and for the technically minded – our external guests joined via our 1080p Business Zoom account. We have a separate camera and a small handheld or clip-on microphone that enable us to be heard clearly and not be affected by noise-cancelling software. When we run meetings and events for clients, we have the responsibility of mixing the camera shots and the sound for all participants, and part of that responsibility means not only the highest level of reliability, but also the highest level of creativity and professionalism as a b-to-b broadcaster. We expect the same level of professionalism for our internal meetings, though we have had to overcome the ‘bus-man's holiday’ challenge to get there.

There’s been a great deal of talk about WFH stifling creativity, or somehow inhibiting company culture. This is a long way from the truth for us. We have spent years creatively engaging audiences, both online and in-person. We have dreamt-up and co-created the most fabulous meetings and events alongside our clients and had great fun doing so. We have created and produced hundreds of films and videos, animations, illustrations and very rarely have we been in the same room as our client, or in many cases, each other. No one has ever decided not to work with us because we are not in their neighborhood. We don’t always need to travel to work with our clients, for which I’m sure the planet, as well as our clients sometimes, are grateful 😉  

We have been using video conferencing software for a long time. It’s how we keep in touch with our distributed team and with clients and partners. We don’t just hold meetings online but connect on many different levels. We meet partners and pets and kids and grandparents and occasionally, unexpected visitors such as birds, deer and foxes. Our laptop screens have become a vital portal for our business community and providing we manage our time well, they are as creative a part of our working life as any other. So many of the ways we communicate don’t require us to be in the same space. Email, Whatsapp, Messenger, etc., and whilst I understand the benefits of meeting in person, sharing a coffee and a chat, it isn’t necessary to do that every day, or on every occasion. If a nuclear war can be averted via a phone call (Kennedy & Khrushchev) then I’m sure many conversations can be carried out effectively online. There’s even an argument, that some conversations, which are especially difficult face to face, are less problematic, less awkward online.  

We love being together in our new studio and green room, but we don't have to be there all day every day. What we are doing, as we try to put Covid behind us, is discovering, experimenting and pushing the technological envelope to engage in the most creative way with our clients, our partners and each other. What the dinosaurs are doing, is being busy ignoring the future and refusing to notice the change that is going on around them. Although interacting with dinosaurs has been historically tricky for humans, there is only one ending. However much noise they might be making right now…they will become extinct in the not-too distant future. 

 Ps – turns out there’s another specific set of dinosaurs, the misogynist dinosaurs, who had an outing at the Aviva Board meeting this week.  Extinction beckons. Hopefully sooner rather than later!