Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[DaveShoelace]

Figured this is the place for this discussion

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29356627
:

The boss of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, is offering his personal staff as much holiday as they want.

On his website, he said that his staff of 170 could "take off whenever they want for as long as they want".

He added that there was no need to ask for approval, nor say when they planned to return, the assumption being that the absence would not damage the firm.

Mr Branson said he was inspired by his daughter, who read about a similar plan at the online TV firm Netflix.

"It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours, a day, a week or a month off," wrote the billionaire.

"The assumption being that they are only going to do it when they feel 100% comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business - or, for that matter, their careers!"

He added that he had introduced the policy in the UK and the US "where vacation policies can be particularly draconian". If it goes well there, Mr Branson said he would encourage subsidiaries to follow suit.

"We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don't have a nine-to-five policy, we don't need a vacation policy," he wrote.

The blog is an excerpt from a forthcoming book.

Virgin Group employs more than 50,000 people around the world and operates in more than 50 countries.

Mr Branson started the company in 1970 and it has gone from a mail order record company to having businesses in telecoms, travel and financial services.

Myself and AlunB both think this will result in less holidays being taken than more. As someone who is self employed I know that this 'freedom' we have often has the reverse effect of workaholism. IMO Branson has created a way to ingrain a message of 'taking less holidays = good work ethic'.

[Tal]

Saw an article in a newspaper today with the following headline (or something similar):


Mum of two spends more on doll than her children.


That, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is why we need better education on English.

No idea why, but that reminded me of this.....

Hmmm...

I'm more annoyed about the journalist and his or her editor.

"Mum of two spends more on doll than her children"

This implies she spends more on a doll than her children do (as Educating Rita taught us, "the do is superfluous"), which is obvious, as we can expect her children don't have much disposable income or, if they're working, that they wouldn't normally be spending money on dolls (else it would be "family spends lots of money on dolls")

What is meant is that this mum spends more money on a doll than she spends on her children, but without the word "on", that's not what is said.

For the likes of you and me, a forgivable mistake; for a journalist, a lashingworthy faux pas.

[RED-DOG]

Saw an article in a newspaper today with the following headline (or something similar):


Mum of two spends more on doll than her children.


That, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is why we need better education on English.

No idea why, but that reminded me of this.....

Reminds me of Oliver Hardy holding a post steady as Stan Laurel wields a large mallet.

"When I nod my head, you hit it".

[AlunB]

Figured this is the place for this discussion

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29356627
:

The boss of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, is offering his personal staff as much holiday as they want.

On his website, he said that his staff of 170 could "take off whenever they want for as long as they want".

He added that there was no need to ask for approval, nor say when they planned to return, the assumption being that the absence would not damage the firm.

Mr Branson said he was inspired by his daughter, who read about a similar plan at the online TV firm Netflix.

"It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours, a day, a week or a month off," wrote the billionaire.

"The assumption being that they are only going to do it when they feel 100% comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business - or, for that matter, their careers!"

He added that he had introduced the policy in the UK and the US "where vacation policies can be particularly draconian". If it goes well there, Mr Branson said he would encourage subsidiaries to follow suit.

"We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don't have a nine-to-five policy, we don't need a vacation policy," he wrote.

The blog is an excerpt from a forthcoming book.

Virgin Group employs more than 50,000 people around the world and operates in more than 50 countries.

Mr Branson started the company in 1970 and it has gone from a mail order record company to having businesses in telecoms, travel and financial services.

Myself and AlunB both think this will result in less holidays being taken than more. As someone who is self employed I know that this 'freedom' we have often has the reverse effect of workaholism. IMO Branson has created a way to ingrain a message of 'taking less holidays = good work ethic'.

Seems as if you figured wrong(ly)

[tikay]

If Mr Crater thinks Wooly Jumper invented or pioneered that practice, he'll get a robust response in due course.....

Would LOVE to see Virgin Trains or Virgin Atlantic allow all their staff to do that. Ain't ever gonna happen. Not that he owns either enterprise, he does not.

[Eck]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

[tikay]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

[AlunB]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

Love this. I honestly think most people are incapable of working smart so they work hard instead.

I was infinitely more productive when working for myself at home than I am in an office. But I'm yet to meet a boss who doesn't assume the converse is true.

[tikay]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

Love this. I honestly think most people are incapable of working smart so they work hard instead.

I was infinitely more productive when working for myself at home than I am in an office. But I'm yet to meet a boss who doesn't assume the converse is true.

Story of my life, that one.

Worked hard all my life, & loved it, but just not bright enough to work smart. I have to run faster than everyone else to keep up, that's how I see it.

[tikay]

I do actually work from home a fair bit, & I think my energy levels are near identical.

[AlunB]

I do actually work from home a fair bit, & I think my energy levels are near identical.

Interesting. I am very much a burst type. My work rate is not exactly what I would call linear. As an employer I would much rather have a consistent worker like yourself, but us "creative" types tend not to be that consistent.

I used to find at home I would get more done over an 8 hour period by working for, say 4 hours, and taking lots of breaks than I ever managed working "solidly" for 8 hours in an office.

Typing 1000 words only really takes 10 minutes. Thinking of the 1000 words to type can take all day.

[DaveShoelace]

I do actually work from home a fair bit, & I think my energy levels are near identical.

Interesting. I am very much a burst type. My work rate is not exactly what I would call linear. As an employer I would much rather have a consistent worker like yourself, but us "creative" types tend not to be that consistent.

I used to find at home I would get more done over an 8 hour period by working for, say 4 hours, and taking lots of breaks than I ever managed working "solidly" for 8 hours in an office.

Typing 1000 words only really takes 10 minutes. Thinking of the 1000 words to type can take all day.

Yeah all this. I work in 50 minute bursts with plenty of breaks for dog walks, everyone loves raymond etc.

People always talk like time management is the key, but energy and focus management is the shizznizz.

[Doobs]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

Love this. I honestly think most people are incapable of working smart so they work hard instead.

I was infinitely more productive when working for myself at home than I am in an office. But I'm yet to meet a boss who doesn't assume the converse is true.

Because I went away for a long holiday in November, I worked right over Chrismas one year, barring the days the office was closed.  It was brilliant, no phones, no meetings, never got so much done.  I think a lot of this is key, some days you just get overwhelmed with meetings/group phone calls etc.  You manage to put one meeting off and somebody else puts one in the gap. It is the same at home, if the kids have gone, the phone is quiet, you can get down and concentrate, other days the wife goes "as your at home, can you find time to do a, b, c and d".   

Back in the day there was a pay dispute at work, so the union had a rule that nobody should answer phone calls (doesn't sound so bad when we all have emails).  The only people answering the phones were the managers.  Back logs that had been there for years were cleared in a couple of weeks.  Don't think the office had ever been so efficient.   

[AlunB]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

Love this. I honestly think most people are incapable of working smart so they work hard instead.

I was infinitely more productive when working for myself at home than I am in an office. But I'm yet to meet a boss who doesn't assume the converse is true.

Because I went away for a long holiday in November, I worked right over Chrismas one year, barring the days the office was closed.  It was brilliant, no phones, no meetings, never got so much done.  I think a lot of this is key, some days you just get overwhelmed with meetings/group phone calls etc.  You manage to put one meeting off and somebody else puts one in the gap. It is the same at home, if the kids have gone, the phone is quiet, you can get down and concentrate, other days the wife goes "as your at home, can you find time to do a, b, c and d".   

Back in the day there was a pay dispute at work, so the union had a rule that nobody should answer phone calls (doesn't sound so bad when we all have emails).  The only people answering the phones were the managers.  Back logs that had been there for years were cleared in a couple of weeks.  Don't think the office had ever been so efficient.   

My favourite meeting I've ever been in was when I worked for a short while for a city council.

We had a meeting about how we could stop having so many meetings. It ended with us booking in another meeting to discuss it further.

There is a HUGE groundswell of opinion against email at the moment. I actually really like it and think the old days of phones were way more of a time suck.

[DaveShoelace]

Just been chatting about the Virgin Holiday policy. I heard it on the radio and it sounded great until I heard "their careers" at the end of that sentence. You can imagine the conversations now

Employee "i'm going to take tomorrow off I have some things I need to do"

Boss "ok if you think you should"

Employee ".......ffs see you tomorrow"

This is from a Netflix director's blog

"At the core, Netflix does not have an “unlimited vacation” policy, we have a trust policy. If we trust you, then we will trust you and will give you great liberty to accomplish amazing things. If not, we will part ways."

I can't find anything on actual holidays taken v standard companies (obviously won't as Netflix "doesn't measure them") but would bet lots they have lower holiday numbers than competitors.

google did it in their early days. You can with low numbers, but once a company acquires reasonable size & mass, the whole thing falls down.

JNK did it with us, too.

"I don't WANT you here all day every day, come & go as you please. I want you to work smart, not hard. If you can beat forecast (profits, cash management) by coming in the office once a week for an hour or two, that's fine by me, you go play golf Tony".


The unspoken bit was key though.  

"If you do not achieve forecast targets & have been tossing if off, you've got another think coming if you think I'm gonna wear that, sunshine"

He did the same with Company Cars.

What would you like Tony? A Jag? Yes yes, no problem. Wants some extras on it too? Yeah, whatever you want. Go on, name it, & you can have it".

And I'd be sat there thinking "dare I ask for a Jag?"

Then he'd pour a coffee, light a ciggie, & lean forward in his chair.

"Course, if I give you a Jag, that's the same as JB over in Housing has, & his outfit earns £5 milly per year. So thats what I'd expect from you. And if you fail..........."

"Err, I'll have the top of the range Golf please John".

It's "ideal world" stuff. In practice, nah.

PS - You still see much of Mole?

Love this. I honestly think most people are incapable of working smart so they work hard instead.

I was infinitely more productive when working for myself at home than I am in an office. But I'm yet to meet a boss who doesn't assume the converse is true.

Because I went away for a long holiday in November, I worked right over Chrismas one year, barring the days the office was closed.  It was brilliant, no phones, no meetings, never got so much done.  I think a lot of this is key, some days you just get overwhelmed with meetings/group phone calls etc.  You manage to put one meeting off and somebody else puts one in the gap. It is the same at home, if the kids have gone, the phone is quiet, you can get down and concentrate, other days the wife goes "as your at home, can you find time to do a, b, c and d".   

Back in the day there was a pay dispute at work, so the union had a rule that nobody should answer phone calls (doesn't sound so bad when we all have emails).  The only people answering the phones were the managers.  Back logs that had been there for years were cleared in a couple of weeks.  Don't think the office had ever been so efficient.   

My favourite meeting I've ever been in was when I worked for a short while for a city council.

We had a meeting about how we could stop having so many meetings. It ended with us booking in another meeting to discuss it further.

There is a HUGE groundswell of opinion against email at the moment. I actually really like it and think the old days of phones were way more of a time suck.

My god I could write a book about this. Email is the biggest productivity killer around (Skype the second). I dont check my email usually for the first three hours of the work day and I can safely say that I get more done in those three hours than most of my colleagues/peers get done in a day. The average worker spends about 30-50% of their work replying to emails and at the end of the day they think they have been productive.

Because my 'next door' is based in Gib they have a lot of bank holidays and I always get a shit ton done those days when there is nobody to pester me.

When someone sends you an email, they are essentially making demands on your time.

Skype sucks too.