No, it doesn't miss the point. If you work in a progressive company that recognizes the value of excellent employees who may not want to relocate, there is no need for "serendipity and unplanned encounters." I've been quite successful working remotely. In fact, I'd say I'm more successful than the on-site writer. I'm quite visible, have a great working relationship with several VPs (which astonishes those writers who are not remote), as well as others with whom I work closely (including several remote developers as well as on-site folks).
If you work for a company who does not consider the value of telecommuting, or you are not the type of person who can discipline yourself to work at home, then obviously, it's not for you. But saying "you must be in the office to be successful" or you must be in the office at 5am to greet the president (WTH?), is, well, total baloney. ...sue On 11/23/07, McLauchlan, Kevin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Behalf Of Jones, Donna said: > > > Face time is good, but you can achieve "presence" over the phone and > via > > e-mail as well. Respond to e-mail quickly, and be prepared to speak up > > if you're participating in a meeting by phone. That makes people > realize > > that you're out there. > > But this misses the point about serendipity and unplanned encounters. > > Craig (I think) mentioned being seen and greeted by honchos whom you > wouldn't normally encounter if the encounters were not accidental. Ok, > so it's not an accident that you are in the hall to greet the boss > before sunup, but I'm contrasting that with deliberately arranged > meetings where it's deliberate on both sides. > > Invariably, individual phone calls are between individuals (duh :-) ) > thus kinda precluding the people walking by in the hall from hearing > your voice or knowing that it's you (who?) on the other end of the line. > They don't see much of your face, either. Perhaps if you remotely hacked > all their computers and substituted your passport photo for their > desktop wallpaper? > > Conference calls will involve more people, and often involve a group > congregating around a speakerphone, but you are still talking to only > the select group who were gathered for that meeting/call. You remain > invisible and unheard by anyone who's not in the room with the > speakerphone... like the owner of the company. Or, like the guy who took > over your parking spot because, well, it was always empty anyway. > > You could raise your profile by, say, parachuting into the company > picnic ... unless it was our company, where the picnic area is directly > under the 750,000-volt regional power lines... that would _really_ raise > your profile, but only once... but I digress. :-) > > Perhaps you should arrive early for your infrequent physical visits, so > you have time to pass out the premium Belgian chocolate that you > brought, or the ingratiating goodies that you stayed up baking past > midnight. > > I'll shut up now. I'm getting hungry. > > Kevin > > The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be > privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If > you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately > by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without > copying or disclosing it. > > ______________________________________________ > > Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. > New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help > technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. > > > Interactive 3D Documentation > Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com > _______________________________________________ > > Technical Communication Professionals > > Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: > http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com > Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com > ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
