New country (well, I’m returning to the one that I left). New city. New department. New commute.
All things considered, my relocation went well, though Hans was a little optimistic about my ability to get everything in the right place. Because my hairbrush is still in storage, I needed to purchase a new one. I underestimated the weather change and didn’t have the right shoes to wear with skirts in London. Nevertheless, it’s a reason to get some new shoes!
My commute is horrible while I’m in temporary accommodation. It’s difficult to sleep on trains because of the constant announcements. A new offense is the addition of the message ‘this coach 3 of 12′ after every announcement. Morning and evening, although mainly evening, I can hear the plans of fellow commuters. I will often read the laptop screens or documents of those sitting next to me if I feel curious.
I used to work in an office that had two meeting rooms. Meeting Room A and Room B were on the same floor. It was a great place to be part of the discussion. We would meet in Meeting Room C, a cafe in the town, whenever we needed to get out of the office or have an informal discussion.
There are many benefits to having your meeting outside of the office:
A more relaxed environment usually leads to more open discussion
This creates a sense of community among team members, particularly useful when building project teams early on or when project managers are not working together on the same project.
A change in setting can encourage creativity.
You should be cautious when having work discussions outside of work. Meetings off-site, whether they take place on a train or in a coffee shop, can have their disadvantages. Your meeting may be in public and anyone can hear it.
A Metro columnist reported on Thursday that a woman gave her address and debit card details to a utility company by phone while she was riding her train. Multitasking is great, but you need to be careful about what information you share in public places. You can choose where you place your personal tolerances. If you feel the need to share your bank details with everyone, then go for it. However, you should be more cautious about company data.
Meeting Room C is my personal term for an off-site meeting held in a public space. Meetings like this require more planning and thought than just taking your cup of tea to a meeting.
You never know their role at your company, but people can and will listen in. Naked Conversations’ authors report that they once heard someone from another organisation discussing strategy on a plane trip. This was very useful to learn about the activities of the opposition.
You can reduce the risk of disclosing company secrets while still enjoying meetings at your local coffee shop.
Do not leave copies of agendas, minutes, or other corporate paperwork at the meeting site. You can take your rubbish with you to the office and dispose of it there
You should always place your laptop where others can’t see it. This is a meeting you should not attend unless you are traveling.
Ask your team to be discreet. You don’t need to mention your company name in every sentence. Don’t shout, which means you shouldn’t choose a location with background noise that makes it difficult to raise your voice.
Give your project a codename. Project Watson is more obscure than the India Outsourcing Project.
Finally, remembe