We’re moving! Well, sort of...
When the pandemic began, I, like many others, thought we would be going virtual for a few weeks, maybe a couple months. I thought “we can do anything for a couple weeks and we’ll be back to business as usual in no time.”
Wrong. I was totally wrong.
But, when we left the office on Friday the 13th, I tried to prep the team that we really didn’t know how long it would be before we got back to the office. Weeks turned into months and we started to settle in. Zooms and Google Meetings are not the same, but it allows us to virtually see each other every day. Weekly “homeroom” morphed into daily virtual standup. TGI4 turned into Zoom meetings that sometimes go well into the evening. And, we haven’t missed a virtual beat.
When we were faced with the decision to renew our lease for our office we took a look at how we would make it work. We’d need to spread out, wear masks, try not to congregate or have meetings and it started to present itself as a decision that didn’t make a whole lot of sense - financially or health-wise. We polled the staff and most everyone agreed.
So we decided to lean in on the virtual / WFH lifestyle. And again, if you asked me if I would have EVER thought this would happen I would say no way - but it just felt like the right choice to keep everyone safe.
There’s a lot that we’re all going to miss about being in the office. Most importantly, each other and the daily interactions in person. And we have had some amazing memories in that space. But, we’ll add some social distancing field trips, driveway TGI4s and we might even try to hold more outside meetings with partners and clients that are comfortable with that. Most importantly, the work will be just as awesome as it has always been.
We’re moving semipermanently into our home offices, spare bedrooms and yes, even back into the basement (throwback to 2009). We now have offices all over Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, not just downtown. And, sometime soon we’ll be back in an office all together - with more flexibility, and a totally new environment. In the meantime, don’t mind our barking dogs, cat photobombs and kids jumping into the frame as we work the new normal.