Workplace Economies Podcast

ITO Special Guest: Dr Jeff Standridge (Part 1)

Special Guest: Dr Jeff Standridge
In our latest interview, we had the pleasure of sitting down with an extraordinary individual who wears so many hats.
As a growth strategist, Dr Jeff Standridge has helped businesses thrive in competitive markets, uncovering hidden opportunities and charting new paths to success.
In his  role as an innovation consultant has sparked groundbreaking ideas, revolutionising industries and challenging the status quo. 
But that’s not all! As a best-selling author, Jeff has penned insightful books that dissect business trends, leadership and the art of navigating change.
His passion for guiding the next generation of entrepreneurs shines through as an educator, empowering future leaders with practical knowledge and critical thinking skills. 
And let’s not forget their financial acumen! As an investor, Jeff makes strategic bets on startups and disruptive ventures, turning risks into rewarding opportunities.
Lastly, he somehow finds free time for a private passion, flying. Jeff is also a pilot. 
 There is simply so much covered, we had to turn this interview into two parts. 
In part one we look at:
Hybrid working
Performance management
Investing and supporting start-ups
Leadership
Much more...
Extra Comment
As Jon was away in South Africa with the GB Long Range Rifle Team, he wasn't available to be on the recording. Instead, Jon joins afterwards and shares his reflections on Jeff's interview with insightful and thought-provoking comments.
Stay tuned for our exclusive interview, where we delve into their journey, wisdom and the secrets behind Jeff's multifaceted success.
Jon and Adam
 
Jeff's best selling books:
Creating Startup Junkies
Top Performers Field Guide
Reach Out to Jeff
LinkedIn

ITO on Hybrid Working at The Homeworker May 2024

In Episode 7 of intheOffice Cast, Jon is a special guest on The Homeworker podcast with its founder, Louise.
Between them, they talk about the definition, challenges and benefits of hybrid working, discussing how hybrid working can improve productivity, creativity and well-being. In addition, how it poses some difficulties in terms of communication, coordination and trust - for individuals and for professionals like office managers and HR teams.
This podcast also examines the role and design of the office in a hybrid world, suggesting that the office should be flexible, attractive and supportive of different types of work and people. 
The Homeworker
The first magazine dedicated to helping you thrive when you work from home.
The Homeworker was founded to inspire you to make positive changes that will help you achieve a happier, healthier, more fulfilling work life.
Louise, its founder, has created a print magazine and a digital platform catering to the modern homeworker: freelancers, business owners, remote and hybrid workers.

ITO Leaders Unplugged: Insights & Anecdotes

In Episode 6, Jon and Adam turn the tables on each other to find out a little more about how each of them thinks about business and personal subjects - enabling you to get to know each of them a little better.
These two entrepreneurs talk a little about the story of how they met, a little back story on their careers to date, imposter syndrome, having fun as they work as a pair of nerds, Jon debugging and Adam working on telling stories. They also talk AI and the future and even share a few secrets about their personal lives.
Take a short while out of your day, while at the gym or walking the dog to see the brains and creativity of the senior leadership team at intheOffice.
 

Hybrid & Remote Working is Not Fair, Right?

After reading recent comments from leading blue chip CEOs about remote working and hybrid working not being "fair" or worse "a fantasy", Jon and Adam look deeper into these headlines to understand what is really being said. What do these CEOs really mean and are we only getting part of the story?
If these interpretations or reports are accurate and these business leaders are in fact denouncing hybrid working, are they making a more general statement or are they simply arguing the case for the corporations they lead. So, in fact, protecting the organisations they are responsible and accountable to and for. 
We hope you enjoy episode 5. Please like and subscribe to get more content.
Jon & Adam

Is Culture a Place or a Mindset?

A mass return to the office is being hailed as the proverbial glue that holds a business culture together. Jon and Adam totally disagree and site this is a paradigm born from fear and the desire to control, partially due to the prevailing financial climate. Of course, there could be more insidious reasons, as we wrote about in our recent blog: Fear and Loathing in Las Boardroom - https://www.intheoffice.io/articles-news/fear-and-loathing-in-las-boardroom
But Jon and Adam believe business culture, like faith, can be nurtured anywhere as it stems from the Mission, Vision and Values of a business. A culture lives and grows inside everyone and can be organically grown and multiplied. But it needs strong leadership and investment, at all levels, holding to those values.
Though a place is important for people to evolve elements of a culture, and can be a 'spiritual home' and used for necessary practical purposes, if emanating from the vision and mission that culture can be spread far and wide - many remote-only organisations thrive post pandemic.
The key is creating a safe environment for the culture to grow from led and enabled from the top.
Enjoy the full video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@intheoffice

What Problem Does Desk Booking Solve?

With desk-booking software the go-to solution for managing hot desks and office spaces for hybrid and remote workers, Jon and Adam question whether it takes into account the need of the individual as well as the CEO, Manager or HR professional it was designed for.
You may know who is in the office, but what about those working from home or the remote sales team? In short, is it a fix to the right problem?
Jon and Adam believe that a more people-focused approach that understands the challenges at a deeper level, across stakeholders and users, enables evolving hybrid working policies more inclusive and ultimately more effective. A solution that is intuitive, meets people where they are at and can easily be led by senior staff as a cultural necessity. And the key is buy-in from the bosses and continuity of message and usage.
This all sounds easy, but any leader will know that people generally resist change - for changes sake - and slow is fast is a good mantra.
Watch the full video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@intheoffice

The Office As A Productivity Tool!

In this episode Jon and Adam discuss the potential of changing our paradigms around how we, and those professionals managing hot desks and office spaces for us, approach offices spaces.
With offices being put back on pedestal by CEOs from some leading organisations, many siting offices needing to be protected as they are the cultural epicentres of a business, and the sole place that true work gets done. We disagree and believe there is a better way...
With over 15 years in product development, Jon Kent shares how looking at the office this way can change the mindset of hybrid and remote working, completely re-imagining how office spaces could serve people and businesses better. This in turn would make office managers and facilities managers more product managers, if only in approach.
With a new paradigm around the office as a tool, this could be enough to meet and dispel the fear around productivity, business culture and flexible working many leaders are displaying.
See the full video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@intheoffice

The ITO Story

In this, our first new Podcast episode, Jon Kent and Adam Scorey talk about starting up a software business in a post-pandemic world after looking for a solution to a problem awe are still facing - making hybrid and remote working about people and not offices.
Our software/app, intheoffice, was developed as a better way for desk booking, hot-desking and generally managing office spaces to able CEOs, HR and IT professionals and Facilities Managers to think about the office as a product, a tool to do a job - or many jobs - with the crucial ingredient being people come first. The end in mind: make hybrid working simple and data driven.
With CEOs and some business leaders calling for returns to the office, post pandemic promises have been u-turned and some businesses are struggling to make hybrid and remote working seem productive.
In this Podcast, Jon and Adam talk about why starting a software business creating a solution that fix the challenges people face first, an app that encompasses more than the office as place to be productive, all while create data for those who care about the office can make decisions based in data and not fear.
Check out our full video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@intheoffice