Warning: Here is what every business needs to know about working remotely

By Dan Neff On Dec 12, 2022

ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH MACAPAGAL

In our annual planning sessions for CEOs and business owners in the region and globally, my team and I get a lot of questions about whether it is better to allow people to work remotely or not. But this question is the wrong question.

The only thing you have 100 percent control over

I have said this many times, and it bears repeating: the only thing you have 100 percent control over, regardless of the economic environment or the markets you are in, is your productivity. The productivity of yourself, and—if you are the one at the top—of your business and your people.

The quality of your outcomes depends on the quality of your questions. The right question is: For the overall productivity of my business, is it better to have people work at the office, in a hybrid setup, or remotely?

To answer this question we have to unlock the secrets behind communication.

Why communication is the basis for your success

Warren Buffett said in a video posted on Linkedin: “The one easy way to become worth 50 percent more than you are now—at least—is to hone your communication skills—both written and verbal.”

Effective communication is the basis of any successful business leader. You could be the most talented individual on the planet, but if you cannot get your vision and direction across, if you cannot take part in difficult conversations, you will not be able to lead effectively.

I remember one of our clients in Asia who had phenomenal profit increases in his business after working with me and my team for 13 months. What was the most important thing the president highlighted in his testimonial video? Not the profits. It’s the value of communication, because he learned how a leader needs to communicate to get the best out of his people, and how to empower them to collaborate at a much higher level. This allows any organization to solve any future challenges much faster and also profit from new opportunities swiftly.

The winning 55/38/7 formula

Albert Mehrabian, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California in Los Angeles, found that when people communicate feelings or attitudes, words account for 7 percent, tone of voice accounts for 38 percent, and facial expression accounts for 55 percent.

Therefore, it will be more probable that the receiver of the communication will trust the more predominant form, which is the nonverbal impact of tone and facial expression, rather than the actual meaning of the words, which only accounts for 7 percent. This has become known as “the 7 percent -38 percent-55 percent rule.”

When you look at the 55/38/7 formula, you will quickly realize that 90 percent of our communication is nonverbal. What happens when you put people on a zoom call? A lot of that communication is lost.

The ladder of effective communication: In-person is always the best because you do not lose any elements of communication. A video call is the next best thing to a in-person meeting, but already loses a lot of elements. Email or text is the lowest form of communication.

The fact that some Hollywood couples break up over text should not confuse you. It is still a stupid idea.

The best way to have difficult conversations

Why do so many executives resort to texting or emailing to resolve even the most difficult conversations? Not because it works. It doesn’t. But because it is comfortable. Most people are afraid of conflict. A lot of executives are no exception.

The most successful business leaders, however, face conflict and difficult conversations head on. They do not shy away from them because they know that challenges are like dirty laundry: if not attended to, they start to stink. Challenges only grow bigger with time.

This reminds me of one of our clients, an American family business conglomerate, where two CEOs went into a public feud over an argument. It became so bad that the entire reputation of the conglomerate was tarnished. But did either one of the two reach out for a personal meeting to resolve the issues? No. Did they at least pick up the phone and talk to each other? No.

When we came in at the request of the owners to salvage the situation, professionalize the entire organization and boost its profitability, we established a 24-hour rule: whenever or wherever any conflicts would arise, the two parties have to contact each other by 24 hours to arrange for a personal meeting.

The CEO who didn’t act as one

One of our clients, a European family business conglomerate, was in a delicate situation. The CEO was put into the position not by choice but because he was the next in line. But he had real difficulty leading difficult conversations with employees, including holding people accountable or firing them if necessary.

His solution was not so great. He either avoided the conversations at all, which meant he would not take action. Or he would resort to texting or emailing.

Neither of these was effective to resolve conflict nor hold people accountable to produce top results. He was just too afraid of conflict and too “soft” as a leader. The owner’s family requested our support to professionalize the organization, including upskilling the CEO.

How did we solve it? In my interaction and work over decades with famous business leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, and some of the world’s most famous billionaire entrepreneurs, I have come to the realization that it is not the best use of your time to change the fundamental nature of who you are. Instead, embrace it. If you have shortcomings, and all of us do, do not try to fix them because you will, at best, get mediocre. Instead, play to your unique talents and strengths, and get people to support you in the areas where you are weak.

We applied this secret formula and placed another executive whom the CEO trusted beside him for all difficult conversations that needed to be had. And this executive was an absolute hardliner, the opposite in character. This way, the CEO could still fulfill his duties but does not have to succumb to his weakness. He could save face by not avoiding the situations that caused him discomfort. And the business could finally act on all those uncomfortable decisions that needed to be made but were difficult or unpopular. The result? The business started to thrive and became much more profitable.

Remote or not remote? That is the question

Now back to our starting questions. By now it should have become clear to you that all in the office, not remotely and not a hybrid, is the best option for you because the productivity of your business will be maximized.

Is that always possible? No, because the demands of employees have changed. People have become more demanding, self-entitled and capricious post COVID-19. You will not always be able to force everybody into a 100 percent office situation. But keep that goal—and the science behind it—in mind as your north star.

Three to thrive

The only thing you have 100 percent control over is your productivity.

Ninety percent of our communication is nonverbal.

To have all employees work at the office is best because the productivity of your business will be maximized. INQ

Tom Oliver, a “global management guru” (Bloomberg), is the chair of The Tom Oliver Group, the trusted advisor and counselor to many of the world’s most influential family businesses, medium-sized enterprises, market leaders and global conglomerates. For more information and inquiries: www.TomOliverGroup.com or email

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