THINK ACT

very well so far. But it’s also a symbolic principle, because one
small company not flying isn’t going to make a whole lot of
difference to carbon emissions.”
Leyland hopes other companies will want to follow suit. As
an active member of Britain’s Green Party, he’s deeply concerned
about the effects of climate change, and has undergone a Damascene
conversion since his jet-setting days when he worked for
a variety of technology companies. “A lot of business flights are
inefficient and expensive, and a lot of meetings are a completely
unnecessary waste of time.”
The flying ban also ties in nicely with the purpose of Leyland’s
business, giving workers, freelance or otherwise, the
freedom to leave their homes and offices for a different, less
restrictive environment. The technology WorkSnug uses could
help reduce business travel and its impact on the environment.
So how does the flight ban work in practice? WorkSnug works
closely with Internet telephony service Skype, which plays an
important part in its business and is currently carrying out a
free trial of Cisco’s TelePresence teleconferencing service. In
Europe, employees take the train to meetings; Leyland has
already been to a dozen countries, from Norway to Spain, which
has entailed buying a lot of expensive tickets and spending a
lot of time on station platforms at 5 a.m.
How it works
“There’s no real modus operandi for having a company where
nobody flies,” Leyland says. “You just don’t do it.” He doesn’t
have a written strategy, he doesn’t employ consultants to tell
him how to do it, and if it has caused problems, he’s not aware
of them. He’s not worried about missing out on business opportunities
as a result, and potential foreign business partners
are sympathetic when he explains why he can’t meet them face
to face. “Of course, Skype and TelePresence aren’t as effective
as meeting people in the flesh, and technology can’t reproduce
the feeling of direct human contact.”
Last April, nine British investors contributed EUR 130,000
to expansion funding, and Leyland has just rented an office in
London. Ironically, the office is still largely empty; he’s trying
to abolish the workplace as we know it.
Isn’t there a risk that WorkSnug could end up like any other
company, complete with watercoolers and airmiles? Well, it
seems unlikely at the moment. Leyland’s principles did come
under fire once, when he wrote a guest article for the website
TechCrunch.com in July 2010. “If a global company doesn’t fly, it
won’t crash land,” he said. There were some positive comments,
but other readers were furious, accusing Leyland of hubris. One
wrote: “If the idea of a flying ban is really so important, you
should think about the hardware you developed your app for,
and how it got to you and your users.” Richard Leyland is an
idealist, but he’s also enough of a realist to know that you can’t
solve all the world’s problems all at once.
THINK
ACT: FLYING BAN
Working smarter – Richard Leyland’s
golden rules for mobile working
Work isn’t a place you go to, it’s
something you do. Here are some of
the principles that WorkSnug follows:
1/ Being aware is more important than being
disciplined. Office workers work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
are always available, but they can work smarter.
���Identify your most productive times, and structure
your day accordingly.
���Be willing to dip in and out of work several
times a day.
���Tell your colleagues when you’re available and when
not to disturb you.
���Learn when and how to take breaks. Many mobile
employees let their work control them. Switch off
your phone or computer and take a walk, use
separate cell phones for home and work, change
into a different outfit when you finish for the day.
2/ Selling your time, efforts and presence for money
is a hopelessly outdated business model. Trust is
what matters most.
� Be prepared to judge and be judged by others on
the basis of results.
� Be honest about where you are at any given time.
If you’re at the gym at 10 a.m., so what? Achieving
the right work-life balance is an important part of
the deal.
� Trust your colleagues. There are no half measures
where trust is concerned, and that trust must be
mutual.
3/ Be part of the community. If you’re lucky enough
to escape the institutionalized office environment
and emerge blinking into the big wide world, then
get involved. Use online and offline networks to
connect and work with others, get used to the idea
of social capital – the value of all your connections –
and make it a bigger part of your life.
4/ Love your job. If it’s not fulfilling, and you’ve lost
the office-based social structures that make boring
work tolerable, you’re going to have problems.
You can’t create all of your own motivation – some
of it must come from others.
THINK ACT SEPTEMBER 2011 53