David J.
Danto
Business travel
thoughts in my own, personal opinion
eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org 
Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD
NOT Traveling Blog, 3rd
Week Of January 2021
David Danto’s ongoing list of disjointed and occasionally random
observations and thoughts as we wait-out the pandemic – mostly NOT traveling
like we used to.
As many of you know, I work in the
collaboration technology industry – I help organizations and individuals
successfully plan-for and use videoconferencing and similar tools. I’ve been writing about, speaking about – honestly screaming till I’m blue in the face
about the benefits of smarter working / working from home for nearly two
decades. Some firms did get their remote
collaboration ecosystem ready for something like this pandemic, but most did
not. (As a reminder, I actually predicted
this kind of scenario – albeit with no idea how long it would go on – in my
blog in 2014.) By the time the
extent and gravity of this pandemic was finally obvious to all, just about all organizations
with knowledge workers – and individuals
– finally scrambled to get their technology ready.
Pre-COVID, the general (and totally
incorrect) opinion of remote workers was that they were “lazy” and “unproductive”
(despite the research
done that showed both of those comments to be untrue.) Infamously, firms like Yahoo
and IBM
called their remote workers back to the
office to address incorrectly perceived problems. Pre-COVID, video
and “Telepresence” systems were pitched
to global corporations because of all the “travel savings” that would
ensue.
I’ve spent over a decade calling BS on claims like those. They were simply incorrect. Scapegoating remote employees for inherently
poorly managed companies was always a smoke screen. Having technology salespeople (often
colleagues and friends of mine) preach about how much savings firms would realize
by no longer buying air travel was always a lie. I wish it hadn’t taken a devastating global
crisis to finally prove that I was right…but here we are.
What we’ve all learned throughout this crisis is what I’ve
been saying all along:
• Remote employees showed increased
productivity – to the point of complaints about “video fatigue” and very long workdays
• Collaboration
and videoconferencing technology’s savings opportunities were never really based
around reduced business travel (to clients, customers, conferences, etc.) but
rather on the significant savings coming out of the elimination of the daily commute
– both in money and in the improvement to the environment. We’ll all still fly as needed once it’s safe
again, but we won’t automatically go to an office to do individual work
anymore.
• The biggest potential savings from the
use of collaboration tools is in reduced Real Estate costs, as offices morph
from places of individual work to places that support group work.
As organizational leaders realize that knowledge workers no
longer have to have permanent workstations in a traditional office, they begin
to see the obvious – they are paying for more traditional office square-footage
then they really need. A friend recently
sent me an (unofficial and unconfirmed – so I’ve hidden the firm names) list of
rentable space now available in Manhattan, NY.
It is jaw-dropping:
These are significant changes that will drive societal
change. As I described in my
2021 predictions blog, it is like a series of dominoes – the fact that the
first few have fallen means the rest falling will be inevitable. Here are the most important ones that
everyone should realize:
So, ultimately, I don’t think that business travel – once it’s
safe again (which it most assuredly is NOT
today) – will face pressures from collaboration technology. There is ZERO evidence that that will happen. However, there is significant evidence that “the office” will never again be what
it was pre-pandemic, and that our homes and apartments will see the inclusion
of professional workspaces into the future.
As you look for your next dwelling, it likely will no-longer
be within about an hour’s train or car ride to your office. It likely will
be near what is more important to you and your family – better schools, near
relatives, as quiet or bustling as you prefer, etc. – as long as it is near an
airport. And, don’t be surprised if the
listing reads “Beautiful, furnished two bedroom,
two bathroom, two workstation residence...”
As always, please feel
free to write to me with comments or items I should add to a future Not
Traveling blog (or if you just need someone to write to.) Stay safe, be well, hug those you’re sheltering
with (but no one else) and do your best to stay positive. We’re going to be in this for a while
longer.
This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal
opinions.
All image and links provided above as reference under
prevailing fair use statutes.
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The Explanation
for my Not Traveling blogs: In 2014 I was voted
by USA Today readers as one of the top ten business travel bloggers in the
USA. Now mind you,
I turned out to be number ten on the list of ten, but I did make it on (with my
thanks to all those who voted.) Now
that we’re all stuck at home and not traveling, I had to think about what to do
with my blogs. I could stop writing them
entirely – waiting till we all get through the current COVID19 pandemic /
crisis. I could wax nostalgic and/or
complain about past trips. Or, I could
focus all of my efforts on my day job – growing the use of collaboration
technologies – especially in light of how many people are now forced to use
those tools for the first time. In
reflecting upon those choices, what I decided to do is compile an ongoing list
of observations during the crisis. Some
of these may amuse, some may inform, some may sadden and others may help. My goal will be for you to have seen
something in a different light than you did before you stopped to read the
blog. I was going to apologize for how
disjointed these thoughts may seem when put together, but then it dawned on me
that feeling disjointed is our new normal – at least for a little while.