Feedback – November 2011 issue
Solitude can pay off big
Your September editorial was well-written and right on point (“Editor’s Note,” September 2011). In sympathy with your comment that “One problem with solitude is that it looks unproductive,” I submit the following anecdote:
The CEO of a large consumer products company was showing a guest around the executive offices. As they walked from office to office, the CEO would pause and briefly describe each occupant’s role in the company. Upon coming to one door, the guest looked inside to see a man seated, with his feet up, at a neatly kept, nearly empty desk, his hands clasped behind his head, staring out the 37th-floor window to a fantastic vista of the city. The guest asked, “Who is that?”
“Oh, that’s Tom,” replied the CEO. “We just leave him be. One day, five years ago, while staring out the window just like that, he came up with an idea that increased the company’s annual profits by a billion dollars.”
Curtis Beck,
Manager, Energy Services Department
Hawaii Electric Light Co., Hilo
Coworking’s a great idea
It’s great to finally read about coworking in Hawaii (“Cheap Office + Collaboration = Coworking,” September 2011). Thanks for sharing the info about The Box Jelly, which reminded us of “Jellies,” the informal collaborative groups that were in many ways the precursors to coworking spaces.
To learn more about coworking, check out Deskmag.com, CoworkingGuide.com and Shareable.net.
