The first time I walked into OhmConnect’s San Francisco headquarters last year was haunting. Instead of a hum of activity and the buzz of engaged employees, there were just empty desks and chairs. It was eerily quiet and entirely unnerving.
Fed up with hour-long commutes which wasted time and spewed carbon into the atmosphere, OhmConnect had changed to a “work from anywhere” approach. I found myself wondering, would it be possible to be productive and engaged if we mostly saw each other on Zoom calls? A couple months after my first visit to the office, I joined the Company as the new CEO. I was (and am!) incredibly excited about the team, our mission, and our prospects. But as for this remote workforce thing… well, I still had my doubts.
I don’t have doubts anymore. Remote work works. Switching to “ROhm” -- get it? Remote Ohm? -- has made us stronger, more resilient, more productive, and better able to attract top talent. But I’ve also had to learn some important lessons -- such as you can’t spend all day in your pajamas.
As thousands of organizations suddenly transition to remote work during the pandemic, I wanted to share the top five things I have learned about leading a remote company.
Statistics show that before COVID-19, about 3-4% of people worked remotely. By the end of this crisis, I would wager that many people will have learned what I have learned. Once you ROhm, you won’t want to go back to the office.
In this episode of Smart Energy, host Andrew Zoellner talks with Andrew Coray about the Inflation Reduction Act. Then, we chat with Sean Armstrong from Redwood Energy about electrification and how bad gas stoves really are. And, we answer a listener question about water heaters and give some advice on when you should replace yours.
In this episode of Smart Energy, host Andrew Zoellner talks with Curt Tongue about extreme heat, then chats with Austin, TX arborist Jesse Neumann about the challenges of keeping trees alive in urban environments. And, we take some time to answer a question about buying a new washer and dryer.
A retrospective of the first year of the Inflation Reduction Act