Surface Ripples

A Radical Idea?

 I took a short trip (2 ½ days) overseas and found myself debating whether to take a tablet or laptop with me to check and respond to emails.

It made me think: we’re so dependent on computers and on being available 24/7.   We see business travellers working on their laptops in airport lounges, hotel foyers, on trains or in their own hotel rooms.  The larger hotels have Business Centres and even “Executive Floors” specifically for business travellers.

So… could hotels start thinking about linking remote access to the TVs in every room? With all the brains out there in the world, weshould be able to develop a secure system to enable us to access office email, office intranets and filing systems, and our own personal email, as well as the inevitable social media. There’ll be all sorts of security concerns (cross-border data accessibility, ID theft, industrial espionage, and so on), but I suspect that these can be overcome, if there’s a will to do so.

In my case, my trip saw me arrive at my destination late in the evening on a Thursday (after a day’s work anyway) and depart early morning three days later on Sunday. The trip was actually a pleasure trip rather than for business and the only time I could reasonably be expected to be online to answer “critical” emails would be the first full day of the trip (Friday), and half of the second (Saturday).  The temptation was simply to go with my smartphone and trust to that to answer any “urgent” emails that needed to be dealt with. Another way would simply have been to leave an “Out of Office” message saying I’d be offline.  I think I’m entitled to be unavailable for 2 ½ days (1 of which is half of Saturday and half of Sunday).

Remote delivery of all services is, in my opinion, the next stage in the evolution of the business trip.  It would result in less baggage for businesspeople and increased usage of locations (whether hotels or remote offices) that offer full remote access capabilities. Should one have need of particular files from the office, they could be carried on a pen drive/memory stick/thumb drive (whatever they’re called in your area) and carried with us, taking substantially less space and weight than a laptop or tablet computer.

Apple computers have gone some way towards this with the Mac Mini model that they produce. This is simply a CPU (19.7 x 19.7 x 3.58 cm or 8” x 8” x 1.5”) which can be connected to a keyboard, mouse and monitor (say office and home setups). The downside is that one can’t use it in any location where the latter aren’t available. However, there are remote (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth), keyboards, mice, and portable screens that can be used.  It could even be connected by cable to a hotel TV. My son has a set up with what is called a “Steamdeck” plugged into a portable monitor.  Hotels could even offer the option of a keyboard and cable to connect to the in-room TV if so desired by travellers.

One might ask, “Why not just carry a laptop or tablet then?”  Answer: if we MUST be attached to one of these devices 24/7, Ik (or maybe we need to rethink our priorities).  We’re too dependent on firing up the laptop whenever we need to do a quick change to that spreadsheet, report or presentation “on the fly”.  If work, life balance really means something, disconnecting from the world is a good start.  Some employers already operate a “disconnect” policy where staff may not receive/send emails of work-related SMS messages between certain times of day.  Nowadays, with the “Voice Recognition” facility commonly found on many smart phones, we can dictate reports, messages and speeches into our phone for subsequent forwarding or formatting when we next use our computer. This article was drafted using such an app!  Imagine: no more pen and paper or needing a typist.  We need never fear losing that inspirational thought or idea again.

Yes, this is totally off the wall and may be viewed by some as completely impractical.  For those who wish, a laptop or tablet remains an option.  This applies particularly on extended business trips, where one may be away from one’s home-base for more than (say) two working days. However, with a bit of planning and organisation, I see no reason that this might not work. 

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  

Labels: Productivity, Risk, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 18:57