Work Cultures

Time to fire up the ride, kick out the jams and go cruising today.  A rumbling muscle car, a little Space Truckin' by Deep Purple and vapor trails in Cyberspace - does it get any better?

By way of magic and technology, I begin the day in Hawaii at Starbucks sipping hot coffee with my friend Rosa Say.  Rosa and I can discourse deep into spirituality, growing up or working at Woolworths, but today she simply tells me to check out a wonderful writer by the name of Verna Wilder .  Rosa knows that I will connect with Verna because she knows Verna admires creative writer-coach Julia Cameron.

Back in the Cutlass, I change the eight track tape to The Best of Bread and a little Baby I'ma Want You.  I roll into Colorado late morning and hook up with Verna.  Spend one minute on Verna's site and you smell the fresh morning flowers of soulful expression...

  "I like the idea of finding the shape of my life and defining it by stepping into it, and as Marilyn says, opening my heart to who I am, which means a lot of letting go of who I thought I might be or who I was trying to be. Who I am is in there already, in my heart. I find that very comforting."

...Verna's love of sculpting words to fit her thoughts is postively neon! 

"Dave, what's any of this got to do with work cultures?"

"Chill.  I've got a half tank of gas and two more tapes.  Lets get back to the Magic Carpet Ride."

Paperback Writer is just finishing up on the Kenwood as I pull into Terry Gold's  office parking lot.  Verna's directions are perfect.  Walking through the front door, something strikes me as unusual.  I think it's this conversation that I am over hearing.  Terry is talking about the office of the future .  His assistant, Angela Watson, injecting her thoughts on what should be in the office of the future:

"As part of my job as your assistant, I typically remind you of your next meeting and often times have to run around the office to locate you. My idea for “the office of the future” is to have a GPS tracking devise on you at all times that would enable me to pull up a map online and find your precise location."

pssssst, this is where the culture part starts surfacing...

The tone in Angela's voice is both serious and mischievous.  Angela's demeanor perks my curiousity.  Remember, she is talking to her boss here.  I picture Terry as an entreprenuer always on the move, a cat with a high metabolic rate.  I sort of fade back, away from their conversation and notice a matchbook lying on the floor.  This seems odd.  I get the feeling not many folks working here smoke.  Inside the cover I notice an address.  Back to the Cutlass.

The car's headers roar to life as the speakers roar The Wizard by Uriah Heep.  The song is barely over as I pull into Angela's place.  If there was any doubt before, this seals the deal.  Terry Gold has created a tremendous work culture!  Or perhaps more correctly, he has let a tremendous work culture evolve. 

As a manager, I have an enourmous amount of respect and admiration for the culture at Terry's company Gold Systems .  This type of work environment can do nothing but enhance a company's product and service!!

Well, it's been a lovely Saturday, thanks for cruising along.  Now, I think I'll go to the park .

Note:  I do not own a muscle car :(

               

Comments

[Rosa Say]

Love this Dave! Love it, love it, love it. You are such an extraordinary talent.

[Verna Wilder]

Dave, this is SO fun! Thank you for your very kind words, and that's great that you talk about Terry, too. I think he's brilliant.

This was great fun to read, a virtual road trip that made me laugh out loud. How glad I am that Rosa introduced us.

[RisingSunofNihon]

What a fantastic way to present links! I am always looking for great business-related sites, but don't have time to sift through all the offerings on my own. That's why I love it when people like you do the work for me :)

[Dave]

Thanks for stopping by Bill! Here are a couple of links to top notch biz folks who have their finger on the pulse of a WHOLE lot more biz folks and ideas:

Phil - http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/

Skip - http://www.sixdisciplines.blogspot.com/

[Dave]

Bill, I cannot seem to find your e-mail address anywhere. Please drop me an e-mail at david.rothacker@gmail.com

Thanks!

btw, a person like myself should know more about a company like Know More Media.

[Terry Gold]

I was wondering who owned that great looking '72 Cutlass that was rumbling around outside Gold Systems on Saturday. I caught a glimpse of it on the FJ Cam.

I choked on my Wendy's Big Gulp Diet Coke when I realized that you had made the connection that you did. We've erased the tracks, but good detective work!

Thank you for the kind words. I've subscribed to your blog and look forward to more of your road trips.

Terry Gold