Nine months ago, as I was preparing to leave my position as vice president of sales & marketing for an information security software company, I took one of my sales managers to meet a prospective client. When I explained to the prospect that I was leaving the company to start my own consulting firm, my sales manager (not knowing I had already secured office space) piped up,"Yeah, she just wants to work in her bathrobe and fuzzy slippers!" Knowing that he would have never made such as comment about a male boss, I was infuriated at his disrespectful remark and quickly corrected the facts with the prospect.
My initial reaction to such a remark was anger and indigation. However, once I was away from the company of that individual, busy building my new firm and happy serving a handful of satisfied clients, I pretty much forgot about the remark...after all, that person's opinion was really irrelevant.
Today, I developed a new appreciation for what my former subordinate said. If I could see him today, I might even thank him for his insight! You see, his comment was made ahead of Hurricane Ike, Swine Flu and the "great flood" that deluged my northwest Houston neighborhood last week.
Immediately after Hurricane Ike, when the city of Houston came to a virtual standstill in the wake of its severely damaged infrastructure, I was able to keep working...from home, in my "fuzzy slippers". As a result, I got a client immediate news coverage for their assistance during the storm.
During last week's severe thunderstorms, I was unable to leave my neighborhood due to high water on all of the major thoroughfares surrounding me. While others made 2-hour attempts to drive to their offices, only to be forced to return home, I was able to continue working on a placed article for an oil and gas industry publication that will position my client as a technology leader in its field...all written in the comfort of my "fuzzy slippers".
Today, I was driving my daughter to preschool and noticed there was not a single car in our neighborhood elementary school parking lot. Sure enough, they had been closed due to a student contracting the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. I thought about all of the parents struggling to find care for their children, who are being kept home for two weeks, and what would happen to their jobs if they were unable to get to their workplaces. I then realized just how lucky I really am. Yes, I have an office, but I don't have to be there every day. I have the luxury...yes, the privilege...of occasionally working in my "fuzzy slippers"! It works great for me, and great for my clients. I don't need to go to an office to make things happen; my "office" is wherever I am, and for times like these, that makes a lot of sense!
Gen. 50:20
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