Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

Quote by Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

Work

Business Essentials

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth. more

You May Also Like

“To start building your remote culture, establish and share some basic rules. The first and most important rule is mutual trust between the company and its workers. The rules after that? As few as possible. Tell your employees they will be treated like adults with the flexibility to get the job done however is best for them.”

“Many new remote workers worry they’ll be distracted by their home life and lack the discipline to get work done. Instead, the exact opposite usually occurs: remote workers become more productive once they’re freed from a traditional office environment. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise, because working remotely means fewer distractions, no commute, and the opportunity to take real breaks. Instead of the dreaded afternoon slump, you can stay fresh and energized all day.”

“In the introduction, I wrote that COVID had started a war, and nobody won. Let me amend that. Technology won, specifically, the makers of disruptive new technologies and all those who benefit from them. Before the pandemic, American politicians were shaking their fists at the country’s leading tech companies. Republicans insisted that new media was as hopelessly biased against them as traditional media, and they demanded action. Democrats warned that tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Alphabet, and Netflix had amassed too much market (and therefore political) power, that citizens had lost control of how these companies use the data they generate, and that the companies should therefore be broken into smaller, less dangerous pieces. European governments led a so-called techlash against the American tech powerhouses, which they accused of violating their customers’ privacy. COVID didn’t put an end to any of these criticisms, but it reminded policymakers and citizens alike just how indispensable digital technologies have become. Companies survived the pandemic only by allowing wired workers to log in from home. Consumers avoided possible infection by shopping online. Specially made drones helped deliver lifesaving medicine in rich and poor countries alike. Advances in telemedicine helped scientists and doctors understand and fight the virus. Artificial intelligence helped hospitals predict how many beds and ventilators they would need at any one time. A spike in Google searches using phrases that included specific symptoms helped health officials detect outbreaks in places where doctors and hospitals are few and far between. AI played a crucial role in vaccine development by absorbing all available medical literature to identify links between the genetic properties of the virus and the chemical composition and effects of existing drugs.”

“If you are serious about having a virtual company with excellent culture, you must have the discipline to develop a hiring process that screens for culture matches and for the attributes of successful virtual workers. You can’t just hire for skills—that never translates to great culture.”