Excellent rant about some of the new ideas of productivity vs the old.
I'm on the cusp between these myself -- I've been on-line for nearly 15 years but at the same time I still retain enough of the old-school mentality to feel guilty when I'm doing things like this right now -- writing in my blog.
Busy: Show your face during all standard working hours.
Burst: If you produce what you need to, we don’t care when you do it or how long it takes.
No kiddin' on this one. We all know lots of the old guard that put in 60 hour work weeks and look down on those that don't. I've spent the last few years making sure I am a mobile worker, capable of telecommuting and working anywhere. I'm in the office when I need to be, not when I'm supposed to be. When I'm done, I try to go home (within reason).
Busy: Immediate response to email required.
Burst: Use better ways to communicate when available including blogs, wikis, IM, chat rooms, SMS, and RSS.
Gotta admit: I'm still an email fanatic. The 'berry doesn't help -- I do treat email like IM. But I do rely on RSS and my blog heavily.
Busy: Manage the hierarchy inside your company.
Burst: Connect laterally outside your department and company.
They are bang on here. Heirarchy is dead and lateral relationships are everything. I can go and talk to anyone from 3 levels above me to 3 levels below. Why do they listen? I hope it's because I get things done because I have relationships with the doers in and out of our company.
Busy: Always available during working hours.
Burst: Declarative availability.
'Nuff said. The 'berry is a tool, and like any tool it's how you use it. I try to be transparent and always available during working hours. Sometimes even on days off. But when I don't respond, I don't. On the same topic, what is personal and what is private? I let my work and home life blend quite a bit, and I think it works.
Busy: Web surfing is bad.
Burst: Web surfing fertilizes and seeds the soil of the mind.
What is work? As I progress and grow I ask myself this all the time. Am I working as I write this?
Busy: Long-term planning rules.
Burst: Try agile experimentation and fast failure instead.
Gotta have both. Put a stake in the mud for a long term plan and experiment with it; moving the stake when required. Always fail forward.
http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/04/19/busyness-vs-burst-why-corporate-web-workers-look-unproductive/
