Good morning!

I was witness to the most ridiculous algorithmic fluke on LinkedIn yesterday, when I received a lot of attention for expounding the virtues of working from home. I typed out some thoughts while I was (literally) brushing my teeth, and thought nothing more of it. Here it was:

I got some notifications on my phone that people were engaging with the post, which is nice. Then it started coming more quickly, and the comments started rolling in. Oh lord, the comments (we’ll get into that later). Some very supportive, some incredibly toxic. And a lot of them. Hundreds of opinions. When the robots over at LinkedIn headquarters realized it was a hot button, the platform served up the post to more and more people. As I write this (8p), the impression count is crossing 1 million.

This is all pretty funny, considering I’m usually speaking to a very specific audience about how magic mushrooms are better than SSRIs, and not usually engaging in super mainstream work talk. The major takeaway, though, is that people are still undecided on the merits of working from home.

If you are one of the privileged professionals that has a choice on where they work - and if you work in cannabis - here are some pointers.

🕺🏻

🚀 Three tips for working from home in the cannabis tech industry

First, some clarifications:

• Of course I acknowledge that many people in many industries are required to be physically present to conduct business

• Of course I acknowledge my extreme privilege in having a comfortable, stable, and quiet environment in which to work in my home. In retrospect, talking about golf and peloton didn’t help my case, but in my defense, I didn’t know so many people would see it

• Of course I acknowledge that people are different. Some people need an office. Cool. That’s why it should be optional

Now, here goes:

1. 👩‍💼🧑🏻‍💼👨🏾‍💼 Connect with your team everyday (and see them in person as much as is convenient and comfortable)

Working from home, contrary to some sentiment I felt today, does not mean that you cut off your personal relationships and sit in a hole listening to Vin Diesel’s newest hit on Spotify. On the contrary - successfully working from home requires constant digital touch points with your team.

At Jane, the sales team all works remote. We did that before COVID, because we’re all over the country, and that made the transition easier. We also had already developed good habits.

• Habit 1: we meet in the morning for daily standup. This is our chance to say good morning over coffee, review our day, share fun facts, ask for help. These are productive 15-minute meetings

• Habit 2: we Slack each other constantly, and hop on Zoom or the phone whenever we want. When I have a question for a teammate, I’ll Slack them. When I feel like it, I’ll call them. They do the same.

• Habit 3: we conduct weekly meetings with the broader team. At Jane, we have a company-wide meeting every Friday afternoon, where we can hear from leadership, present from our team when appropriate, and see everyone’s faces

• Habit 4: we have off-site retreats for a small team or the whole company. COVID makes this very hard, but we still try to see each other as much as possible, to each individual’s comfort level

Human contact is not lost when you work from home; it’s just transformed for the majority of your work days.

2. 🌱 Stay engaged with the community

Cannabis is social! We used to cold call dispensaries, demo in person, travel to our customer’s offices for lunch. And we’re starting to do that again. There is no replacement for a handshake, a joint, a beer, a dinner, a conversation.

We also make sure to engage the community on digital platforms like IG or, better yet, LinkedIn, which has proven to be notoriously friendly to the cannabis industry. People should know who you are, and if you’re not out in the field all the time, make sure you tell your story elsewhere.

So, even if you work from home - go to the trade shows. Shake some babies, kiss some hands. We got so much done at Hall of Flowers in one day, it was ridiculous. Closed deals, made friends. And we plan on doing the same at Unpacked.

3. 💆🏼‍♀️ Take care of yourself, and take care of your team

I wasn’t kidding when I talked about exercise and hitting golf balls. One of the greatest premiums to working from home is that you are a few steps away from disengaging with work - which is healthy.

I am busier than I have ever been in my professional life - BUT, it doesn’t feel like it’ll kill me because I have designed my days to keep my brain healthy. I wake up early and I help get my kids ready to rock. I kiss everyone and head to the garage. I prepare for the day and I get to work. When I need a break, I take it. I’ll take a phone call while putting. I’ll take a jog up the trails behind our house during a 45-min gap. I stop working at 5:15p most days, unless I have an important meeting, and I walk 30 feet to eat dinner with my family. We take a post-dinner walk. We get the kids ready for bed, I read them a story. Then I sit on the couch with my wife - if I have more work to do, I do it. If I don’t, we watch TV or chat.

^All of this is designed to keep my body and mind healthy. When I’m physically and mentally sound, I am more productive than ever. I produce more (and higher quality) work than I thought was possible, because I’m not stuck in a cage wearing wingtips.

So design your schedule to accommodate your personal needs. That’s the whole point.

*You must also ensure that your team is keeping themselves healthy. People respond differently to a remote environment - if they need office time, provide it. If they need fewer meetings, great. Listen to everyone and do your best to make them comfortable 

Bonus!

The feedback on my post was…varied. Tons of positive energy and great response, but an unprecedented flood of negativity and misunderstanding, too. Here are two of my favorite exchanges!

📚 tl;dr

• 3 for Thursday: Tips for working from home

  • 👩‍💼🧑🏻‍💼👨🏾‍💼 Connect with your team everyday (and see them in person as much as is convenient and comfortable)

  • 🌱 Stay engaged with the community

  • 💆🏼‍♀️ Take care of yourself, and take care of your team

• It is Thursday.