Do you know what makes this group photo special? [Part 1]

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to design digital workplaces or “offices in the cloud.” These environments enable companies to allow flexible and remote working for their teams. I also teach the digital literacy, fluency, communication and collaboration skills needed to work in these modern technology-rich workplaces.

This is team Automattic.

Here is what makes it special: Every single person you see in this picture works remotely.

That’s right. Automattic employs just over 1,000 people. The company has no offices. They are valued at $3 billion.

No offices
No lease agreement tie ins
No commutes
Able to hire talent anywhere in the world
Happy productive employees
Agile business

These are the companies of the future.

This coming decade smart currently-bound-by-an-office companies will be re-engineering their workplaces so they too can join the work-from-anywhere revolution.

At their recent Grand Meetup event, the company interviewed some of the employees in attendance. Take a listen to Episode 15 of their podcast to learn what its like to work for a fully distributed company.

(Pic Credit Paulo E. Aquino)