A start up consumes all your time. You read that a lot. Attachment and bonding takes a lot of time. You read that a lot if you’re in the adoption community. These two conflicting needs were on a collision course when I considered joining Brand Thunder.

The compromise was that I would care for my daughter in the mornings and start my workday in the afternoon after my wife finished hers. It was important to my wife and I that we be the primary caregivers to our adopted daughter. The fact that Brand Thunder offered me the flexibility to do this demonstrated a high degree of trust that the founder had in the people he was bringing into the company. That trust is returned with commitment and effort.

My experience isn’t unique in the company. The flexibility extended to me was there by design and reflects Patrick’s desire to create a culture that meets the needs of the business and its clients, and serves the personal needs of its team.

The company is headquartered in Dublin, OH, but the first two people to join the team were located in Victoria, British Columbia and Austin, Texas. Finding the best people requires removing geography from the equation. When our system architect decided to relocate to the Baja Peninsula for 6+ months, it was a non-issue. The quality of work was known, his ability to execute on a timely basis proven. While the company has an office, there are no set office hours and much work still occurs remotely.

To offer this level of flexibility probably isn’t the easiest thing to do. The technology that enables it is not as good as being face-to-face at the same time in the same place. With minor changes to work habits and expectations, however, it’s completely workable. As Willie Nelson said, “it’s not wrong, it’s just different.”

It helps to have clearly defined goals, roles and process. When you know what needs to be done, it’s pretty easy to go and do it – regardless of where and when. In the end, hopefully there’s a greater good achieved. For my family, and me, that’s certainly the case.

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