Taking stock during shelter-in-place
For five weeks now, the team at A Hundred Monkeys has been working remotely. Over the years we’ve put a lot of thought and effort into how to work well as a team, whether or not we’re in the same place. We already have a strict policy about not coming into the office if you feel even the slightest bit under the weather, and last year we started work-from-home-Wednesdays. With all of the available information at hand, we made the decision to start working remotely full-time about a week before Bay Area counties ordered everyone to shelter-in-place.
The work we do translates fairly well to social-slash-professional-distancing. While we like spending time in person with our clients whenever we can, geography often means we can only meet virtually—even before this whole coronadebacle. While we may not be working at our full capacity this month, we all have our fair share of client projects in progress. And beyond that, we also have some newfound spaciousness in our days.
So we’re doing what anyone with some extra time has on their hands: we’re cleaning house.
While some people have been using this time to tend to their sourdough starter or otherwise make various messes in the kitchen, some of us have been on a bit of a cleaning frenzy. I, for one, went through my closet, took an inventory of my freezer and pantry, dusted every single book on my bookshelves, and reorganized various collections of miscellany that seem to assert themselves wherever there are drawers. There is something both compelling and calming about these projects. Many things on the near-term horizon are outside of our control at the moment, which makes this a very good time to take care of things which are in our control.
At A Hundred Monkeys, this means taking stock of the proverbial “everything” drawer: our website. Sure, we’ve done a few redesigns over the years. And some tuning from time to time in between. But does it really represent the team we’ve become? Or the best work we’ve done?
A Hundred Monkeys turns 30 this year. We have a saying around these parts: Branding is just like life. Which in this case means a business in its “thirties” has a lot in common with a person in their thirties. You have a better sense of who you are. You’ve learned from your experiences — good and bad — and you’ve grown into something else as a result. You’re no longer worried about impressing everyone, because you’re rather busy and besides, you already know who your people are. You’re not spending too much time thinking about the past, or worrying about the future. You’re focused on the rhythm of your days, a rhythm that rather suits you, because you’ve designed it in such a way that allows you to do the work and show the world what you’re made of.
When all is said and done, we will have a lot to celebrate as soon as we get the chance to congregate in close physical proximity again. A new website, a new edition of Don’t Call it That, the release of Go Name Yourself, and thirty years of projects that have taught us who we are. Consider this your invitation to the party — date TBD.
