By David Landis, LCI President
It’s all the rage these days. Pandemic or not, businesses are looking at how they operate: should they continue to have an office, should they have a hybrid operation – or should they go entirely virtual?
Being on the cutting edge, “going virtual” has always been a part of the landscape here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s never been a case of a client questioning the validity of the business just because you operate virtually – mainly because so many businesses have been virtual out here for years.
Fast forward to the pandemic and we all went virtual. And guess what we found? LCI’s clients liked it (less commuting to meetings), our staff liked it (less commuting to the office) – and, most of all, the quality of work remained high.
So, it came as no surprise that when our lease was up (which, as it turns out, is the end of April 2021), it wasn’t a hard decision to make for LCI to leave 1388 Sutter St. We’re going virtual, permanently. Does it mean we won’t ever see our clients in person? (“No, it means more lunches out”); does it mean we’ll have a hard time finding a meeting room? (No, since our former landlord has said that as a 1388 Sutter alum, we have permanent access to the building’s conference room); and does it mean that we won’t see our staff in person ever again? (Again, no. We’ll plan outings, get-togethers, retreats and more). Plus, yes, we’ll save a bundle of money (offices don’t come cheap in San Francisco).
So, here’s to the memories – and the future. LCI is still here – and growing – just not with such an environmental footprint. If you want to get hold of us, you know all the ways: [email protected], 415.561.0888 (which will still work), @LandisComm (Twitter), LinkedIn – and our new mailing address is: 2032 Scott St., San Francisco, CA 94115.
After 30 years in business, I admit it’s bittersweet – and different – not to call an office our business “home.” Most of all, I keep asking myself, “What are we going to do with all those PR trophies?”
Do you agree? Feel free to comment below, send an email to [email protected] or tweet him @david_landis.
Related Articles:
Forbes: The Hybrid Model of Working Remotely (February 22, 2021)
Inc. Magazine: The Pros and Cons Of Working Remotely (March 24, 2021)
Insights Success: Why More Businesses Are Choosing To Go Virtual
Thanks for the blog, David. A bittersweet farewell to 1388 Sutter Street! It will be interesting to see how many other businesses in major cities decide to “go virtual” post-pandemic.
Virtual is family-friendly, earth-friendly, health-friendly!
In truth, I’m “seeing” my clients more often via Zoom from home than I ever did on conference calls from the office, which is delightful. I do not miss the commute at all. But I do miss seeing my colleagues face to face. So I look forward to a regular schedule of get-togethers for work and to socialize with both the LCI team . Here’s to adaptation and to the future!