At 3Pillar, the first company I had the pleasure of founding, we were pioneers in our own right. With a global team already in place, we had embraced remote working long before it became the norm. When the world was upended by COVID, our day-to-day operations hardly skipped a beat. Of course, we missed the camaraderie of in-person interactions and had to ramp up our communication efforts, but our foundation in digital collaboration made the transition smoother than most.
However, the journey back to ‘normalcy’ post-COVID was a revelation. It was intriguing to observe how effortlessly we adapted to change yet struggled to recapture the essence of personal connection. In many global offices, occupancy rarely touched 10%, with our Czech offices being a notable exception.
This experience led to a profound realization as I embarked on my next venture, Knownwell. The traditional office-remote-hybrid work model seemed outdated and restrictive, like trying to fit the dynamic nature of work culture into a rigid mold. At Knownwell, we’re not just thinking outside the box; we’re redesigning it.
Knownwell is more than a company; it’s a vision of a borderless workplace. We’re not confined by the conventional remote or hybrid models. Instead, we’re pioneering a work culture that transcends geographical boundaries, focusing on harnessing global talent and fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.
Our approach is to build a seamless global community, where ideas flow freely across borders and time zones. It’s about bringing together the brightest minds, regardless of location, and leveraging their unique perspectives.
Borderless Office
Our focus is on talent over tradition. We’re breaking down the conventional hiring barriers and concentrating on what each individual brings. From the beginning, we have prioritized building a team of individuals we love working with – both because they are exceptional at what they do and are good human beings. This has led us to true diversity – of our first few team members, two are in Virginia, one in Tennessee, one in Toronto, one in the Netherlands, two in Romania, and one in India.
A typical day at Knownwell might start with a meeting with a colleague in Europe, followed by a brainstorming session with our team in Asia, and conclude with a handover to our North American team. This global relay ensures a constant flow of ideas and innovation – and a culturally diverse experience.
Reverse Vacationing
One of our most exciting initiatives is the concept of reverse vacationing. Traditionally, in the work construct that most of us have been used to, our lives are defined by a weekly grind, intermingled with an escape from everyday reality once, twice, or, if we’re lucky, three times a year. During these escapes, we seek experiences and spend time with friends and family.
At Knownwell, while we promote healthy connections with family and friends, we reject the notion that the week needs to be a grind or you can’t have incredible experiences at work. Instead of traveling once, twice, or three times a year for vacation, we’re encouraging employees to travel once, twice, or three times a year to get together with each other and have powerful experiences with their colleagues. Offsites, whiteboarding sessions, and customer visits can and should be, exhilarating and life-giving experiences.
We recently wrapped up our first in-person company All Hands meeting. The whole Knownwell team came to Virginia for a week’s worth of time together to forge connections with one another AND spend time in collaborative working sessions and Hackathons. And I know that everyone came away feeling that in-person collaboration is not just necessary, it’s unbeatable.
An Ideal Week
Facilitating a global culture requires intentionality. We’ve listened to our employees and heard, over and over, that both collaboration and focus time are critical. That’s why we’ve applied one of our favorite individual planning practices to our team – the Ideal Week. This helps foster both collaboration and dedicated time.
- Monday is “me day.”
We use Mondays to prepare for the week, plan, and prep for team meetings. Meetings are strongly discouraged on Monday though, reasonable exceptions, such as for onboarding a new employee or a quick sync for two folks whose self-planning requires the other are both acceptable. We chose Monday on purpose. We hope this prevents folks from working on Sunday to prepare for the week. - Tuesday is “we day.”
We use Tuesdays for standing meetings. We reserve Tuesdays for our management system, team meetings, 1:1s and to drive the rhythm of the business. We ask folks to refrain from scheduling outside meetings whenever possible and to consider team time “sacrosanct.” - Wednesday is “work day.”
We use Wednesdays for focused work. If this means working individually on deep, knowledge work, so be it. If it means working together on a project, that’s fine too. But move the rock forward.
Intentional Collaboration
As we build out our “offices,” they will look nothing like traditional offices. Our Headquarters in Middleburg, VA is an early test and example. A small footprint, our office is located 15 minutes from my house – chosen strategically for my convenience, but, also selected to make sure it can be a hub for other colleagues. Designed like a mini-coworking space, this “collaboration hub” is intended for a small number of people to do deep work and just large enough for us to host company meetings. We hope that it – and our future “hubs” attract folks within a nearby radius and develop into small communities.
My work environment shouldn’t be special because I’m the founder or CEO. As we grow and scale, our office dollars will go into facilitating travel and providing similar accommodations for our other employees. We hope these hubs become cultural epicenters – designed for collaboration, exchange, and learning, providing our team with a unique blend of work and cultural immersion. Places where travelers can stop in, host a meeting, use a desk, and get away from their home office or hotel room.
Knownwell isn’t just a workplace; it’s a movement. We’re redefining what it means to work in a global environment. Our approach of prioritizing talent, embracing diversity, and innovative practices like reverse vacationing are transforming not just how we work, but how we live and connect as part of a global community.
Keep an eye on the Knownwell Careers page if the kind of environment and experience we’re building sounds appealing to you. We’re frequently looking for talented team members to join the Knownwell team.
