Over the last few days, I have drooled plenty as I have watched videos and reviews of Vision Pro and Apple’s new era of spatial computing.
Personally I would love it as my virtual “IMAX theater”, as a HUD in a vehicle, as my companion on long flights.
But I am especially drooling as I see how far we have come since I was one of Gartner’s first remote analysts starting in 1995. The technology I had back then was-a-hand me down Apple laptop, a first-gen HP multi-function printer, and an additional phone line to support 14.4K baud digital communications. So, I am thinking ahead to the next decade as this device scales down to (even) more portable form-factors, longer battery life, and more affordable pricing and of course far speedier connectivity, especially on the road and in the air.
And a lot more enterprise use cases. I can see plenty of mixed reality applications in field service, on-boarding, training and other enterprise areas but I would like to see it enable even broader white collar collaboration.
Two reasons to pause:
Having spent inordinate time on video channels the last 3 years I worry about even more eye fatigue. Being so dependent on eye tracking, Apple wants eyeglass wearers to take them off and use Zeiss optical inserts for optimal performance with the new device. Interesting that Apple has simultaneously focused on digital eye strain in the iOS17 Health Feature set.
The launch comes smack-dab in the middle of an attempt by a number of employers to re-balance the hybrid workforce mix to encourage more in-person interaction. I have a feeling if Apple had this available in 2020, lots more of us would be using it and FaceTime compared to Teams or Zoom on laptops and mobile devices.
Back to my 1995 experience. Gartner was not exactly visionary with their decision to allow my cohort to work remotely. The stubborn fact is none of us was keen to relocate to HQ in Stamford, CT. Instead, I had to commit to relocate to a compromise location, Atlanta, within 12 months. I spent most of the first few months commuting to HQ learning the ropes. However, Gartner was a smart organization with tons of data. They could measure analyst productivity seven days to Sunday – number of client query calls, number of pages of new content generated, new presentation slides created etc. As part of my 6-month review they had enough data to see our remote cohort was off the charts in productivity and they listened to that data and told me to stay put in Tampa. As my boss told me “I can put the relocation budget to better use.” In the three decades since, while Gartner’s competitors stubbornly stuck to relocation policies, Gartner made remote work part of its culture, and expanded it to international recruiting and other talent sourcing.
I hope more companies who are mandating back to work are similarly smart about metering the hybrid-work mix and not just letting real estate economics and management egos drive the in-person time. And one smart technique for them will be to invest in Vision Pro pilot project. They need to see if they can get their productivity which should balance out commute time, family demands and other reasons staff prefer to work at remote locations. That will need a lot of metering and a lot of technology. Honestly, it is a shame that few HCM groups have evolved their talent metering over the 30 years since Gartner showed it could be done to measure a high-functioning, white collar role. Now is a good time, and Vision Pro could be an enabler.
And by the way, my experience at Gartner was a stark contrast to my previous experience at PwC which was was more of "drop everything and meet a client in person" culture. I have learned to work from anywhere - in an aisle seat, at a Starbucks, at hotels, at events. Six million air miles on Delta and others , over 1800 Marriott and 1500 elsewhere nights, over 500 Avis car rentals, visas from over 75 countries are proof of that.
Today's younger workers need to be similarly flexible. It is frustrating to see intransigent bosses and employees tussling over where and how to get work done. Just do it - ffs!