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Still, there are some tactics you can use that we have found effective in introducing a ROWE to someone who has never heard of the idea. And so, in the hope that you’ll go forth and multiply, here is the

Cocktail Party-Backyard BBQ-Watercooler-Bus Stop-Family Reunion Guide to Talking About a ROWE

1. Talk about how work sucks.

Whenever we talk about a ROWE we keep ideas like the 13 Guideposts for later in the presentation. If people aren’t ready for ideas like every meeting being optional, or that you can go see a movie on a Thursday afternoon, they can shut down. So we start by talking about how work sucks.

Your goal here is to listen and to guide, not to lecture. The trick is to let the person you’re talking to discover the one thing for them that really ticks them off about work. It might be their company’s break policy. It might be the fact that they get Sludge for being late because they have a long commute and it’s hard to get in “on time.” It could be anything and everyone is different, but everyone also has something about work that angers them, that they connect with on a very emotional, visceral level. If you get them beyond the kind of run-of-the-mill bitching that we all engage in, you’re that much closer. If they’re riled up about work, then they might be ready for a new perspective.

2. Wonder about an alternative.

When we do our presentations we ask people to imagine their ideal state of work. What would a day look like if you didn’t have to fill hours? What would work look like if there was no such thing as being late? What if you got paid for a chunk of work and not a chunk of time?

Again your job here is not to lecture but to allow that person to discover what they already intuitively know: Measuring work based on time and physical presence is stupid.

Isn’t it funny that we reward people for putting in long hours when we don’t know for a fact that those long hours are amounting to anything?

Isn’t it funny that we rush to work every day and then spend the first hour at our desk reading the paper and drinking coffee?

Isn’t it funny that if you’re done with your work for the day at four, you can’t just leave? Why do you have to stay that extra hour and pretend to be busy?

3. Introduce ROWE.

What you want to get across at this point is that in a Results-Only Work Environment time is no longer a factor in judging performance. People get paid for a chunk of work, not for a chunk of time. Also, focus on the results. People have to do their job to keep their job. ROWE is like college. Work hard and study hard and you’ll get good grades. Party and slack off and you won’t.

Whenever we get too far offtrack in our meetings with people we always bring it back to this simple idea. Currently we are rewarding people for a mixture of time plus results. In today’s global, 24/7 economy this doesn’t make sense. Let’s reward people for work, not time.

4. Watch for the fork.

When we stand in front of audiences and talk about ROWE, there is an immediate polarizing effect. The idea that in a Results-Only Work Environment people can do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done creates strong reactions, both positive and negative. Even the idea, talked about in the abstract, of a Results-Only Work Environment is like a personality test. The gut reaction is either strongly for or strongly against, and part of your job is to pay attention to who gets it right away and who is resistant. Watch for that split and then move on to step five.

5. Work on the people who get it and don’t worry so much about the ones who don’t.

One manager was so upset by the philosophy of ROWE that they said ROWE would “bring down the company” and “make it impossible for us to become a global business.” In cases like this when you’re speaking to a group you can remain silent and let others chime in with their thoughts. Usually other people see how ROWE actually does the opposite. If you’re with only one person, smile