The Results-Only Work Experiment

The Radical Idea In 2003, the Best Buy headquarters in Minnesota tried a very different idea for how to run their workplace. Instead of telling employees they had to be at the office for 40 hours per week, they said this:

The two women behind this experiment were Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler. They called it the Results-Only Workplace Environment or ROWE. Their vision was to create a place where employees could thrive and the company could still achieve its goals.

The Experiment Spreads

Over time, other companies became interested in trying ROWE too. Organizations like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, GitHub, and Trello decided to become Results-Only Workplace Environments.

Did It Work? Yes and no. (But mostly yes.)

The Positives After switching to ROWE, here's what happened at Best Buy:

• Productivity increased by 41%
• Employee turnover decreased by 90% between 2005 and 2007

Harvard Business School studied a big company that used ROWE. Employees really appreciated it and said they could never go back to the old way.

ROWE can promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion. It supports women, caregivers, and anyone who needs a flexible schedule to balance work and life. Employees have more time for family, self-care, exercise and overall wellbeing.

ROWE invites employees to think like entrepreneurs, getting creative about the best way to achieve results efficiently and work smarter, not harder.

The Challenges

ROWE doesn't work perfectly for everyone. Some people are very self-motivated and can work independently with little supervision. Others need more frequent check-ins and guidance from their boss as they complete tasks.

Doing ROWE successfully requires a big mindset shift. Each person must change deeply held beliefs about how work is "supposed" to happen, like the belief that employees who finish early just need more work piled on.

Changing these ingrained beliefs can be tricky and doesn't happen instantly.

Taking the First Steps

If you run a small business by yourself, do a mini ROWE experiment. Choose a result and deadline, then challenge yourself to achieve that result as efficiently as possible.

For example:

• Result: Bring in 5 new clients and collect $2,500 from each
• Deadline: 15 days from now

Plan out the exact steps to make this happen by the deadline date.

If you have a team, do the same by assigning each person a specific result and due date. Try it for 10-30 days, then assess if everyone achieved their goal and what challenges came up.

Be Willing to Experiment

To build a successful business, you need to experiment and take smart risks. Your next experiment could be ROWE, removing social media, profit-sharing with employees, a meeting-free day each week, or something else entirely.

Instead of instantly dismissing an idea, give it a try. Who knows what positive impact your experiment could have?

Two decades ago, two women in Minnesota tried something their company had never done before. Thousands of lives have been impacted because of their curiosity and courage.

Be willing to experiment. You never know where it may lead.