4. could you see yourself working in...

An Organisation Based On Flow 

​How do we go from corporate to co-operate? ​

These are stories of teamwork during my time at Pelion Homes and how we evolve as people and community together. 

​Could you see yourself working and living off-grid?
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When I first told my friends that I will be joining the community at Pelion Homes in a small village in Greece, everyone had pretty much the same reaction.

Oh, a month living off grid? Amazing!

Well... wait until you have the experience.

Living in a place that is dedicated to building a sustainable business that also aims to break the stereotypes we have build in the outside world, comes with some lessons we have forgotten.

The first one has to do with
adaptability.

​The schedule that we follow in a city, and the one that exists in a village life are very different. 

To live the way we used to years ago, means we must adapt our habits too.

Living the way our grandparents used to live, working with sustainability and organic farming and hospitality, have one thing in common. And it is one thing that many of us have forgotten in the city life.
The ability to shift priorities based on our environment.
When you live off-grid, you have one boss.
Mother Nature has her own schedule. And we have forgotten how to adapt to it.

What do I mean by that?

We live and work in a highly controlled environment.
We spend most of our time in offices that are optimised for our mental focus - with controlled temperature, comfortable chairs, minimal noise and distractions.
This is a setting that should really boost focus and engagement.

And trust me, you only realise that when you come to a place like Pelion.
You are planning a workshop? Great.
Apart from your content, you ́d better plan for everything else.
There is no air conditioning. There is little phone coverage. There is no powerpoint, no fancy digital tools for collaboration. Just good old pen and paper.


But you know what is truly great about that?

When we remove what gets in the way, we are left with what matters. And we find ways to adapt.
We find ways to flow.
But, I swear. There came a point where... 

If I heard the word flow, I was going to lose it...

The one word that kept coming up again and again and to a person coming from corporate, it was almost unthinkable. We have been taught that structure, best practices and established policies are the building blocks of success.
For a highly-efficient organisation or person, the idea of going with the flow may seem almost irresponsible. Going with the flow may be associated with not having a destination, a goal.
But it is also an expression of freedom and adaptability.

It was also the reason why many of the people here had decided to leave the rigid structures of the corporate world.

They wanted to have more flow, more freedom in their work. 

Here is the thing.
We all - as individuals and as teams - need both flow and structure. The amount of each highly depends on the environment we are working in.
Working off-grid requires a much higher amount of flow.
Flow gives creativity, it gives freedom and space for self expression. It also requires the ability to adjust and to live with uncertainty. To have flow means we have to be good at adapting.
At working together. At communicating.

Working away from corporate means we truly have to learn how to co-operate.
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Johanna, my fellow colleague mediator holding a workshop at Pelion Homes 

There is something truly profound in returning to the old ways of working.
With a white board instead of a Trello board.
Without appointments and zoom calls. But face to face conversations.
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And this might be what most of us are looking for. 
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In the next newsletter...

Why young people leave corporate?
And what are they searching for?

​There is a clear shift happening.
While some people are diving deeper into AI expertise, others are selling their apartments and moving to secluded places.

There is a trend of returning to a way of living that we have left behind. So I could not help but wonder, is this just a trend or are they searching for something that

we are all missing? 

Like this article? Read this and many more, I write about self leadership in a relatable way.

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