December 2000: Moving

Despite having a stock price that crossed into single digits, and lacking a CEO, Mercator still spent money like it was 1999. Our office was moved from an average, yet expensive, building to a new majestic one that was even more expensive.

Our new home was in the Bannockburn Corporate Center. Parts were still under construction at the time and we were one of the first tenants. The place was amazing - glass hallways with views of a neighboring wooded area, fireplaces, kitchens nicer than the average home's, and of course $500 Aeron chairs for everyone. There was an underground parking garage but we had a limited number of spaces so we rotated the parking pass every week. On top of all that, we dished-out for the breakfast catering service in the building. It was just mind-blowing to think how much we spent on this facility. To be fair, we probably negotiated the contract back when the company was worth billions and didn't move in until our wing was ready.

The only complaint anyone had was the new open cubicle environment. We were all accustomed to cubicles with 6ft walls and tons of privacy. The new office sported desks with virtually no separators. Everyone, myself included, hated it. Today is a different story though. I've found that development teams really do work better in a lab or open environment. There are occasional moments of friction but the productivity gains are tremendous.

12/18/2000 - NASDAQ: MCTR - $4.31