I don’t know about y’all but Monday’s can be brutal and unpredictable.  Our company, Nuvo Solutions, recently moved to a new office location (a post forthcoming about that transition), and we have worked tirelessly as a team to set the new office up without compromising customer service or affecting the overall workflow of the organization.

We are making it a home away from home for our employees, as it is beyond important that our culture transcends in to the office.  With that said, this past Monday was the first day that 90% of the furniture, electronics, and overall vibe was well in place.  Walls were painted, flat screen TVs hung, carpets in place, art on the walls, you get the idea.  This process has taken a few weekends, but this past weekend was especially brutal working hours- two back to back 12-hour days getting this place as ready as possible.  We had all the windows opened in the office, letting the cool fresh air from this pleasant spring in NC flow through the house.

When we walked out on Sunday night at 11pm we noticed a faint smell, but we chalked it up to the recently overflowing trash can from the neighbor’s office and the fact that the windows were opened and probably let in a trace of the smell…we were wrong.

When Monday morning came and we victoriously threw open the doors to welcome each staff member to our newly decorated office, a stench that could only be one thing knocked us dead in our tracks in the foyer. SOMETHING HAD DIED.  We each went back outside and caught our breath.  Once we gathered our senses, we decided that we needed to go in and open all the windows and doors and “air the place out”.  It helped, but death hung in the air.

Defeated and a little queasy, I let the team know that they could go home for the day while I worked with our rental team to figure out what, and where this smell was coming from.  Resoundingly they stated “No.”

Guys, I am here to tell ya, we have one of the most dedicated teams that are super committed to working as a cohesive group.  They sprung in to action and lit more candles than I can count, gathered in the least smelly room (the conference room), sat around the table, and made a great day of it working together side by side!  I don’t know of many teams that when presented with the option to go home or stay in a funky smelling office that would choose to stay to get the tasks at hand completed in the funky office.

The smell was located a few hours later. A raccoon decided to go under the back corner of the office to pass away.  No worries, we are having a proper ceremony later this week to pay our respects.