Successfully managing regulated substances? It’s not usually in our area of expertise. Yet when it comes to handling regulated situations in the transportation sector, sure, we do that all the time.
But in the Wizarding World?
This topic arose when we were considering how to offer our team members more sustainable transportation options in the lead up to next week’s Big Green Commute competition.
We wracked our brains for a while, feeling like we were under an annoying Confundus charm. But we finally found the solution: Floo Powder and a new office fireplace.
Floo Powder: Sustainable Transportation Par Excellence
Stated traffic engineer John Schick, “Come on – our engineering team deals with transportation guidelines like the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices all the time. And our TDM specialists continually help our clients exceed mandated reductions of SOVs. Dealing with the Ministry of Magic – no prob.”
The real trick, however, was getting our hands on some Floo Powder – a strictly controlled substance.
“Finding the Floo-Pow company in Diagon Alley was one thing,” said Martin. “Getting them to part with a quantity for us American Muggles was another. But I cut my teeth in the debating world and, well – we have our ways. We call it the ‘Wells Way.’”
Some might say that adding Floo Powder to our transportation choices is anything but cutting edge. After all, the substance was invented by Ignatia Wildsmith way back in the thirteenth century. But it is a super low-carbon option, and doesn’t add any congestion to current road networks – not to mention existing transit systems.
Plus, we will boast that the price of Floo Powder has stayed constant for hundreds of years: only two Sickles per scoop. (Don’t ask us for a dollar comparison; if you can figure out Bitcoin, you might have a chance.)
As you can tell, we are pretty sanguine about this new transportation mode for our company team members. It adds to the new Star Trek and Star Wars options we recently announced. But are there any downsides? Well, we have to say, there is one possibility.
Chris Turnbull, executive vice president and a transportation industry veteran, having handled traffic, parking, planning, and engineering projects across the country, admitted: “Our executive team thought long and hard about acquiring our Floo Network. The risk of injury is real. But then, it is for any transportation mode, and these so-called ‘Faux Floo’ injuries only happen when people don’t want to pay for the real powder.”
And so, we committed to building our offices’ first Floo-enabled fireplaces.
“In the end,” explained Chris, “we decided that if a simple Brackium Emendo spell didn’t work, then the medical staff at St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries would help us sort out any problems. Having carved out a strategic partnership with them – the first Magic-to-Muggle one of its kind – helped.”
And, it’s a lot easier than offering broom-flying lessons in the office courtyard.
Our 2017 Big Green Commute Transportation Strategy
Day 1: Beam Us Up Scotty: New Star Trek Transporter Room at W+A
Day 2: W+A’s Latest Rideshare Technology: Straight from Star Wars’ Galactic Empire
Day 3: Watch Out Wizarding World: W+A Joins the Floo Transportation Network
Day 4: Carpooling Middle-Earth Style: Radagast’s Retooled Rabbit Sled
Day 5: Back to the Stone Age: W+A’s “New” Flintstone Transportation Solution