Changing Where You Work.

Imagine a company where people really, truly want to spend time? Not in a ‘its a job’ kinda way, but in an actual real life way, as my four year old might say. “Is it actually real life?”.

What makes this happen?

We are simple beings.

We like doing tasks. We like enjoying the fruits of our efforts. We like to know what we’re doing, how and why it fits with the bigger picture. We need to know and believe in the bigger picture too, of course. We like to feel autonomous. We like to be acknowledged. We like to connect, to be part of something bigger than us. We find these things rewarding. We’re social. We are monkeys at heart. We like picking nits, we might occasionally fight but we’re a group, a troupe. We’ll fight for that too, if need be.

Groups and troupes are powerful. We draw strength from the group. We achieve more together. The group makes us feel big and strong. We are bigger and stronger together than we are alone.

If the group gets too big, it can get complicated. We’re unsure of the bigger picture. It’s harder to know your task and understand how the task supports the whole. We spend more time trying to keep the group functioning than we do in service of the bigger thing which made us feel good, which gave us the energy, which made us feel happier and healthier.

Its not necessarily a size thing. Size matters, of course.

Its about focus and clarity. Its about breaking things down to more bite size tasks. Its about stitching things together in a more effective way.

Its about unleashing what makes us effective, not constraining it.

If the troupe isn’t working well, what can we lose, cut away, simplify?