Recently I called into Crayola – a SEER client to talk to our contact there, and he was unable to make the meeting, so I got his voicemail. That voicemail ws the nail in he coffin that inspired the rest of this post.
The voicemails of our team at Crayola are often left by their kids. One voicemail for one of our contacts has his two kids on his voicemail…the first of the two kids talks about how their daddy is not there, and how we allllllways (yes they said it that way) – checks his email, then the two kids leave with a “goodbye, see ya later”.
How can you NOT smile when you hear that? How does something as small as a voicemail change how you think about a company? It does. It leaves an inprint that tells you while this is a super huge corporate entity it can still infuse some of its personality, in a non risky way, in the day to day.
It also is a reminder that our contact there is more than a “contact” he is a FATHER, with two kids that he is probably working his ass off for, so when you leave that message you can’t help but be reminded of that…he’s more than a senior level marketing manager, he’s more than someone who needs to get us a yes/no to a question, he’s a Dad. That understanding can only spill over into how you interact with someone.
You call me and get my voicemail, it talks about me kicking some “search engine booty” heck at least its what I feel and what is consistent with who I am. When I have kids, I’m totally stealing that voicemail idea.
And that leaves me to my conclusion…what are you doing in your company to remind you that the people you work with are not “widgets” or “conduits” to get what you need done and more like people with dreams that your company is hopefully able to help them fulfill?
I know once all this travel is over I am implementing something I have wanted to for ages. In each person’s desk setup, I want the top corner to be left to something they are working towards, or something that matters to them. In that way when we visit each others cubes because we “need” something, we can’t help but see what they value / are working towards.
Tying a team together is a critical part of there truly being an “us” versus a bunch of “me’s” in any company – I want everyone at SEER to know what everyone else is working towards, it could be to pay off student loans, save for a vacation, to travel the world, buy a house, see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Tokyo in 2012, or just to spend more time with a loved one.
Whatever it is, I want everyone in this company to know that, so we realize that when each of us do a good job individually at whatever our jobs are we help each other achieve their goals. That is how combined we can kick a lot more ass than as individuals.
I challenge myself daily to know why people are working with SEER, I hope implementing this idea will only help me know how doing my job well helps them achieve what they are working towards. We will see how this experiment works, but to be honest I can’t see much downside to trying.
If something like this is too big a change for you, try something smaller like this.