Thursday – April 17, 2025 #37 | What is "community" in a company? And what is "community" in a country? Every year, our company has an annual Awesome Week where we all get together. Previous years, we did it in-person but this year, we're doing it remotely. I had a few thoughts, so I thought I'd jot them down! First, We moved to only having half-day sessions– the entire morning into early afternoon. I love this. It gives me time to reflect on all the presented material. Previously, they were whole-day sessions which, for me at least, was honestly exhausting and overwhelming. Now I have a few hours in the afternoon to catch up on client work (email support, answer Slack questions, meetings) plus reflect on what I actually absorbed in the morning sessions. What I enjoy about Awesome Week every year is that it provides a platform that introduces questions; it plants the seed in our heads to think about interesting things that we otherwise may've never pondered. One question we got asked was, "What does community mean to you?". For me, I crystalize around the fact that in a community (at least in a company setting), means everyone is exerting comparable effort towards a common goal. One of our speakers said something great, "A company can compensate you for your labor. But it can't force you to bring your 'best selves' to work." So how does a company get people to bring their best selves? For me, personally, what my colleagues and peers around me do really sets the tone and culture. I believe that "no one likes being the sucker". Like, we've all been on that group project back in our school days where one person did significantly less work but everyone got the same grade. Those types of group dynamics foster resentment. After a while, if sustained, everyone starts putting forth less effort. Standards and quality deteriorate. So on, so forth. Culture is hard and culture is the glue that keeps a community together...
Thu-Apr 17, 2025
#ScreenshotEssay #37: "What is 'community' in a company? In a country?"
"It means when I show up every day, everyone else is exerting as much effort towards a common goal as I am."
1. www.archives.gov/milestone-do...
2. w.wiki/DqXN
3. youtu.be/coS2CdNd7Io
#r2025.04 #r2025 #rl37