“Honeymoon experiences cannot be sustained. We must always return to the ordinary.”
– Richard Rohr
Fancy: going “offsite”
Boring: better meetings
Fancy: brainstorming sessions
Boring: asking people how things could be better
Fancy: bean bags, free food, relaxation chambers
Boring: a clean, well-lighted workspace
Fancy: (pointless) performance reviews
Boring: regular, meaningful conversations
Fancy: for us to win, they have to lose
Boring: working hard, being generous
Fancy: “we need more creative employees”
Boring: “we need leaders who know how to access human creativity and put it to work for the business”
Fancy: email, text, Slack, etc.
Boring: picking up the phone, walking down the hall
Fancy: mission, vision, values posters/placards/videos
Boring: modeling the mission, vision and values
Fancy: company parties, generic “thank you’s”
Boring: specific individual/team recognition of good work
Fancy: the “open door” policy
Boring: getting out of the office to see what’s going on
Fancy: “high potentials”
Boring: we hire authentic, talented people; we teach them our culture; we help them grow or we help them move on
Fancy: the “suggestion box”
Boring: an environment in which people freely share ideas without fear of recrimination
Fancy: being the boss
Boring: being a human who cares about helping other humans achieve awesome things
*What would you add?*
DAVID BERRY is the author of “A More Daring Life: Finding Voice at the Crossroads of Change” and the founder of RULE13 Learning. He speaks and writes about the complexity of leading in a changing world. Connect with him on Twitter at @berrydavid.
