🖌️ Let's Write an Article on Culture together at March 13th's Newsletter Club
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🔊 Press Play to listen to me narrate this edition. Happy listening! ☎️ Hello. It’s Julia. Thank you for dialing into The Switchboard where I explore the ways we communicate and connect at work and beyond.
To celebrate Year 3, I’ve been hosting Newsletter Club conversations. It’s similar to a book club, except we read and discuss several articles published here. In one hour, you’ll meet each other, learn about a topic, share reflections and hopefully discover new strategies to take with you.
The third and final (for now) session is on March 13th. The focus of our time — how to transform work culture. I’m keeping these sessions intentionally small, please reserve your seat soon. I hope you’ll join us for this live experience.
We'll draw from three articles to kick off our conversation and go in creative directions. The first session inspired a follow-up article on Starting an Executive Story Bank with 24 Questions.
Let’s plan on doing that again with your thoughts on culture! Be ready to share ideas, reflections and suggestions. Here’s the agenda and questions to prompt our discussion:
🧊 Ice-breaker: What’s your favorite culture initiative or program? It could be an experience you participated in, read about or organized.
📰 Highlights from The Switchboard: Hotdog Hospitality, Mistakes and LEGO Ideas — I’ll give a brief overview of each of these articles on our call to kick off the conversation.
Q1: How do you foster hotdog moments at work?
Q2: What lessons can we learn from the Restaurant of Mistaken Orders?
Q3: How can we bring a LEGO Ideas approach to culture?
Q&A: Open dialogue
Takeaways: What’s one learning from our conversation?
As you share thoughts, I’ll facilitate and take notes of your awesome ideas for a future article for this newsletter. You’ll get recognized for your contribution. I’m looking forward to learning and sharing.
Here’s a preview of what’s on our “menu” with food for thought on culture from restaurants and brick builders:
🌭 Take a Hot Dog Hospitality Approach
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara was my favorite book of 2023. He tells the story of how a hotdog transformed his approach to customer service. It inspired me to share the lesson and look at what we could learn from these restaurants:
🥪 Zingerman’s: Welcome Guests Back and Thank the Thankers
🗽 Emma's Torch: Hire Thoughtfully and Encourage a Taste of Home
🚌 The Grey: Reimagine the Past and Embrace the Hard Conversations
🧇 Waffle House: Focus on the People and Support Your Community
📮 The Lost Kitchen: Share Stories of Resilience
🍮 Treat Mistakes Differently
You can’t send your meal back to the kitchen, even if it’s not what you ordered here. The servers are people with dementia and the customers accept and appreciate them in a way that teaches us to choose your reaction.
🙏 Treat Everyone with Kindness
❣️ Accept People For Who They Are
♟️ It’s Ok Not To Be Perfect
😂 Choose Your Reaction
🍜 Enjoy The Moment
🧱 Build Inspiration from LEGO Ideas
Our work doesn’t have to be done alone. It’s more impactful and meaningful with others. Here’s how to approach building a community with inspiration from LEGO:
🛣️ Create Communications Channels
📣 Treat Employees like Fans
💡 Invite Ideas from Experts
🧰 Empower Employees with Tools to Create
🎨 Tap into Community
💰 Reward Team Members
🏄♀️ Keep The Momentum
🌲 Embrace Growth
🧪 Create a Lab
🧱 Complement Each Other
Participate in the Conversation
Let’s discuss what these stories can teach us about creating culture and bring your examples. We’ll be joined by a few featured leaders on The Switchboard. Hope to see you on March 13th at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.
Thank you for being part of The Switchboard community. I’m grateful to you for reading, reacting and commenting. If you enjoyed what you read, please consider sharing it with a colleague or friend. Signing off for this edition. — Julia
