As we wind down the year and people go their separate ways to celebrate the holidays, ask yourself this: does your entire team often meet to discuss mission, vision, and goals? If not, this should be a New Year’s resolution high on the list.
I was blessed to grow up in a family where my mom and dad made it priority to gather my two sisters and I around the dinner table most every night and talk about the day. We were as busy as families are today and I’m sure my parents were as tired as parents are today — there is nothing new under the sun. But it was in this constant routine of gathering around a table with my family that shaped much of who I am today.
Many outstanding organizations get their teams together often, in person or by video conferencing. Most of the startups in which Promus Ventures invests get their entire companies together each week. But many companies still do not, and get busy running around and the priority of bringing the entire team together on a consistent basis gets lost.
Here are five benefits of gathering the entire company together in person on a routine basis:
1) Slows Everyone Down — This process instills a culture which teaches just how crucial it is to get away from the noise and come together as a team. How often do you go to a meeting with your phone or laptop and spend more time checking email or texts than mentally focusing on what the participants are saying? Just getting together doesn’t slow people down. You have to bring people into a room without outside distractions week after week after week.
2) Forces People to Physically Be Together — Organizations grow and become institutionalized and global. Always go for the gold, but if everyone works disparately, the culture will become heartless and crusty. Handshakes and hugs help unite teams, but in today’s world of global salespeople and dev teams, video conferencing is better than nothing. Get the offices together for group video conferencing if you can’t be there in person. Don’t lose the physical touch that we all require to work better together, and this can still be done with disparate teams.
3) Requires and Teaches Listening — Listening involves more than just your ears. When a leader speaks, and a team can see in person the eyes, expressions, gestures, and movements of one with passion, this “hearing” finds its way deep into the heart of the team. It’s hard to hide or fake listening when you’re together as a group.
4) Reminds Everyone of the Global Mission — Wikipedia defines “effective frequency” as “the number of times a person must be exposed to an advertising message before a response is made and before exposure is considered wasteful.” The mission and passion of the organization must be communicated in person as frequently as possible. Each time a leader gathers the startup family together is another opportunity to remind everyone where they are going, how they plan on getting there, and what a privilege it is to join together in the adventure. The goal is for everyone one day to passionately take the company message far and wide and to the ends of the earth.
5) Pushes Boundaries and Creativity — Every team has roadblocks in writing code, building the product, and closing the contract (and if you don’t, you’re not taking enough risks). Getting a team together sparks ideas and pushes everyone to see things in a different hue than the one they were coloring. Great ideas come from all angles, but without healthy debate and contact with others, it’s difficult to know what others think about a concept. Many times it is more important for an entire startup to be clear on knowing what NOT to do than what to do, and clear personal communication helps this focus.
It is difficult for many people to come together in one group. The process of routinely being open and vulnerable may be a first for many, and it is understandable that these people may view “the startup table” as a cheesy waste of time. But over the weeks and months of this discipline, the fruit that is born from such gatherings is surprisingly bountiful and many times will do more for the success of the startup than anything else.
So come on in and sit down at the table — we’re glad you’re here.
Recipients of this post are not to construe it as investment, legal, or tax advice, and it is not intended to provide the basis for any evaluation of an investment in any fund. Prospective investors should consult with their own legal, investment, tax, accounting, and other advisors to determine the potential benefits, burdens, and risks associated with making an investment in any fund.
