Human beings are complex, but only if you get in their way.

But If you don't - if you allow their whole-selves to flourish - good people will do great things with a workplace. Passion and purpose will emerge. And suddenly, the place will start to look a lot more like a community...not an institution. Finally! A place where...

• We don’t have to be here; we choose to be here.
• We are both expert and novice. We are comfortable with both. And we are respected as both.
• We each get as much out of it as we put into it. The value proposition is balanced.
• Gravitas carries no weight. Laughter is our preferred currency. And we smile.
• The conversation goes only where the conversation wants to go.
• Technology is shelved when conversations happen. Flipcharts, animated gestures, and vocal chords are the tools of communication more than any digital platform.
• We each get a turn. We each take it. And when we do, others relish it.
• What’s on our minds is also on our tongues.
• We can disagree without fear of retribution or political consequence. Decisions will be made, though; and when they are, we move on together.
• We learn from our peers every day. And not because they teach us, but because they are there.
• We say, “Thank You.” We share our appreciation. And we celebrate our successes.
• We accomplish more when we work together than we do when we work alone.
• Ideas are ecosystems. They have a beginning but no end. They are constantly evolving, shape-shifting, and feeding off of one another.
• We break bread together…often.
• There is no pecking order. Leadership, organization, and facilitation is a shared responsibility.
• The team’s core is strong enough to ensure new members are simply and naturally enveloped by its very fabric. New member contributions are never a threat; they are purely accretive.
• We are drawn to and invigorated by the diversity of thought, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, spirituality, socio-economic stature, political persuasion, dietary regiments, education, career paths, physical and mental malady, familial condition, marital status, upbringing, and vast life experiences.
• Freakiness is present. And the absence thereof would put us ill at ease.
• Multi-tasking is an alien concept. Purposeful participation is not.
• Couches outnumber desks. Space flows contiguously and seamlessly.
• Emotion – any emotion – comes forth as necessary. And comfort ensues.
• We work hard. And others know we do.
• We have fun. And there’s just the right amount of naughty.
• We don’t settle with “how it’s always been.” When we see a better way, we make it happen together.
• We embrace progress over perfection.
• We have collective pride in what we produce. We believe we matter and we believe others matter.
• We ask, “What did I do to help my customers, my organization, and my colleagues today?”
• We leave each day with hope and optimism. We return in need of more.