Still basking in the afterglow of having the whole company in town for offsites. We can debate ad nauseam about remote vs hybrid vs in-person, but here are?a few reflections I hold deeply to be true as I reintegrate my experience:
?? People are the single most important thing that determine whether companies succeed & fail. We say this a lot at gem. It's why our mission is to help companies build great teams. But I always live & feel this the most deeply in my core when I get to spend time in person with the whole team.
?? Getting together in-person is crucial for building culture, connection, and trust. Especially when some folks are remote. There's simply no substitute for face-to-face time.
?? For generative & creative work (brainstorms, offsites, etc.), there's something special about doing that in person, and seeing the ideas spark & fly. Folks chiming in without having to worry so much about coming off mute or awkwardly speaking over each other.
?? "Watercooler" moments are real. I learned 2 new things about our customers in just 2-3 minutes talking to an Enterprise AE and a CSM in the kitchen who were visiting from out of town. And the three of us feel closer for it. Gets me thinking about whether it's even possible to recreate this virtually somehow???
For now though, I'm just excited to continue getting the entire company together every quarter, because magic happens when we're all together in person.
This was such a phenomenal week, and I couldn't be more grateful to Samuel Rhyan?, Grace Lancaster?, and?Lindsey Ackerman? and so many more for making it possible!?
Founding Account Executive
1 周Woohoo! So excited to work together!