join anything lately?
Elizabeth (Liz) Gulliver
Our business is your people. We elevate employee experience and drive retention & performance.
What’s the last thing you joined??
We used to do more things together. We went to church or temple, joined sports leagues and community centers. We don’t do that anymore. You know the stats, you see them all the time. We’re apart, lonelier and more isolated than at any other time in history. Doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, or your income level. Isolation is one of those rare phenomena that doesn’t discriminate.?
Likewise with our intense desire to belong. It’s dialed into our core. An innate human need we can’t shed if we try. Challenge is, we’re finding fewer ways to fulfill that need. Which is why I think it’s about to become a very big business.?
When I was home in Maine over the holidays I went to a country club - something I hadn’t done in a long time. Both times it was packed. I recognize that’s one specific example of a certain demographic and isn’t accessible to all. But I don’t think it’s unique.?
Look at what happened during COVID. You joined every and any online community you could. Facebook groups, circles - sign me up. Whatsapp chats exploded. We hunted for exclusive Clubhouse invites. Immediately post COVID, IRL events went big. We were thirsty for interaction and in person events exploded. There are a lot of take-aways, but the overarching theme is the big business of belonging. Can you put a price on ‘feeling part of something’?
From invite only supper clubs to the revival of community centers we’re seeing new groups to join every day. Tech free members clubs are next (I think). If Hamilton taught us one thing it’s that “people want to be in the room where it happens”. Couple that with a deep desire to disconnect from tech for a bit - and BOOM. Hyper exclusive tech free clubs coming to your city soon. Everyone is trying to grab a piece of the action and meet our insatiable demand to join something, belong to something.
So who will thrive in the rush to meet the need to belong? Greg Isenberg summed it up well. He said: “Successful memberships have two things in common:
Know what I see when I look at that criteria? Companies. Employers.?
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Think about it. Let’s say you’re 25. You’re looking for a job. You come across a listing at Patagonia. Strong identity? You bet. Earth crusaders, out there to save our planet. Cool company, strong culture. Transformational Journey? Absolutely. You can enter at 25 as a junior whatever, get into one of their development programs, pick-up new skills and go from ‘newbie to pro’ in your time there.?
Why can’t that be your company? There are going to be a lot of companies started over the next decade that focus on meeting this human need for belonging. They will promise to make us feel part of a community. They will claim we will unlock learning + growth while building friendships and memories. You just have to pay for the privilege. I’m here for it. I’ll likely join and pay for membership at plenty of these.?
But you know where you can also get that? At work. I am not a ‘work is family’ person (newsletter for another day!). But I am a ‘work can be fulfilling’ person. If the early 2000s were the cold brew on tap, foosball tables in the lobby era, and the last few years have been our grand? experiment in remote work, I think the next decade is going to be dominated by connection at work.
Building belonging while building companies - and profits. If you focus on it intentionally, every company can hit this criteria: strong identity, transformational journey. Do that well, and you unlock untold potential for your people + profits. How are you building that into your employee experience? Does that show up in your leadership skills, in your employee value proposition??
How are you tapping into the business of belonging?
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