Power of Three

Being from the South, I grew up surrounded by superstition.  My elders would tell me things like, ‘If you make a face in a mirror when lightning strikes then it will get stuck that way,’ or, ‘Don’t sweep someone’s feet or they will experience bad luck’. The list goes on and on, and while as a young child those were things that I clung to in my youth, as I matured, I started to develop my own set of superstitions. 

As a former athlete, my own superstitions for guaranteeing success on the field was listening to my favorite pre-game song three times before any game or race. It was my own little bit of superstition that I felt propelled our teams to win and me to win races. This superstition around the number three has never left me, and I am constantly looking for and at things in the context of the number three. 

When I began my career, I turned my superstition from listening to the same song three times before a game, into three beliefs that serve as my North Star:

• Success is a healthy form of addiction
• Failure does not define you
• Hard work trumps talent

As I approach my three-year anniversary at Slalom, and reflect on this journey, I want to borrow from Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ model.  In chapter 3 of his book, titled The Golden Circle, which is the core of Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why,’ he breaks down the three parts of The Golden Circle: Why, How and What. 

• Why – This is your purpose and rooted around what you believe. 
• How – This is your process and involves specific actions to realize your why.
• What – This is your process and the fruits of your labor.

1. Why I Chose Slalom

In my career, I have three non-negotiable values that I am not willing to part with, and if at any point I feel those values are compromised or not being met then I know it is time to explore where my next journey will be.

Culture Eats Strategy

We’ve all heard the saying that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” by Peter Drucker, but what does that mean at Slalom?

Our culture is the backbone of our success. It is rooted in our purpose, people and the places we exist. We believe in helping our partners realize and reach for their highest potential. That is what all 6,000+ employees of Slalom believe as their purpose. This purpose is what allows for us to show up not only in a different way than our competitors, but as a way to deliver meaningful outcomes. Some would say that’s our strategy, but when it’s a part of your organizational fabric then I would say that is undeniably culture. 

We are not a homogenous group of people. We are data scientists. We are designers. We are solution owners. We are engineers. We are strategists. We are change advocates. We are physicians. We are pharmacists. We are lawyers. We are accountants. We are farmers. We are entrepreneurs. We are community leaders. We are Slalom! Our culture is strong because we have varied backgrounds and we embrace our differences, in order to not only grow and learn from one another but also to be our better selves. 

The place you occupy is a direct representation of you. We’ve all heard that reference when someone is speaking about our home, but this holds true for your work place. We believe in the power of an open architecture, in order to allow our people to collaborate. Collaboration within our culture drives many ‘Aha moments’ or general points of connection that would not be achieved if we all sat in offices. 

Quality Over Quantity

Would you rather have an abundance of something, or would you rather have the right something? If you picked the latter, then give yourself a pat on the back. It’s not about the number of employees we employ or the number of clients we work with. It is about seeking out the best and brightest minds, and exceeding client expectations time, and time, again. 

One of my favorite personal brands is Apple. One of my favorite designers is Jonathan Ive. What do the two have in common? Johnathan is the Chief Design Officer at Apple. For him and Apple, people will pay for quality, they are loyal to quality, and they will praise quality. This mindset is not about the short-term gain that quantity brings you, but it’s about the continuous opportunities that quality outcomes will afford you over time. 

Growth Is More than A Promotion or Raise

Take a second. Think to yourself. 

What is one word you would use to describe professional growth? 

If the first word that pops in your mind is a ‘promotion’ or a ‘raise’ then you are sadly misinformed. 

Growth is more than a promotion or raise, it’s about our professional development as stewards of the company. Remember those people that I highlighted when discussing the culture? It is those people who help us grow due to their varied backgrounds, experiences and expertise. It is the unique conversations that we are able to be a part of due to our open space environment. Professional development is the horse needed to power the cart that holds things like promotions and raises. 

2. How I’ve Grown

I am not the type of person to just sit back and take life by chance. I make plans, set goals, prioritize those goals, scrub those goals, rinse and repeat. It’s a part of my DNA, that I need to control about 99% of situations to the best of my ability. Which is why this section was probably the most challenging to articulate, not because I have not grown, because I definitely have - but because even in outlining this section I felt as though these were things that I had not planned for and therefore that is why I was highlighting them, but it was the complete opposite. These are the spaces that I had dipped my pinky toe into but had not fully emerged my foot, I have come to realize how essential each of them is, in regard to me taking the reins on my professional growth.

Embrace Being Different

The only professional world I knew prior to Slalom was the world of creative design. To say that I felt a bit out of my league on my first day, first month, or first year would be an understatement. I spent a ton of personal time, trying to figure out how I fit into the bigger puzzle, what my contribution would be to the market and where I would have the biggest impact. Eventually, I stopped solely focusing on that and begin embracing the things that make me different; creative thinker, human connector and experience extraordinaire. I leaned into my unique factors that had made me feel so different, and quickly saw a change in the way I approached situations and people engaged me around opportunities.

Feedback Should Not be Feared

No human likes to be criticized, especially when the criticism is dressed up and called feedback and delivered at your annual review. We all know there is value in feedback, but it can still feel so disheartening. At Slalom, we believe that feedback isn’t something that is reserved for a quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis, it’s a part of our culture that encourages continuous improvement no matter the time of year. We lean into eliciting, understanding and acting on feedback because we understand the ‘why’ behind feedback. That ‘why’ is the reason I no longer fear feedback, instead I take it as opportunity to reach inside of myself, in order to learn, grow and achieve my full potential.

Continued Education

Learning does not stop once you finish your course work, walk across the stage, extend your hand for a handshake and receive that shiny piece of paper that represents you have completed the necessary coursework. In the workplace, there is no stage to walk across or hand extending a handshake, granted you may receive a shiny piece of paper for your certification, but that is not the ‘why’ behind doing it. 

“Whether I went to school or not, I would always study.” - RZA

As someone who identifies as a ‘Student of Life’ I seek out opportunities to be a sponge and absorb all the knowledge, experiences and expertise around me, at all times. These last few years have made me feel like a giant barrel sponge – in which water is continually pumped into the sides of the sponge, through the sponge body, and out of the osculum at the top of the sponge. That’s how I feel day in, and day out being surrounded by passionate and curious human beings who willingly share their experiences and expertise in such an open manner.

3. What I’ve Learned

Lesson learned is the most valuable gift that any of us can receive. Sometimes these lessons are from those we know in our everyday lives or sometimes they are a figure that we respect. For me, Stefan Sagmeister is a figure that I respect. He has created eye-catching graphics for clients including the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed. He’s the author of ‘Things I’ve learned in my life so far’, a book blended around personal revelation, visual audacity and the examination of the pursuit of happiness. This book serves as the basis for the things I have learned the past three years at Slalom. 

Time is Limited, Don’t Waste it

Each day we are given 24 hours. Depending on your sleep needs that leaves you with about 16 hours to make the most of the day. I used to find myself at times living that 16 hours for those around me – my colleagues, my family, my friends, the list goes on and on. Even today, I still struggle with these 16 hours and how to make the most of them. It is only natural that work will take up a majority of those 16 hours, but how you manage your work day is the difference between a good day and a great day. 

I once read that the difference between good and great is 5% and that got me thinking about how I structure my work day. A good day for me involves knowing what meetings I have to attend that day, being able to flag emails I need to come back and give more attention, moments of being reactive to the unexpected, and trying to work in between meetings to accomplish tasks on my Trello Board. A great day looks like me being prepared for my upcoming meetings that day, giving myself space to read and respond to emails in the moment, trying to be proactive to anticipate upcoming issues and getting ahead of them, and time blocking my day where I have the space to focus on tasks, uninterrupted. Through changing my mindset 5% I am able to get and give more out of my 16 hours during the day, because I gave myself 5% more time to move from awareness to preparation, awareness to responding, reactive to proactive, scattered to scheduled. 

Trust Those Around You

Trust is the foundation to success. As a former athlete, a big part of what I had to do besides make sure I practiced and showed up to the best of my ability every practice and game was to make sure that I trust my teammates. This trust was built over time, built over big wins, built over big loses. You ask any athlete and they will tell you that trusting your teammates is the foundation to success on the field outside of your ability. My teammates had to trust that I would show up and give it my all for those 90 minutes, and vice versa. 

In the work place, I take the benefit of the doubt mindset. It’s my way of trusting my colleagues prior to building a long relationship history. It involves me changing my mindset and personally taking my own ego out of the scenario, because a negative mindset serves neither party. I have learned to step back and ask ‘What if…’ questions to myself before jumping to a negative conclusion. This is not some magic switch that you turn on or off. You have to lean in all the way when it comes to giving the benefit of the doubt, in order to allow space for exploration. The alternative is an institution of mistrust and friction, that will eventually lead to those around you underperforming and disengaging. 

Pareto Principle

I grew up with a father who summed up the success of his marriage through the 80/20 rule – 80% will be good, 20% will be bad, when the bad outweighs the good then he knew he would need to make changes. This has stuck with me since I was a child. 

Today, I apply it in every facet of my life – relationships, friendships, and the workplace. Nothing is perfect. If someone tells you their workplace is perfect, then call malarkey. Pareto Principle specifies that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause. I have experienced my challenges and pain points over the past three years, but it’s through those moments that I was afforded the opportunity to grow and learn.