Episode 3: REOR20's culture - from suits to t-shirts

An article by Raluca-Maria Nedelcu

Friday morning. Cold and cloudy, Fall has finally caught up with us. On our way to our now regular Friday morning coffee, I start brainstorming on how we might go about contextualising the episode on REOR20 's team and culture.

“We can always start with that adage that goes culture eats strategy for breakfast”.

Danny nods distracted and when the information sets in, he fires back: “ I never heard of this in my entire life”.

“Well, it is how culture presentations attempt at being persuasive world round – it’s by a guy Peter Drucker” I say and chuckle, thinking back at the myriad of times I worked on a culture related project using that exact hook. Not surprisingly, we’ll have to go another way.

We enter the café, and equipped with croissants and coffees we finally sit and dive in.

?“We never gave our culture much thought” he starts – “it sort of happened. And when I compare it with my time in corporate jobs, the one thing that springs to mind is prescriptiveness vs. lack of it. In a big company, you are part of a big machine, and you must deliver a certain standard. There is room for creativity but it’s not exactly generous. You interact with many people every day, being subjected to evaluation and scrutiny: ?Your work is exposed, and it needs to make sense in the overall strategy and organisational targets, that might not even be 100 per cent clear to you because it is not easy to be clear.” He chuckles, eyes big, next tread developing in his mind, before he can say it out loud.

“You have to be more formal, have a dress code” – he goes on. “One little thing – be it behaviour, what you say, the way you say it - can trigger big reputational risks. You are part of a business that has the attention all the time, on demand or not. You must pay attention that your presence reflects the company’s values and culture. Things could be much easier and at the same time much more difficult because you don’t get a no easily, everyone wants to talk to you as a representative of a certain financial actor.”

“I get the picture” I say impatiently. “Let’s switch to your current situation and the culture in your team” I direct and wait.

“Yeah – so from that – the corporate view - you sort of go to the opposite side of the spectrum. We did not pay dedicated attention to the topic of culture in our team; however, it exists, right? We do have a certain way in which we function – and let me be clear – it is not without its challenges. My employees are my partners, my friends, my stakeholders. We all need to perform; our work is so intertwined that if one of us fails to deliver, everyone drowns.

A keyman risk is something normal in start-ups – of course - but for us – from inception to now at least – that can be every single one of us. We have a perfectly aligned team from a purpose point of view: everyone wants the same thing, and we are clear on what we want. This is a great attribute for a venture like ours, but significant tension rises from this level of unfailing engagement: Ideas cannot be dismissed, they must be tested - which in turn can yield new designs, new data, a new opportunity for us. This tension is constructive.?

It’s a spouse-like relationship with your colleagues. You might go to bed angry and wake up the next day with a brand-new perspective awarded to you by that ever-green-pull in the team. Thanks to this kind of rapport, you also get to have tons of fun at work, and you care deeply about those people. Every little win can be a celebration with the team. Every little failure can be a sleepless night for all of us.”

I lift my head from my laptop, and I look at Danny as he’s quickly checking something on his phone. I take the chance to think and ask my next question: “How do you maintain this spirit with new hires? You are now six people – you started with three. How do new additions to the team complement this constellation?”

“The team is built for purpose, not for money” he shoots immediately. “During the first years we had to turn down very capable and amazing people simply because they were not aligned to our culture, to the way we work, think and function as a team. We deliberately apply the simple idea of skillset vs. mindset. You can always upskill someone, but it is impossible to artificially create chemistry with the team, and a shared belief and value system.”

“We covered quite a bit of ground – from shared responsibility to the close, personal relationships within the team and ideation democracy. Before we close, what else would you like the readers to know about REOR20’s culture?” I ask.

“Hmmm… I guess dynamicity of the tasks is one – on the same day you might work with your largest client for a multimillion contract and at the end of the day you need to clean the desks because another client is coming over in the morning. Everybody is working on things outside of their job description; job description is a bit of a loose concept sometimes, simply because the glitches one of us is facing has immediate impact on everyone else’s work. That’s part of the way we do things, alongside no brainers such as time and location are irrelevant. If someone needs to be 24/7 remotely, that’s ok. Nobody cares where you are or what you wear as long as the team moves forward together.

That is the status quo now and we are enjoying it, but we are on the brink of growth, and we need to figure out how to retain this spirit in the future. We are growing from a company of friends to a company” remarks Danny finally and I love this as a closing statement to his view on his team.?

But here’s the plot twist: In the next weeks I will be talking to Danny’s team members to get their view on the company’s development, culture and more! Curious to know their perspectives? Make sure you follow REOR20!

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