Timbre Times: Nostalgia, Innovation, and Summer Vibes ??

Mangoes and memories are ripe for the picking this summer. The season does have this way of taking us back to when we were likely the most carefree version of ourselves—during summer vacations in childhood. Mine were spent in Valsad, Gujarat, home to orchards of alphonso and kesar mangoes, Morarji Desai, and Kokila Bulsara, aka Nirupa Roy, aka 'maa' from Deewar.?

I do miss days when words like ‘culture’ belonged in programme invites from the Tamil Sangam or the Kannada Sangha, promising you an evening of music, dance and performances from your “native place.”?

‘Purpose’ was a word you’d encounter when, say, a teacher demanded an explanation for your blackboard mischief. “What is the?purpose?of this nonsense??” Those were days when words had to deliver much less in manner of meaning, unlike now, especially in the context of organisations.?

At Timbre, we’re often called upon to design?employee audio-video communications?that break down constructs like?values, vision, allyship, etc. into?actions?and?behaviours?in the context of the workplace. This area is particularly interesting, I realise—collaboration, for example, comes easy to kids on a playground but seems to require direction in large organisations with many silos. The 7-year-old’s playroom again is a leveller; your “native place,” religion, and socio-economic status have no bearing on your suitability as a playmate. In organisations, though, we must have periodic campaigns on how to be?inclusive.?

The more one thinks about it, the equivalent of a summer vacation playground would be useful to have in organisations. A space?where fun meets workplace culture and purpose, where conversations flow freely, and attitudes are shaped organically.?

We did this for?Accenture's Pride Month?in 2023.?Pride FMwas a 5-day radio-like broadcast combining music, voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, allies and RJ notes on the history of the movement, icons who’ve stood for the cause, and more.?IBS Software’s weekly?video show?has a good mix of company updates and employee-generated content in the form of fun vox pops and vlogs on topics like food, music and travel.?NSEIT Voicebox?explores how talent, wellness and growth are nurtured in the organisation.?

Raymond’s Power of 7?was a series on?leadership competencies. Because yes, even senior leaders could use some practice in articulating such things ?? This month, we’re designing fun?reel-like videos?around?ethics and compliance for a?pharma company—reels that include recipes, music, travel, etc., but are all tied to compliance. You can imagine the fun we’re having with this!?

Our?video series for Ageas Federal?on their values (Care, Dare, Deliver and Share) was a challenging and rewarding attempt at taking stories from the external world to explain values in the AF context.?Randstad’s Mind Matters podcast series was about unboxing common phrases like leadership burnout and organisational culture through conversation and experience sharing—things podcasts lend themselves beautifully to.?

The month of June holds out many opportunities to explore these intersections of purpose in life and at work:?Pride Month, International Yoga Day,?and?World Environment Day. These present opportunities to amplify your?DEIB, wellness, and sustainability?ethos with some nicely done podcasts and videos.?

Plus, I discover with surprise (because it has to do with the theme of my summer note) that if all goes per plan, the UN will declare June 11 as?International Day of Play????

Seetal Iyer

Co-Founder & Head of Content at Timbre Media