What Gasparilla Can Teach Us About Culture At Work

TAMPA, FL--Gasparilla is a yearly celebration held in Tampa, FL. Over 1,000,000 people usually attend one of the many included events. A typical crowd size at the main parade is more than 300,000. Over 22 million in revenue pours into the Tampa area each year for the important event.

As a residency program director in General Surgery, every time I go to an event like this I'm amazed. It's hard enough some days to keep twenty one staff members organized! Imagine navigating 1,000,000 through a large event. So at something impressive like this I can't help but to look around for lessons to learn. Let me tell you the story of Gasparilla and some of my takeaways...

Each year, a pirate ship sails to the Tampa Convention Center and demands that the mayor relinquish the keys to the city! And you know what?

The pirate who it's all based on quite possibly never existed.

Jose Gaspar, mythic pirate king who lends his name to the Gasparilla proceedings, left behind no trace in written documents, official mentions, or any other tangible evidence that he was, well, real. (Go ahead and look at Wikipedia or another favorite source when you have a minute.)

There are lots of great stories about Gaspar plundering his way through the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding area--but these are either just stories, or (perhaps) his vanishing act from the historical record shows he was indeed one of the greatest pirates of all.

While catching beads along the parade route, it hit me: look at all the impact that the story of Gaspar has on Tampa. Its culture, economy...all of it. All based on a great story where the main character may not have even existed! So what does the Tampa experience and Gasparilla tell us about the nature of culture?

A Shared Story Is Powerful

Political groups, sports teams, even Apostles--each group is defined in part by a shared story. Recently, as we started building the culture for a new surgical residency, we wrote down our story and codified some of our knowledge too. You can read more about it here.

Why'd we do it?

Like Gasparilla, gathering around a shared story and knowledge base seems to bring groups together. Whether it's a pirate invasion, parable, or backstory from Game of Thrones...it's obvious that a well-known story can really bring people out to participate.

I've noticed that when people stop sharing a story, the relationship doesn't take long to dwindle and end.

A Critical Mass of Dedicated People Is Key

Once upon a time, a leadership retreat I attended made a great point: it takes only about 12-13 people to change the world.

"What?!" I thought "Come on now."

But the teacher went on to highlight instance after instance where small, dedicated groups went on to change the world. No matter what religion you are, she said, the twelve Apostles definitely brought changes.

The Gasparilla celebration has a similar critical mass of dedicated people who make the event so spectacular. Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, or YMKG, brings the events to life since 1904 (with a brief pause around the time of WW2) along with other "Krewes" in the Tampa area.

In my work with resident surgeons we don't try to make every day Gasparilla. But we do try to develop our critical mass of dedicated people to develop the residency and to contribute to our field.

Alignment, Alignment, Alignment

So what does the story of the mythical pirate king tell us?

Alignment is powerful. The ability to get people working together, galvanized by a great story, allows the mayor of a large city to confidently hand over the keys to a group dressed as pirates.

When people are aligned, it's hard to stop them.

Here are some lessons, then, that translate across organizations as disparate as mega-parades and surgical residencies.

Lessons Learned From A Pirate Invasion

A shared story can foster a certain culture. Consciously crafting this story goes a long way toward creating the culture you want to promote. A dedicated group, even if it's small in number, may extend, imbed, and evangelize the message you're looking to get out there. And, perhaps most importantly, having everyone on the team rowing toward the same goal is an important key to success.

That's what we're going for in our surgical program. Now, sure, we're near another great city called Jacksonville...but that doesn't mean we have nothing to learn from our friends in Tampa to the south!

And if you're anywhere near that great city this time next year, go catch some beads and see how much fun a group can have!

Dr. David Kashmer is a quality improvement expert, & trauma and acute-care surgeon. He earned his Medical Doctor degree from MCP Hahnemann University--now Drexel University College of Medicine--and his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Villanova University through a joint BS-MD program with MCP Hahnemann. He has previously served as a Section chief, Chief of Surgery, & Chief Medical Officer for healthcare organizations.

He recently authored ABSITE Smackdown!, an ABSITE review book with video lecture course included. (Available here and on Amazon.)

David also earned a Lean Six Sigma master black belt certificate at Villanova. Dr. Kashmer holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Healthcare Administration from George Washington University. He previously served on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and now focuses on educating resident colleagues.