Yellow is a special colour....

Read any management textbook, talk to any management consultant, and you will hear some variant of "culture is critical to success". Last night I was reminded how true that was, so please indulge me while I reflect.

Last night I attended the Intergen Alumni gathering at the new Press Hall building. The new office space is a huge improvement on the building I worked at on Lambton Quay and is reflective of the changing culture at Intergen; more collaborative and cross-functional than it has ever been. A variety of different working spaces, project team areas, the 'pin board' (I love that idea!) and plenty of breakout spaces for people to come together. And unashamedly still yellow :)

I can think of no other organisation that I have worked for or with, that would do something like this; opening its doors to ex-employees to have a walk around the new office space; explain the thinking behind the design and importantly what it has meant to the way the teams work, to have such an open plan, collaborative space.

But as I reflect on this, it occurs to me that by happy accident or because its a place of special people (you decide), some of the best friends I have made in my 10 years in New Zealand, come from Intergen. Maybe that's because good humans attract good humans, or maybe it's because the Intergen culture is a unique blend of hard work, family and fun....

So to our tour guides, Murray, Emma, and Simon - thank you for the tour. Paddy thank you for the hug, and thanks to everyone for saying hi and stopping for a chat.

Once you join Intergen you will always have a little piece of yellow in your heart.