My life at pi: lessons learnt from an extraordinary experience.

It’s been over 30 days since I wished my friends and colleagues at 22seven farewell. I remember saying to some of them that I was sorry I didn’t keep a regular diary documenting the extraordinary experience I had. This is my attempt to capture (at the very least) some of this experience, and to fulfill, in part, that promise.

Preface

It’s not possible to describe, with the written word, the special and unusual place that is 22seven. As chief creative officer (for almost 3 years) I soon realized that both my title and my past (advertising) experience proved meaningless at face value. What mattered much, much more, was how I needed to re-apply my brains and experience in a culture that valued a growth mindset, constant experimentation and lifelong learning. The culture at 22seven is agile, self-organized and has little respect for traditional structures, bureaucracy and the status quo.

These are the lessons I’ve leant from this extraordinary experience.

First, find your Why?

Understand purpose, cause and belief. It’s part of the journey from ambition to meaning. When you understand what drives every decision and why you (and your colleagues) get out of bed in the morning you will realise there is no greater motivator than working for a noble cause. An idea that will make the world a better place. If you find it, hold on to it. Christo Davel and Kenny Inggs certainly understood this.

Bye bye genius. Creativity is a team sport.

It’s a fact. Ideas no longer belong to the select few behind closed doors. We must all reclaim our creative confidence. At 22seven, cross-functional teams encouraged diverse perspectives at all times during the design and development process. We all contributed equally to customer activity cycles, google design sprints and design thinking. Everything is your job when you are designing the future. No one sits in a corner barking instructions. No one.

Skills are not just about knowing.

Thinking (education, experience, information, content and context) is important, of course. However, a great product or service is a result of individuals that are equally comfortable with Doing (actions, strategies, techniques) and Feeling (self-awareness, intentions, beliefs, energy, integrity). I witnessed remarkable outcomes when Knowing, Doing and Being met at the centre.

Leadership has shifted.

From autocratic to democratic to collaborative. We are witnessing a new leadership paradigm. In the past, leadership was a function. An expert would be called upon to assist with control (efficiency), use position of power and manage time. More recently, we’ve noticed leadership as a ‘relationship’. This introduced the ‘manager’ who would look at optimization (motivation) and celebrate the creativity of the individual. Here, output was measured. At 22seven I saw leadership is an ‘enabler’. A ‘facilitator’ who looks at the opportunity (empowerment) and understands how to harness the creativity of the collective. 

Daily rituals are critical tools.

One of the most simple actions produced powerful results. Our Hyper Island industrial replacement under graduates introduced the notion of a team check in (and out). Its a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Check in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. We practiced this routine daily (mornings and afternoons) and the results are nothing short of transformative. Easily the most impactful method to gain what Google refers to as ‘psychological safety’ … ‘I can take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed’.  (The number of times my colleagues have since said ‘I miss our check-in’s’ is too many to mention).

I guess there are more valuable lessons to contemplate … the importance of shipping work out the door, marrying design thinking and agile development and perhaps how to stay hungry. But, in the sprint of not being too precious and believing in constant iteration and improvement, I’m going to post this  .... then come back later and edit (if necessary).

I will forever remember my remarkable time at a remarkable place. Thank you all for the opportunity.