Play On Little Children

“play on little children
build your sandcastles high
paint the sky brilliant
and watch the clouds go by ”

— Dan Fyer

Despite the level at which you people comprehend extensive concepts, it is beyond obvious that you can quickly and easily revert back to a child-inspired outlook-- your attraction to shiny gold objects (Jin, Joe), the inability to be within reach of legos and not play with them, the uncontrollable giggling (Momo), skateboarding, proactively penciling in time to look up frenchies online, napping in the fort, photoshopping peoples faces onto weird things, hidden candy cabinets everywhere you look, etc. 

To look at life through the eyes of a child can be quite magical. In awe of new experiences and feelings that come about with no effort, children look through the obstacles that their little eyes don't even notice. The energy and freedom that children encounter is endless and the simplicity found in it all can be utterly refreshing. For those brief moments that you people act like children, you innocently absorb, learn and at times recall the uncomplicated things you have forgotten thanks to muddiness of adulthood.

Find moments to continue frolicking like a child because you will find such a purity in it & that mindset can only benefit you as a group so play on, little children. 

Let's Dance

Whether a spontaneous stint or knowingly pried out of you (think Julka at Chiberian Olympics), when it is time to lose yourself to dance, you do. With limited reservation, you people groove to the beat of whatever tickles your fancy. 

If you prefer to dance along to Britney Spears remixes (Nick), then you let it be. If you spend your office music hours listening to random old school radio shows, cheers to you (Zach). 

When I say dance, it's less along the lines of moving your body to a beat and more in tune with  letting loose what is inside of you. Whether beautifying magazine models into zombie-like creatures or being obsessed with bento boxes & sad, dark movies (Julka), you dance. And when you do... things get funky. Sometimes it is all about dancing on your own- being the Spotify expert, the shoe snob, the restaurant critic, the office jean guru, or the one knowledgeable on the psychological state of runners. 

And other times, you dance as a cohesive posse--together in awe of a coded color-infused cloud, a badass soccer billboard, or a hand crafted coffee table (Olivia). A group verification that raw kale chips suck, Japanese rice cookies are unreal, and the time is now to continue thinking about it all just a bit differently. 

Dear ChIDEO,

Please don't lose that unique & refreshing funk. 

I Don't Know, Let's Find Out

A scenario experienced in many work spaces: 

Intern: Hey, any idea why the laser cutter isn't working properly?

Employee: I don't know, sorry about that (Dude walks on and goes forth in "being productive") 

At IDEO, the scenarios many times look more like this: 

Intern: Hey, any idea why the laser cutter isn't working properly? 

Employee: I don't know, let's find out. (Dude is deeply intrigued by the issue at hand because he likes solving things, despite the amount of work he should in fact be doing.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another thing about you people. There is for the most part a genuine attraction to taking things to the next level. Why? Because you care. It could be that you care less about the individual you are helping and more about that thing inside you that can't quite settle until it all makes sense again. There are a plethora of reasonings behind the origin of this innate helpfulness but that is not what matters- what matters is that you take the initiative to spend just a little more time than many others would. I have continually seen exchanges like this with the Fortnight program and it is one of the main things that makes your environment worthy of cherishing. 

A Fresh New Fade

For those of you who don't know, a "fresh new fade" translates to "a slick new hair cut."

However for the sake of the post, let's generalize this statement a bit and allow for it to mean simply "changing things up." 

You people like to change it up. From stealing the wellness room couches for the random kitchen re-vamp to switching up desks at a rapid rate or hopping on the half shaven/half lengthy hair trend, there is a hustling desireabilty for newness. Sure, we all must stick to some of the go-to's: bananas & raisin bran at nine fifteen AM, the desktop background you just won't change (Joe), your thoughts on Stevie Nicks, etc. But one of the best things a group of innovators can do is continually find peace with the fresh new fades of each day and it appears as though you people are well within that realm so keep on keeping on. 

Attentiveness

You people are attentive. Rapt in awe once you take the few extra hours figuring out the core of how something works. Attentive to the people around you. Perceptive to little decisions that can abundantly shift something from prosaic to fantastical.

Whether taking the time to send that one person the weird article you read last night or caring enough to remember who here are the cat lovers vs. the dog enthusiasts, your astute observation skills are what make you people the designers you are today.

When you people share at a MLM or happen to host a beer & chips, many (even those who have been here a while) admit that palms still sweat when it is time to present. Yes, getting in front of people is known to cause clammy palms but I think another reason is the audience that one finds here at IDEO. As encouraging and receptive as you people are, when you sit down and listen, you do so with grand intention…so much so that it is at times immaculately silent (and that is pretty terrifying). So, when you happen to be that lucky person who has the room- you really do have each and every soul and your game best be on.

Not every hour is spent with such focus, but I daily see you people committing yourselves to concentration and this culture of attentiveness continuously allows you people to curiously yet intentionally frolic through each day.  

As you see here, Zach is showing us some true attentiveness. 

Sharing

You people share.

Advice on which super depressing (yet brilliant) movie to watch this weekend. You share midday runs. Food.  Stories. Fears. Cameras when one runs out of battery. Ideas. 

Many of the things listed above fall into the category of things one would expect in an office setting, but, in a form unlike many other places, you courageously find a deeper way to share. Embarrassing moments. Profound goals. Nervous habits. Deeply-personal admissions. You also share the things you worry about. The things that don't feel right to you. You are not afraid to share and it brings an infinite about of light to this place. 

You people share. And to some extent, pleasure has no relish unless we share it (thank you, Virginia Woolf). When the time is right, it is worth sharing. It feels good. People feel cherished and at times, challenged. But it is better than living an unbalanced life of too much introspection. And that is something you people have figured out: the healthy mix of human self-reflection with the willingness to externally observe & share. 

"Think about what you alone know that no one else does. That one neat wonderful profound insight. It is fully yours. No one else on this planet of about six billion people understands it like you do. Now, see if you can share it with someone. Bestow it, a gift of yourself." Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration 

Coming to the Table

Here, you people come to the table. Stomachs likely guide the mosey towards the kitchen but many times I see you sticking around for just a bit longer than planned. It may be your interest in knowing about the next nerd-night challenge or a yearning to taste some freshly crafted steaks. Whatever it is, you come. You pause, if only for a moment. And you fill. 

Coming to the table isn't about having the most efficient conversations. It is more about what happens when you come together, slow down, look into one another's faces, listen to one another's stories. Accounts of the latest movie about a man falling in love with a Siri-like character or explanations of what a RGBDToolkit output really is. These moments are needed. They are fruitful. 

Another thing about you people is that you have a ridiculous amount of options. Bananas. Pop-Tarts. An assortment of teas & coffee (even Chai flakes). A communal fridge (with some weird face drawn on it). A secret candy stash... The list goes on. You also have your fair share of certified foodies lurking around every corner. You people are often assessing tastes, textures, or scents. Chatting about the best places to grub or the tastiest recipes. It is cool and it reconfirms your cultures ability to bring people together. 

"It's not, actually, strictly, about food for me. It's about what happens when we come together. It happens when we break out of the normal clockwork of daily life and pop the champagne on a cold, gray Wednesday for no other reason than the fact that the faces we love are gathered around our table. It happens when we enter joy and the sorrow of the people we care about, and we come to the table to feed one another and be fed, and while it's not strictly about the food, it doesn't happen without it. Food is the starting point, the common ground, the thing to hold and handle, the currency we offer to one another." - Food & Wine, Shauna Niequist 

Interaction

Interaction bleeds within every inch of this place. Apparent since day one, influence through engagement is an essential part of the way you work. 

One may claim the design of the space is to blame:

The homey & cooperative feel of the kitchen. The limited presence of guarded personal territories. 

Others may voice that it is the people:

You attract those with a severe willingness to share, introduce, advise, and listen. No one here attempts to go at it alone. 

It is likely your profound sense of synergy stems from more than the two observations listed above. Nonetheless, it is present. It is all encompassing. Contagious. 

Interaction is key. It ignites. It fills the room with a luscious sense of both fulfillment, productivity, and success. Bold with exchange, you have a transparency unlike many others.