The Wonderful Experiment

On learning from the past and going to war with more than one horse. Episode 5 of The Wonderful Experiment explores the military tactics of Genghis Khan’s Mongol army and how they conquered a larger and stronger army. They had no technological advances over their enemy. They had no special tools or tricks. What they did have may surprise you.

How can work still be wonderful when bad stuff happens? As businesses grow the circle of “wonderful” expands to include more people. And this means more challenges – not just from the marketplace or competitors – but from those on  your team. For us, interpersonal tension and conflict was an every day part of business before Our Wonderful Failure, which you can hear more about here. We know from talking with other seasoned business professionals who have seen many years working, we weren’t alone. We realized that if work could truly be wonderful, behaviors like that had to stay out of the workplace or all we were working for would be destroyed. We had these values in place that were intended to govern our work. We realized ours were capable of creating the culture we wanted, but more was needed. We needed to create clarity for employees on what was in line with those values, and also what wasn’t. Listen to today’s episode to learn how we developed the concept of the virtual “penalty flag.” This gave employees the power not to just call out others when their actions conflicted with our core values, but to throw the flag on themselves as well. Listen to Episode

Do you ever feel you struggle to connect with people in business? And no, we don’t mean “network” – but truly CONNECTING. Here’s the harsh reality – Business is BORING! The traditional format for engaging in business leaves no room for emotions. We think this is a problem. We think relationships are the catalyst for rewarding, sustainable, profitable business. If you’ve ever felt a Powerpoint was a moral obligation that belongs better in the annuls of the past, this one’s for you.

How something as simple as shoveling snow became virtual enlightenment for our Midwestern snow removal company. [hr] RESOURCES Referenced in this podcast: Watch the TED Talk “The Puzzle of Motivation” by Dan Pink Listen to this Episode

Ever heard of failing forward? Well, we did. This episode is about our giant, colossal failure that sparked our success story – and this experiment. Listen to Episode