Some people learn a lesson faster than others. They’re more open minded and flexible. They are versatile, resilient and responsive to change, so they go through transitions in a far more pleasant manner. They pivot and make quick adjustments. They have been focused on constant change & learning all along – so they will thrive through this crisis.
Here are two of my favorite examples of companies with an amazing culture, who are already on the next level. The whole way they behave (especially at a time like this) and make decisions together is very unique.
AppsFlyer Global Customer Success Team
This clip of the AppsFlyer global customer success team done to the Friends I’ll Be There For You theme song, will literally melt your heart. This is probably one of the most motivated customer success teams in the world. The crisis has only served to bring this team closer together in a wonderful way.
Gravity CEO Dan Price Gives Us a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence
This special CEO came up on our radar five years ago when he made the radical decision to pay everyone in the company the same $70K salary – including himself. I believe his brother stopped talking to him at the time.
Now he’s doing it again. As his customer’s profits took a nosedive, Dan Price had to decide whether to fire 20% of his team, or declare bankruptcy. Instead of making the decision alone, he decided to talk to his employees and see what they think.
“Those meetings revealed some key insights. While everyone was willing to make a sacrifice if it meant keeping Gravity in business and avoiding layoffs, not every employee could afford to give up the same amount. Some had families or new mortgages, others had savings that could keep them going. “Together, the Gravity team settled on an unconventional strategy,” writes Shegran. “Each person was given a form that allowed them to privately express how much, if anything, they could sacrifice financially in terms of a pay cut.” According to Price, employees with higher earnings generally gave up more while lower-paid employees gave up less. But everyone in the company took a cut.” (Instead of Laying Off 20 Percent of His Company, This CEO Made an Unusual Decision. It’s a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence, Inc.com)
Some Key Takeaways
#1 – Focus on how to lift others – this is the best hack for any problem.
#2 – If your team is all over the world, bring everyone together on a regular basis for some fun uplifting activity.
#3 – If there is a big problem – try talking to your employees about it to get some fresh input. Maybe even try doing a workshop about it together.
Find Your True Colors
Want to take it up a notch? Here is another example from Israel of how you can use this time to make your company stronger than ever.
AppsFlyer CPO Lisa Zaythik’s ‘Rock It Ship” In House Band
I love the way AppsFlyer invited Koolulam to unite them through music in their first ever virtual session. Koolulam is a social-musical project that produces mass singing events.
Lifting Others Is Always Good
I would love to hear about more companies that are lifting human spirits at this special time. Focusing on the good is coming back into style. Even in the media. A great example is Some Good News with John Krasinski
The bottom line is that we always have the choice to lift others. Let’s use this opportunity we’ve been given to invest some more energy in that direction. Let’s learn our lesson, and make necessary adjustments. Let’s grow and evolve, and become better humans. Let’s give our kids good examples of how to be better humans every single day. We can all learn to be better humans by sharing good examples.