Here at SEP, we talk about our culture and our people…A LOT. But we back it up with all kinds of events, gatherings, and trips. These things typically involve food, but that is a common thread that many of us share – we like to eat, and eat well!
One of my favorite events that we do is Startup Weekend. We have about 2 Startup Weekend events each year, and they are a blast! A Startup Weekend is basically a weekend of doing. We go from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon with a goal of making something awesome…and some friendly competition and twitter-trash-talk along the way. (My team typically is the best, but we aren’t keeping score, yet.)
Not only do we have a fun weekend of making sweet software…we create some lasting memories as well. My favorite memory from a Startup Weekend was when one of our team members coined the phrase “Pants-less Driven Development”, or PDD for short.
PDD came from a good friend, David Korff, when he was referring to the fact that all of us on our team were wearing shorts. It sounds silly, right? I mean, why would anyone be excited that we were all wearing shorts? But it doesn’t matter. The point is that Korff was happy about having the freedom of wearing shorts, and that meant something to him.
Things like Startup Weekend, and the pants-less development-team in the above picture, are just outputs though. What our family here at SEP really cares about is making sure that we are having fun and that we are happy. (Assuming that we are staying safe and not doing anything illegal, of course.)
It is no coincidence that SEP is repeatedly named a “best place to work” in Indiana. Culture *really *matters! And we are continuing to build and grow our culture with every new-hire, event, and trip that we take as a group.
Words like “happiness” and “fun” may seem childish and petty…but they matter…culture matters!
Questions to Ask Yourself:
What things do you do at your company that make you happy?
What kind of fun activities do you and your team do in order to let loose?
How do those things influence/change your culture?
