"A pursuit of joy within a business context is not about the pursuit of fame or profit. Humans aspire to a higher purpose… We’ve found that profit, fame, and glory often follow us in this path, too."
In Joy, Inc., Richard Sheridan charts his course from an aggressive, fear-filled corporation to the creation of his company, Menlo Innovations. Rather than focusing on some elusive work-life balance, Sheridan concentrates on one audacious, hopeful goal: JOY.
Sharing his experiments, failures, and successes in redefining corporate culture, Sheridan outlines a path toward joy that inspires changes in one’s daily work, as well as across the company. And while this book is ideally geared toward visionary CEOs with a willingness to make drastic changes, there is plenty of useful information for those of us further down the corporate ladder. Regardless of our role in our organization, Sheridan shares several key principles including:
- Freedom to Learn – Learn something new and share it
- Make Mistakes Faster – Experiment often and widely until you find the solution
- Observe and Empathize – Understand who your audience is and what challenges they face
- Bet on Your Culture – Align everything you do internally and externally with your values
The Big Idea
Tear Down the Walls
"Most workplaces zap energy because they are bland, prefabricated setups. These spaces diminish interactions with their physical barriers and closed doors."
Sheridan surmises that the “quiet and lifeless” offices in modern companies do more to stifle creativity and innovation than anything else. We are closed off from one another, and our buildings are silent.
In contrast, Menlo Innovations intentionally removed all walls, cubicles, and private offices. Replacing separate workspaces with dozens of moveable tables, Sheridan fosters conversation and interaction among his team. And going even further, Menlo eliminated private space for the CEO. Sheridan is in the middle of his joyful, creative, chaos.
While change of this scale is often beyond our individual capabilities, there are a couple of ideas to keep in mind to support personal joy in the workplace.
- High Speed Voice Technology – Move away from your computer and actually talk to your colleagues. Look them in the eye. Have a conversation.
- Walkies – Get away from your desk and take a walk around the building with your colleagues. It doesn’t even matter what you talk about.
Insight #1
Constant Conversation
"[Q]uiet work spaces tend to be self-reinforcing. Our manners suggest we should not bother people in a quiet environment. The typical cube farm simply magnifies the stereotypical social awkwardness of introversion, rather than capitalizing on its benefits."
At Menlo, all work is conducted by teams of two people, sharing a single computer, and working together for one week at a time. This pairing creates the necessity for ongoing, constant conversation, which actually drives their efficiency and innovation. This mandatory collaboration leverages the complex, problem-solving capabilities of Sheridan’s team.
Menlo’s reliance on collaborative teams supports what we learned in Creative Intelligence by Bruce Nussbaum – that innovation is social. This constant communication is the clear evidence of an environment conducive to innovation.
Insight #2
High Tech Anthropology
"A company doesn’t exist to serve its own people; a company exists to serve the needs of the people who use its products or services."
Sheridan employs a group of individuals known as High Tech Anthropologists, whose primary focus is to identify the one persona who will use the software Menlo creates. All design decisions are based upon how this primary individual will use the end product.
This activity of identifying a single persona can be adapted to a wide variety of businesses to simplify our work. Knowing your audience is perhaps the single most valuable tool to product development and marketing – because you’re delivering a customized solution to meet the specific needs of a unique individual.
Joy, Inc. made me want to work for Richard Sheridan. And really, who wouldn’t want to spend their working life at an organization focused primarily on making work joyful? I, for one, want exactly that. But most companies will not be Menlo Innovations, where walls have been eliminated and babies and dogs are welcome. I’m left with the idea that I can change the way I work within my organization, starting with communication, anthropology, and experimentation.
It’s far too easy to rely on email, which serves to distance us from one another, so I’m picking up the phone more frequently to actually talk to people. And while I work remotely across a large territory, I’ve found that by identifying my end-users more carefully, I can create more effective marketing and sales campaigns. But most importantly, I’m trying small experiments in my marketing activities, and learning quickly whether the effort is effective. This gives me the freedom to try something new, elsewhere, until I find what works best. It’s freeing. And joyful.
What about you? Do you work for a joyful company or have you created one? What recommendations can you make to support a joy-focused culture? Do any of Sheridan’s recommendations resonate with you? Is there something specific you can do to bring more joy to your daily work?
