I smile when I think about the letter I’ll receive at the end of this Thanksgiving week.<\/p>\n
Some years it comes on Thursday.\u00a0Some years,\u00a0later. Regardless, every year\u00a0I am surprised by this letter, without forgetting its on its way.<\/p>\n
Once a year, on Thanksgiving, a friend of mine from grade school sends out a letter to her friends.\u00a0In it, she shares\u00a0her thanks for their presence in her life and shares details of her year. Her letter\u00a0is brief yet thoughtful, and it reminds me that there are people out there who are thankful for me.<\/p>\n
Thinking about thankfulness makes me consider my fortune in life, family, and\u00a0career. As an entrepreneur, I have incredible flexibility in the work that I do, and with whom I choose to do it.<\/p>\n
In the last four years, my co-founders and I have tried to create\u00a0a workplace at Rival IQ that fits our lives and our values.<\/p>\n
We are not a win-at-all-costs shop, and we appreciate\u00a0family, transparency, and openness.\u00a0My hope is that our attitudes and actions reflect these values to\u00a0our employees and customers.<\/p>\n
This Thanksgiving, as I reflect on the year, I want to share two cultural points\u00a0I’m thankful for at Rival IQ. I hope I am not alone among our staff in gratitude for these things, but if I am, I hope someone pulls me aside to share.<\/p>\n
Every two weeks, on Wednesday morning, we have our sprint planning with the whole team. We spend the majority of this meeting\u00a0on reflection and retrospection.<\/p>\n
The floor is open for each team member to reflect on the last two weeks. We focus on what went well, potential improvements, and team acknowledgments. I don’t know how all teams work, but\u00a0ours has a strong bias\u00a0toward the acknowledgment of others.<\/p>\n
I love these acknowledgments.\u00a0Listening to my team\u00a0recognize their peers\u00a0is a special part of my week.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful for collaborators that are aware of the successes of others.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful for thoughtful\u00a0colleagues that\u00a0are confident enough to\u00a0share their admiration.<\/p>\n
Though I love the praise, hearing the team take accountability for issues makes me most proud. \u00a0The openness with which my team discusses failures of execution is refreshing.\u00a0It takes a great deal of trust in your team\u00a0to admit fault.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful\u00a0that our team feels free\u00a0to accept\u00a0responsibility for things that didn’t go well.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful that CYA and blame games aren’t a part of how we do our thing.<\/p>\n
You never know what kinks or blows\u00a0life is going to throw you. From the mundane to the major, you can tell a lot about a person or organization by how they handle the unexpected.<\/p>\n
As a parent of two small children, I can tell you that life throws me lots of unexpected situations. I’m sure that my teammates with children\u00a0would all agree. \u00a0The randomization from\u00a0sickness, school closures, and nanny drama isn’t good for your focus.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful to be a part of a company whose culture encourages putting family first.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful for teammates that offer support and\u00a0not judgment\u00a0when things go sideways.<\/p>\n
Whenever I’m home with a sick kid, I think about how lucky I am to be in such a supportive environment. I also find myself thinking about those in less flexible workplaces.<\/p>\n
I’m thankful my job is secure while I tend to my family.<\/p>\n
This Thanksgiving, take a few moments to be thankful. Your\u00a0family, friends, and personal wellbeing are so vital to our success. We often take for granted\u00a0these pillars of life\u00a0in our quest to achieve ever more.<\/p>\n
Pause, reflect\u00a0and think about how you can improve the lives of those around you, even in small ways.<\/p>\n
Happy Thanksgiving\u00a0everyone, from our team to yours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the last four years, my co-founders and I have tried to create a workplace at Rival IQ that fits our lives and our values.<\/p>\n
We are not a win-at-all-costs shop, and we value family, transparency, and openness. My hope is that our attitudes and actions reflect these values to our employees and customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n