📜 Whenever a new team member joins our team, the second part of their induction program (after directing them to the bathroom and coffee machine) is to immerse them in the company’s history.
🗣️I tell them the stories I know. I introduce them to others who can tell more. The keepers of the legends in any team are treasures. What they share is gold.
📚 The pre-history of the company and the stories around the team emphasise the culture. It explains the ‘why’. It provides context.
🏢 I remember when our company took over another back in 2002, the Managing Director visited the newly acquired company’s founder at his home on the Gold Coast. He spent three days with him, extracting every bit of history to get a quality insight into the new acquisition.
🏢 There are reasons why a company is performing as it is, and it’s important to know those reasons.
📖 It’s a case study. The case study is the heart of any curriculum.
Through a case study, work becomes meaningful. It helps define the context and the environment.
It doesn’t mean that it can’t be adjusted.
📜 For new team members, knowing the company’s history provides guidelines. They won’t be working in a complete vacuum.
And when new team members become familiar with the historical context of the role, they have a shared memory with colleagues.
🌐 Things, events, and facts all become part of an agreed view of the world. And so engagement with others in the business is productive.
The historical context provides a solid reference point.