Hi! It’s Andy here. As Actionable’s Managing Editor and Community Manager we may have interacted on social media. I decided to take advantage of Chris being away this week to hijack post on the blog. At Actionable we really try to walk our talk. For the past few months we’ve been running Actionable Workshops internally. Once a month or so the team will convene online (we all work virtually) and try one of the workshops we offer. Last week I stepped up to the plate and ran a workshop for my colleagues. I chose Being Remarkable, based on Seth Godin’s Purple Cow, one of the three workshops we offer as part of our free trial (you can learn more about that here). The workshop is all about the importance of standing out from the crowd and offering a really unique experience to your customers that will get them talking. Here are a few things I learned from the experience:
1. A new perspective. Each workshop is designed to get you to consider a multitude of things in a new light. That’s obvious. But what really struck me was just how beneficial it was having a new perspective from one of our team members who isn’t as involved in the facet of the business that we were discussing in the workshop that day. A little context: I decided that we would focus on how we can provide a more remarkable experience for our Actionable Book Club members. That colleague asked some really probing questions that got us all thinking about the book club in an entirely new way.
2. Bonding. One of the objectives of Actionable Workshops is to strengthen relationships. It might sound trite, but I’ve felt closer to my colleagues since we started running workshops internally at Actionable. The workshops are crafted in a way that forces you to really dig deep for answers. You often feel vulnerable—in the best possible sense of the word. This vulnerability helps you to get to know your colleagues, especially those you don’t work with as intimately, in a way that goes beyond the weekly strategy calls. I’m really grateful for that.
3. The tip of the iceberg. My one frustration was that Being Remarkable inspired such great conversation that it felt like I had to hurry my colleagues along to get to the next question, but more often than not I skipped a question rather than cut anyone off, especially when talk was getting really productive. We really would have benefited from an extra half an hour. But that’s okay. These workshops are supposed to be just the beginning of a longer conversation. If the conversation ends when the workshop does, we’ve failed. It’s about then putting the ideas into action. My colleagues and I have already scheduled a followup call where we can dig even deeper and unpack what we discussed in a really meaningful and productive way. I’m looking forward to it.
These are just a few of the takeaways from my experience of being a part of—and leading—an Actionable Workshop. But don’t take my word for it. Run one for your team today. For free. Click here.
