2:10 pm – Closing comments from John Stix asking everyone to take 30 seconds to set in mind what was meaningful today and to bring forth in everyone’s mind what’s importance for them, their family, or a work mate. And to finally set their intention to do something they want to do for themselves and for their teammates.
2:05 pm
1:55 pm – “Show of hands,” Rasanath asks, “I don’t want to deal with this exercise right now?” And it was almost unanimous. Self-awareness, responsibility and empathy is a process, and to be asked to deal with it, unless we can embrace vulnerability, just makes the process more difficult.
1:35 pm to 1:50 pm – Self-awareness, responsibility and empathy exercise. “Tell me something you don’t want to deal with.” with the objective to see how deep we can go, to see if we can take personal responsibility, and for the listener to empathise.
Takeaways: It was very, very uncomfortable for many. Some refused to even participate. Others found it very relieving, in actually voicing issues that needed to be dealt with. Many times things that are interfering with relationships are things that we don’t want to deal with.
The question is, how do we deal with this? And to answer to that is, we all need to embrace vulnerability. Trust is truly built in a culture when we can communicate our problems honestly and openly.
1:25 pm
1:20 pm – Fibernetics Culture 2.0 Keynote Speaker – Rasanath Das – Co-founder Upbuild. With a Bachelor’s in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T.) and an MBA from Cornell, Rasanath is committed to using his knowledge of corporate systems and cultures to transform the way the work world operates. Rasanath started his professional career in strategy consulting at Deloitte in 2000 and then worked as an investment banker for Bank of America from 2006 to 2008. While in the banking world, he lived in a monastery and then became a full-time monk for four years, during which time he co-founded Upbuild. He now runs the organization full-time. Rasanath is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, has been featured as a speaker for TEDx, SXSW, Wisdom 2.0, and Pop Tech, and he has been profiled in The New York Times, CNN, PBS, and The Third Metric.
12:40 pm – 1:15 pm – Jackie mandates that everyone in the room, get up and sit with someone they either don’t know well, or know at all, and have one person ask the other, “What gives you joy?” And then have that person talk about “what gives them joy” for five uninterrupted minutes while the questioner just sits and listens. This was followed by a session where the listener responds back, telling the talker about not their joy, but the talker’s joy, for five minutes. An exercise in both communication and listening that went on for 20 full minutes. And the talking never stopped.
The takeaways for Mindfulness in the Context of Relationships:
- Having to actually say thoughts of joy out loud reinforces how impactful they are.
- The power of silence is a gift.
- You start noticing similarities regardless of the difference in circumstance.
- We don’t make the time for those things that give us joy.
- In 10 minutes long time co-workers learn more about one another than they have in years.
- When there is time to pause and reflect there is time for the conversation to get more meaningful.
12:30 pm – Group Exercise with Jackie Lauer on Mindfulness. She asked everyone to offer their opinions on her, unbridled and blunt. They ranged from sarcastic, funny, bold, smart, opinionated, outgoing, forceful. The point being, whenever we meet a new person, we should try to shed the baggage that are pre-conceptions.
11:20 am – Happiness – honouring satisfaction and well-being 🙂
And the award goes to Dawn Gamble.
11: 17 am Trust – building trust through transparency and open, honest communications.
And the award goes to Steve Hebert.
11:15 am Teamwork – working well with others while respecting values and differences.
And the award goes to Theodora Malatches.
11:10 am Just do it and find the solution – taking initiative with a game plan for solutions.
And the award goes to Chris McNeil
11:05 am – Accountability – taking responsibility for our own actions while understanding the impact on the organization.
And the award goes to Derek Salisbury
10:58 am – Innovation – disrupting and challenging the status quo while having an entrepreneurial spirit by taking risks and dreaming big.
And the award goes to Derek Wong.
10:55 am – Core Values Awards – Our corporate culture is summed up by two very simple words: “I’m In!” Being “In” at Fibernetics means being focused on representing our core values in everything we do.
10:50 am – Awards Ceremony – The GCC Challenge
The GCC challenges individuals and teams during this 100 day journey to travel across the virtual map, unlocking new geographical locations by covering a specific distance using a step-counter. Participants are required to enter the number of steps travelled on a daily basis to continue to increase their score. This event encourages individuals to increase their physical activity by creating a sense of friendly competition where individuals can compete internally against those within their own organization and against other businesses located internationally.
Fibernetics finished fourth in the entire world, out of 100,000 participatoing companies as Most Active Organization:
10:30 am to 10:45 am – Break
10:26 am – For a positive daily mental health regime it is key to having a “Self-Care Plan”
10:00 am – Her first exercise was to ask 10 volunteers to write down the first five words that popped into their heads after she said the two words “Mental Health.” Half of the words were positive, the other half, negative. Strength vs. Pain. Wellness vs. Sadness. Self-care vs. Stigma. Her message is that the term “mental health” is being skewed to the negative, connotating a disability, instead of how we operate in our daily lives. Mental health is a component of everyone’s life and everyday life.
10:00 am – Robin Bender is the Founder of Mega Health at Work, a Waterloo, Ontario-based training consulting company. Robin Bender cares about people, about the way they think, the way they feel, and the way they work. It is this concern for people that has guided her education and her career. Her background includes 15 years in various human resource roles, where she became an expert in implementing Return to Work plans for injured workers. She came to the realization that workplaces could benefit from training in prevention rather that treatment. In response, Robin founded Mega Health at Work Inc., dedicated to erasing the stigma of mental illness and providing the tools organizations need to foster improved mental health in the workplace. As a Certified Mental Health Instructor, Robin provides a 2- day Mental Health First Aid Training to the community and an in-house option to businesses.
9:52 am – Then for a little motivation (grab a hanky):
9:45 am – Beyond professional resiliency at work, there will also be a focus on physical and mental resiliency. The company is opening up access to tools and resources to help each member of the Fibernetics family. Resources to aid in at work meditation training, more wellness programs, positive psychology techniques and support from every department in the company, and everyone in leadership.
9:35 am – This year’s focus will be on leadership and personal development. For those who wish to grow in their jobs or hierarchy, the company is committed to helping anyone with those aspirations to get there. Working with Jackie Lauer , and the special evaluation and training skill set she brings to Fibernetics, the entire team will be provided to opportunity to plan their path forward.
9:31 am – Reflecting back on Culture 1.0 and the introduction of the “I’m In!” initiative, the results are clear. The business is better, but so are we as a group. Due to our new culture, the group of individuals that one made up Fibernetics and its various divisions and brands are coming together.
9:20 am – Culture 2.0 theme is Resiliency. A conscious effort to address the simple fact that, as a quickly scaling company, we as a group are going to face unprecedented pressures and issues we have never experienced, and how we as a group, and how, using simple techniques, we can not only survive the onslaught but thrive.
9:15 am – Opening remarks from Fibernetics president John Stix
9:05 am – Culture 2.0 Opening Exercise – Laughter Yoga
9:00 am – And we’re off with a few words from our co-founder and executive officer, Jody Schnarr
8:55 am – Full house ready to roll
8:26 am – And here they come. Fibernetics team has started to filter in. We’ve added over 30% to our staff since our last culture event.
8:10 am – We’re off in 50 minutes. Nothing to see here yet.
And the award goes to Derek Wong