Creativity at the highest level takes time and space. We are working to design music and sound IP or experiences intended for longevity far beyond ordinary commercial music use. We need to protect our boundaries to protect our creativity in crafting each unique solution for each unique client circumstance. No sonic branding experience sounds like the last one did.
Did our company encourage boundaries on nights and weekends? Sure, whenever possible. Did we actively enforce boundaries or call folks out for not drawing boundaries during the day? Not enough. Language around protected time, and how to prioritize it, continues to be an area we need to work on.
Reactive meeting culture
If I had a penny for every time we discussed meetings … too many meetings, too short meetings, too many attendees, too few attendees, too unorganized meetings. Meetings can sink a four-day initiative, and this topic is particularly difficult for client service businesses where strategies like time-blocking meetings are impossible.
But what the four-day training exposed was a deeper weakness. The psychology behind meeting overload was both insightful and, at times, painful. Having language put to the “selfish urgency meeting” and “mere urgency effect meeting” was eye-opening.
Addressing the root cause promises more efficacy than superficial adjustments we’ve tried in the past. But it will take time, and a culture that allows us to call out meeting issues when we see them. Work in progress.
Lack of focus
Both on the personal and company level, lack of focus will kill a four-day week.
For the individual, this can go back to the lack of enforcing boundaries to get work done, no clear prioritized tasks to start your day, or a disastrous inbox that requires you to read and reread time and again. We learned a lot of personal focus hygiene hacks that we continually review and experiment with as a team.
More critically, company-wide the four-day week is an excellent reminder that cultures of creativity or innovation need a balance of discipline and strong decision-making. You need to be laser-focused on clear goals easily communicated, and you need to say no when an initiative does not align with or support the goal. Crafting a focus-driven culture necessitates consistent efforts, and we’re committed to that journey.
The truth is the same flaws that make for a difficult four-day are burning people out during a five-day week. The cultural flaws just have more room to hide.
