When we moved into our new office space (across the hall from our previous location) last summer, something felt familiar.
 
I couldn’t exactly put my finger on what or why. I had visited the space when it was inhabited by another company, but I hadn’t spent a lot of time in there. Yet, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something significant had taken place in the very spot where I now work.
 
And then I had my ah-ha moment: My office used to be Tony’s office. You see, Tony’s work experiences have made me pause and reflect on work life at Reach Partners.
 
Here’s why:
 
Tony was a long-term employee who worked with this other company in our building. Several years ago she requested one day off – July 10.
 
I recognize that granting vacation requests or personal days off can be complicated. But from what I understand about this business’s industry, mid-July wasn’t a busy time of the year. From what I knew about Tony, she was hard working and committed.
 
I don’t know why Tony asked for the day off, but it didn’t matter. Her boss said no. In response, Tony put in her two-weeks’ notice and left the company.
 
I’m sure denying the request for a day off wasn’t the only reason Tony left, but it certainly was the last straw for her.
 
Yes, there are rules and employee handbooks to follow. There are good reasons, as an employer, to have policies in place. There also are situations where employers and employees have to make hard choices. For example, I took off less time after my second child was born than I did when my first child arrived. Rachel once chose to fly from Minneapolis to Bismarck so she could attend a family wedding and fulfill a client obligation over the same weekend.
 
As at any company, Reach Partners always tries to balance the responsibilities of work with the responsibilities of personal life. Sometimes it’s easy; sometimes it’s not. Still, we believe our team is happier, healthier, and more productive when we trust our people to make decisions about their time.
 
Never do I want to run the kind of company that isn’t willing to consider an employee’s request for personal time. Tony’s company lost an experienced employee. I still wonder if her boss regrets his decision to deny her a day off.
 
In honor of Tony, we have observed July 10 as a Reach Partners holiday for several years.

This year, Tony’s Day Off will be held a day early because of some scheduling conflicts. That’s okay. What’s important is that we take a day off and recognize that sometimes the best policy is showing a little empathy and trust.
 
 
– Anita

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an updated version of a post that ran July 7, 2015.

When it comes to designing and planning events, it’s important to tap your creativity.
 
That was the case when we worked with Sanford Health and its partners – LifeSource, Dakota Lions Sight & Health, and Minnesota Lions Eye Bank. They wanted to honor the people who gave eyes, organs, and tissues during the 15 years the health system has done transplants.
 
The group designed and installed a Wall of Donor Heroes to honor living donors and those whose death extended someone else’s life.
 
But they needed some help when it came time to plan a reception to accompany the reveal of the wall to donors, donor families, and recipients.
 
The group of stakeholders included partners from throughout the community. The group led by Sanford Health’s marketing office was passionate about the project and had lots of ideas, but struggled to bring them to fruition.
 
“They were thinking about all of the necessary details, but they were trying to answer all the questions at the same time and became overwhelmed. That made it hard to move forward,” says Rachel Asleson, co-owner of Reach Partners.
 
Complicating the planning process, Sanford’s point person for the project was leaving and other Sanford team members were focused on the upcoming opening of a new hospital.
 
Sanford Health asked Reach Partners to step in and help shape a gathering filled with the dignity that donors and surviving families deserved. Reach Partners then guided the group to plan and execute the details in a timely, organized way.
 
Rachel worked with the project group to create an intentional event that celebrated new life while honoring the individuals who had passed away.
 
Before she came on board, some details had been predetermined. The reveal was scheduled for April, National Donate Life month. The group also wanted the reception to be held near the Wall of Donor Heroes at the Sanford Health Broadway Medical Center in Fargo.
 
These decisions brought with them some event challenges. The weather in mid-April is unpredictable, meaning that the event would largely have to be planned for an inside space. The lobby around the Wall of Donor Heroes, however, was not big enough to hold the number of guests the group wanted to invite.
 
To solve the problem, Reach Partners recommended a rolling program conducted during a two-hour reception. Guests were invited to wander through three levels of the lobby.
 
Instead of one long program, speakers presented short messages throughout the evening. This allowed attendees to come and go as they needed. During the presentations, those in attendance could easily gather and stand near the Donor Wall. Screens also were strategically placed so that guests could see a live-stream of speakers without being near the wall.
 
“Rachel did an awesome job wrangling this event,” says Brian Fuder of Dakota Lions Sight & Health. “I am truly impressed with her abilities. Reach Partners is a solution provider!”
 
The event was well-received and, more importantly, appropriately honored organ and tissue donors. More than 500 individuals attended the event.

A few years ago my daughter Olivia was attending a week-long foreign language camp for the first time. A week! They were going to mostly speak Norwegian! Dad was nervous: how in the world was she going to make friends?

My wife and I helped her arrange her things in the cabin and completed the final check-in at the medical station. As we prepared to leave, Olivia ran up the steps to grab something from her bunk. She was back in less than 60 seconds. “You guys should go now. I made a friend while I was upstairs,” she said.

Making the First Move
In the work world, it’s tougher to make friends this fast. As we go about our work, we all run into situations where we need to initiate contact with people we may not know well. There are times when we need to bring a group together that hasn’t gathered before.

To help warm up the conversation, we often turn to icebreakers. After all, taking time for deliberate activities leads to a more cohesive group and people learn more when they feel connected.

Yet, we’ve all been in situations where an activity certainly didn’t help to break the ice and, in fact, may have even chilled the room.

Time and time again, I’ve learned that icebreakers tend to produce results equivalent to the thought put into designing them. In other words, choosing an ice breaker as you walk down the hall to the conference room is not going to end well.

Just because a get-to-know-you activity worked well with one group does not mean it will be a good fit with the next one.

Choosing the right type of icebreaker is vital.

Fun and Games Icebreakers
Ice breaker games can be the most fun, but they also can be the most stress-inducing for some participants. This type of activity works best when you have a group gathering for a social purpose, or if you already know most of the personalities in the room.

The goal of this ice breaker is to bring some fun and offer a welcome break during long meetings or training sessions.

Some games:

Two Truths and One Lie: This icebreaker is usually quite popular.  Each participant in the group says three things about themselves — two are true and one is a lie.  The other participants guess which one is the lie and share why they think so. 

The Best Week of the Year: Each year I refer to the week my family spends at a rented lake cabin as “Best Week of the Year.” What would your best week consist of?

Finish the Sentence: Write sentence starters on slips of paper and place these in a bowl, basket, or bag. Have adults sit in a circle. One person pulls a slip, reads the sentence starter, and completes it.  Some sample starters:

• I think I have the best . . .
• The most important decision I ever made in my life was . . .
• I would never . . .

Introduction Icebreakers
This type of gathering activity gets names out into the open plus some snippets of information that help make a connection.

The size of your group probably determines what type of activity you do here. One of my favorites for larger groups is the “2 Minute Circle.” For this activity, pair people off and then form two circles, with one partner of each group on the inside circle, facing the other partner. Each pair shares their name and something about themselves. Then, after two minutes, the inside circle rotates one person to the left.

I attend a weekly meeting where we introduce ourselves like this each time. We often share some piece of info that is related to the week’s topic. Recently, the speaker was talking about a local beer and burgers festival. We were told to introduce ourselves and share our favorite beer or burger. I had a nice conversation that day with Mark, who simply liked my answer: “My favorite beer is whatever one I’m drinking while I grill burgers in my backyard.”

Insightful Icebreakers
This icebreaker is best when you want to get directly relevant information from participants.

With this type of activity, I have always found it useful to establish one firm ground rule: this is NOT a time for discussion. It IS everyone’s opportunity to share their thoughts.

I often think back to staff meetings I led and wish I had, even in that small group that knew each other well, opened with activities like this. As a meeting leader, the insightful icebreaker allows you to check the temperature in the room right when you start. I usually ask participants to provide three things: their name and department/organization, what they hope to get out of the day, and what is the most interesting thing that COULD happen as a result of the meeting.

An example: “My name is Sean Kelly, with Reach Partners. I hope that we walk out of here today with a firm vision of what our priorities over the next six months should be. My wildest hope is that we come up with an idea for a plan that includes more sidewalk cafes under brightly colored awnings . . . because my daughter and I love to visit places like that! If we did, I could tell her ‘Dad helped make this happen!’”

Right there is everything you can hope for in an icebreaker: you know who’s talking and conversation can flow from it. You might even remember who said it.

After all, who doesn’t want to be the guy who wants bring colorful awnings downtown to make his daughter happy? Choose the right icebreaker and you just might be him.
 
—Sean