7,000 feet closer to the sun
On joining the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program as a “First Movers Fellow…”
Consider this statement: “It’s amazing how needs change when you’re 7,000 feet closer to the sun.” Sounds like a great metaphor for something, am I right? I do often find myself referring to how different things are in corporate life the “closer you get to the sun.” The “sun,” in this case, can mean “headquarters,” or “senior leadership.” Let’s be real, things feel different when at any moment you might find yourself in an elevator with your VP or if the program you just launched is visible to the head of communications as she grabs coffee. How close your orbit is to the people you need to influence are the kinds of things you have to think about in corporate America if you want to advance your work and career. The challenge of being “far from the sun” is as relevant to anyone trying to navigate the challenges of distributed, hybrid or remote work as it is to Neptune.
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Which is why it struck me when I heard these words spoken quite literally by Megan Shea, Assistant Director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program on a kickoff call for this next year’s “First Mover’s Program.” I’m excited to be joining sixteen other “corporate social intrepreneurs” in developing skills to “lead change within our companies and industries, which collectively, over time, will redefine how business is done and how success is measured.” In other words, figuring out how to bring our “corporate orbits'æ close enough to our proverbial “suns” to ignite a solar flare. Megan’s comment came at a moment when we were sharing tips on how to prepare for the high altitude and dry conditions of Aspen, CO where we’ll all be convening next week to kick off our fellowship year with an immersive four-day seminar.
I couldn’t be more excited because, if I’m honest, at least 50% of the reason I wanted to participate in this program was for the seminars (one each at the beginning, middle and end of the year). Sure, I’m excited to beef up my influence skills to advance an ambitious project aimed at fueling human creativity and innovation (at Adobe and beyond) through curated connection experiences at work (and combating loneliness while I’m at it). Whew. No pressure. But I am REALLY looking forward to dedicated time to reflect and refuel; and most especially to building community in service of all of the above. And the best way to do that is with immersive, purpose-driven, well-designed, in-person time together.
I love retreats - good ones, that is. I love planning them and I love attending them. And I know this one next week in Aspen will be good. Not only because of the institute’s reputation, but also because this one-hour zoom call I was on seemed to have come straight out of Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering.
SIDE NOTE
During my first interview for the program, Megan said to me, “Do you know Nate Keller?” I said “yes, of course, we used to be business partners at Gastronaut, my catering company.” Megan said “I think you and I shared Thanksgiving dinner together 15 years ago.” Small world. She was right - I dug up the pictures to prove it, each of us veritable babies sitting across from each other at Nate’s mom’s house. See what I mean about sharing a meal being the original social networking?
DECIDE WHY YOU’RE REALLY GATHERING
Since I wasn’t the host for this meeting, I don’t know its purpose. But also, I do know its purpose - it was made clear through the experience. Megan will need to validate this but I’m pretty sure the reason we were all there was to begin making connections with our cohort by getting a taste of the unique approach to learning experiences led by the Aspen Institute. A few other of Priya’s principles were clearly in play, like…
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DON’T BE A CHILL HOST
When Megan was highlighting how our needs will be different on this trip, she was exemplifying Priya’s insistence on not being a “Chill Host.” Instead, hosts must use their considerable power to protect their guests. Megan did this in several ways. First, she opened the meeting by setting intentions very clearly that she wanted our full attention. She asked us to add our companies to our Zoom display names, grab whatever we need, and to turn off slack, email, etc. She reassured us that we’d have time to get to know everyone a little bit, but that it won’t feel like enough. In short order we were direct-messaged a unique question and whisked into breakout rooms to meet one person at a time and ask that question. After a few rounds, we were put into slightly larger groups to share a bit more deeply about ourselves and why this felt like the right time to do this program. I immediately felt a sense of connection to a half dozen of my fellow fellows, and we were only 20 minutes into the zoom call.
NEVER START A FUNERAL WITH LOGISTICS
Which brings me to one of Priya’s lesser known chapters - Never start a funeral (or any gathering) with logistics. Or as my earliest teacher of experience design, Mel Reisfield, used to say, “START WITH A BANG!” Sure, we all needed to know important things like when to arrive, where the shared spreadsheets live, and what the homework is, but who wants to pay attention when starting with those boring details? The primacy effect is powerful. These important logistics were saved for later in the agenda, AFTER we connected – and this is when we got into things like the amount of sunscreen, moisturizer and hydration you’ll need when 7,000 feet closer to the sun.
CREATE A TEMPORARY ALTERNATIVE WORLD
Megan co-hosted this call with Amy Martinez, an Aspen First Movers fellow in her own right and current Senior Program Associate. Towards the end of the call, Amy shared a poem - both on screen and by reading aloud. Then she asked for a volunteer to read it again (it was me - I learn best by reading aloud).
The poem, “Be Like Mushrooms, But Also Be Like Trees” (from City of Refuge by Starhawk) transported us into nature… in our minds. I mean seriously? When was the last time you devoted a whole portion of your zoom agenda to reading and reflecting on a poem? This was clearly a strategic choice meant to signal the kind of experience we could expect as part of this fellowship program. (I’m so excited).
ACCEPT THAT THERE IS AN END
By definition, gatherings end. Isn’t it the worst when you’re on a call that just drags on to the last minute… just because? That early teacher of mine, Mel Reisfield, also had a take on this - “Cut it at its peak.”
Megan and Amy gave us time to ask questions but when there were no more, we wrapped up. Lucky for us, while this zoom call was ending, our year of purposeful, connected gatherings had only just begun. I won’t have to accept the real end for quite a while now.
As we read that poem, Amy and Megan asked that we notice one word or phrase from the poem that called out to us. Then we all shared that phrase in the chat pod simultaneously. It was inspiring to be left with the messages that resonated with my new community of intrapreneurs:
Take in the light
Connect them out of sight
No head to cut off
Grow slowly - pop up when ready
Exude
Grow slowly
Grow slowly
Don’t grow alone
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Follow me for more reflections on my meta-experience of designing for connection in service of creativity with the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Program
