World-Building and Culture (4-22-25)

Last week we kicked off a series focused on different storytelling tricks and mechanics, and we analyzed unreliable narrators. This week we are going to dive into world-building and culture.

World-building is the creation of a fictional world that is believable and consistent within the context of the story (WORLDBUILDING Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster). It is comprised of all of the details that describe the world, how it works, and how the characters operate in that world. Some fictional worlds are grounded in realism, while some are grounded in fantasy.

Pretend for a minute that you’re reading a story that takes place in England. There are dragons in the story. Does it make sense to have dragons in the story? It depends. If the book is Pride and Prejudice, and the world is built more on realism then the dragons don’t fit. If the book is Harry Potter, and the world is built on magic and mythical creature than a dragon fits right in.

You’re probably wondering how this connects to work. Pretend for a minute that someone challenges the leader in a meeting. Is this okay? It depends. If the culture is one that is built on hierarchy and fear, then this is not acceptable behavior. If this is a psychologically safe culture where people are encouraged to challenge ideas, then not only is challenging the leader acceptable, but it is also expected. I’ve been on teams in both situations, have you? How did you feel about living in each of those cultures?

With all this in mind, what if building culture is the same thing as world-building? Building culture is comprised of all of the details that describe the group’s mission, how the team works, and how the characters operate within that culture. We can influence all of those things. We can set the mission. We can set the tone for what mindsets and behaviors are acceptable and rewarded. We all have the power to influence and build the culture we want to be in.

The challenge- What kind of world, what kind of culture will you build?

Bonus deep reflection- What kind of culture/world do you think your actions create around you? How do your behaviors create that culture/world?

I’d hope that people say, “Andrew creates a culture of care, creativity, and nerdtastic fun and authenticity.” These are the things I’m intentionally trying to build. I try to invest time in understanding people and showing them I appreciate them. I build a culture of creativity by embracing messy problems, making connections, and being willing to try new things. I’m nerdtastic fun from my socks to my Team’s background, which sends a message that I’m comfortable with who I am and I want you to be who you are too. I may not always succeed at building this world, but that’s what I constantly try to do.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Electric Currents, Parenting, Leadership, and Burn Out (1-10-24)

As we start off the year and begin to dive back into the craziness, I think we can all agree that we want to make sure that throughout the year we are taking care of each other in order to avoid exhaustion and burn out. With this in mind, I want us to reflect on electrical current, parenting, leadership, and burn out. If you’re in an official leadership position, I hope you read this and seriously consider the themes and implications. Side note, I’m in an official leadership position, and I’m writing this as a reminder to myself more than anything.

Let’s pretend for a minute that I took a lot of heavy power using appliances and plugged all of them into the same surge protector. It might look something like this picture. I’d assume that you’re thinking, “Why would you do that? That is not smart at all. Even though it’s a surge protector, it is not designed to handle that amount of electrical current. You’re going to burn something down.”

Now let’s think of parenting. Imagine that I have an overwhelming list of demands for my kids, and I expect everything on my to-do list to be done perfectly, and this occurs over months. My kids struggle with this workload. When I notice them struggling, I tell them, “You just need to practice some self-care. Take a rest.” However, the workload and expectations stay the same. At this point, I’d assume/hope you’re thinking something like, “You’re being a bad dad. You’re giving them an impossible task that is beating them down, and instead of doing something that could help them you are telling them to fix it themselves. They don’t have the power to fix it themselves, because they don’t control the expectations you are putting on them. You need to do something.”

What does this have to do with anything? The overloaded surge protector that would start a fire was MY responsibility because I chose to route too much power through it. When my kids were struggling and couldn’t fix it by practicing self-care, it was MY responsibility, because I controlled the list of demands and expectations. Why don’t we more consistently apply this same thinking when we think about employee burn out? Most things I read and hear about burn out put the responsibility on the individual employee. We tell them to practice self-care, go for a walk, and get plenty of rest. Why don’t we more consistently look at the leader and hold them responsible for creating an environment that is a huge contributing factor to burnout? The fact is, even if the individual practices the best self-care ever, it doesn’t matter if their work environment is always crushing them into the ground. The individual can have some responsibility, but not all. Leaders have a large portion of responsibility with regards to burn out, because their actions or inactions are the ones that create environments where burn out has a higher or lower chance of being a negative force for employees.

Think about it for a minute. If a leader doesn’t have a clear vision, then all the additional energy trying to navigate the swirl is extra burden on the team. If the leader doesn’t have clear priorities about what work needs to be done, the quality it needs to be delivered in, and the effort it should require, then all of the extra work done on things that isn’t needed puts extra burden on the team. If the leader is not actively driving a culture where people feel heard and valued, then all the extra energy people put in to survive that culture is extra burden on the team. Have you ever been on the receiving ends of any of those situations? I have. I’ve found that once you add up all that extra burden ON TOP of already largely out of reach goals and expectations, you have the perfect recipe for burnout. Have you ever been the leader who hasn’t done those things well? I have. What did you notice? I notice when I don’t do those things well, it puts a tremendous burden on folks that shouldn’t be there, and it sucks their souls.

The challenge: As a leader, what are you doing to create an environment that minimizes the potential of burnout? Asked another way, as a leader are your actions increasing or decreasing the chances of people experiencing burn out?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Omelets, Being New, and Adding Flavor to Culture (10-4-23)

This will be the last in the series of lessons I’ve learned from being new to a role. This week we will reflect on omelets, being new, and adding your flavor to the culture.

I eat an omelet for breakfast almost every morning. It always starts with 2 large brown eggs, and then from there I’ll mix and match different ingredients. Each ingredient I add brings a new element to the omelet, changing its flavor profile. Sometimes, I’ll want something with a bit of a kick, so I’ll use ghost pepper cheese and restaurant style salsa. Sometimes, I’ll want a big hearty omelet with American cheese and sausage mixed inside. Sometimes, I’ll want something smooth like white cheddar and turkey with a little dash of something extra in the form of sweet onion salsa.

What does this have to do with being new? In the analogy above, I talk about how the omelet always starts with two large brown eggs. I don’t keep adding eggs to the omelet, because if I did all I would have is more eggs. Instead, I want a unique flavor, so I bring in different ingredients with each of them making their own special addition to the omelet. It’s the combination of the ingredients that transforms the eggs into the omelet. In a way, the eggs represent the base culture of a team that you’re joining. That would make us the ingredients that can bring unique flavors. Even if you feel you can’t start delivering “traditional value” right when you are first starting out, you can bring energy to your team. Some people bring a jolting boost of fun, adding laughs to the team. Some people bring a crisp focus, enabling the team to prioritize what matters. Some people bring grit, helping the team fight through tough times. We all have something that is uniquely us. If you’re new to a team (or even if you’ve been there awhile) you always have the ability to share that with the team. You always have the opportunity to bring a little bit of your own flavor to enhance the culture around you.

The challenge: What flavor will you ADD to your team?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Super Mario 3D World and Working Together (4-6-23)

Last week was about video games and diagnosing the situation before offering any advice. This week is about Super Mario 3D World and the challenges of working together.

Super Mario 3D World is our latest 4 player family video game. It’s a cute adventure with Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach who work together to stop Bowser. It’s also an INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING game at times. How can something so cute and joyous be so frustrating? It’s all because the actions of the characters impact each other, so it’s easy to get blindsided and knocked off track. You might run into another character and accidentally knock them off the edge to their doom. You might go to one side of the screen, making the screen follow you, so no one else can see what they are doing, leading to their death. You might get lost in all of the chaos and get ambushed by a lowly goomba. In order to survive, we have to be able to look at our own character and how everyone else is moving. We also have to spend a lot of time coordinating and communicating. Sometimes, we even have to pause the game to talk about what we need to do, so we are all on the same page. This is the only way to capture the flag at the end of each level to advance.

What if work is just like Super Mario 3D World? Think about it. You have multiple players with various skill levels who all have their own power-ups and abilities. Everyone is racing to a goal. Your actions impact you and others around you and vice versa. Have you ever been blindsided by actions of a “player”? Maybe, you’ve been hit by an unexpected process at the worst time. Maybe, you were trying to zig, while everyone else was zagging. Maybe, you had a deadline ambush you from behind a corner. Maybe, you made a decision that had unintended ramifications down the road. I know all these things have happened to me. Like my family playing Super Mario 3D World, in order to be successful you have to understand your role AND look at the big picture to see how it all fits together with other players. You need to spend time communicating with the other players. Sometimes, you might even have to pause and slow things down to ensure everyone is aligned on the end goal. That’s the only way to win.

The challenge: How are you integrating with all of the players in your game? What are you doing to ensure everyone is working together?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Disney and Being On Task vs. On-Purpose (3-15-23)

This will be the last in the series about lessons I learned from the Disney Institute. This week is about being on task vs. being on-purpose.

At the Disney Parks and Resorts, employees are united by a common purpose, “We create happiness by providing the best in entertainment for people of all ages everywhere.” It’s a purpose they aspire to live every single day. This is part of the secret behind the Disney magic. We talked about this with the Disney Institute as it related to people and their day-to-day jobs. The Disney Institute explained the concept of on-task vs. on-purpose, and how it was okay for someone to be off-task if they were on-purpose. For example, a member of the custodial crew might have the task to clean the sidewalk. However, if a family approaches them and asks them for directions, that same cast member might stop sweeping the sidewalk to lead an impromptu parade to the location. The cast member isn’t fulfilling their daily tasks, but they are doing the more important work of living their purpose and creating happiness for the guests.

What does this have to do with anything? There are a lot of different ways to think about on task vs. on-purpose. In a perfect world, all tasks would align with a bigger purpose. This may not always be the case though, because there are tasks in any job that we just need to get done (#expensereports 😉). At the same time, it’s easy for the day-to-day job to become just a collection of tasks that lacks connection to purpose. It’s easy to get lost in to-do lists and activity for the sake of activity. Do you ever fall into this trap? I do. When I fall into this trap, I eventually realize that I might be doing things, but many of them aren’t attached to a larger purpose so they don’t mean much. While completing tasks might be easier to measure, many of the on-purpose activities that have the most important impact are the hardest to quantify. For example, building culture and teams is being on-purpose, because it enables to deliver better outcomes but how do you measure that? Challenging processes and cultural norms to deliver better outcomes for customers is on-purpose, but difficult to track. This idea of being on task vs. on-purpose and how that connects to our work is definitely worth thinking about.

The challenge: What is YOUR ideal balance of being on task vs. on-purpose?

Bonus 1: As you think about being on-purpose, you can look at that through multiple lenses too. Are you doing work that aligns with your organization’s purpose? Your team’s purpose? Your own purpose?

Bonus 2: All of this talk about purpose reminded me of something I did my senior year of college. Professor Skinner (one of the best professors ever) had us create our own personal mission statements, and then she laminated them for us. This has been in my wallet for about 16 years now. It’s a little wordy 😉 But my focus on enriching the lives of the people I meet still rings true and drives a lot of what I do in and outside of work. If you haven’t ever taken the time to make your own mission statement, you should think about doing so. It’s a great exercise.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Disney, Eating, Leadership, and Setting the Tone (2-22-23)

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Description automatically generated with low confidence Happy Wednesday,

This week we are going to kick off a series about lessons I learned from the Disney Institute last year when I attended as a Team Lilly Ambassador. We will start with a story about eating, leadership, and setting the tone. The inspiration behind this week’s entry comes from Kip Chase’s wife.

It was the first night and we were at the restaurant. The food was set up, but no one was eating. Kip Chase noticed that people were just kind of awkwardly waiting. He nudged me and loudly says, “I’m going to grab some food, everybody let’s go eat.” I declare that I’m Kip’s first follower, and we grab food together😉. The moment Kip grabs the first morsel, other folks start lining up and grabbing food too. As we do this, Kip shares a story with me that goes something like this, “Sometimes you have to be the first to let others know it’s okay to start. It’s like taking friends out to dinner. You order the steak, so they know it’s okay to order steak too.” I was like, “Man, that’s good!” Then, Kip revealed that he learned that from his wife. I’m not saying that makes his wife better than him, but I’m not not saying it either. #loveyoubuddy

What does this have to do with anything? This is a story about someone taking the lead and setting the tone through their actions. Kip was the default leader in this scenario, and people followed his lead. One of the most important things a leader does is set the tone with their teams. Their actions and inaction drive what is and isn’t acceptable in a culture. I’ve been on teams where EVERYONE was always striving to improve and do better, because the leader set appropriate standards and drove accountability. I’ve been on teams where people were okay with lower levels of performance, because the leader didn’t expect quality work and didn’t hold people accountable. I’ve been on teams where I could be open and vulnerable, because the leader demonstrated those qualities on a regular basis. I’ve also been on teams where I didn’t feel comfortable being that way because the leader either never showed vulnerability or shut down open and honest conversations. Do any of these sound familiar to you? In these situations, people looked to their leader to see what tone they were setting and then responded accordingly. Think about your favorite and not so favorite leaders. What tones were they setting with their actions or inaction?

The challenge: Think about yourself. What tone are you setting with your actions or inaction?

Bonus-Kip probably never thought that a random story told over a buffet would stick with me. That’s one of the other parts of leadership. You never quite know how influential your words will be, and how people will latch onto different things.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Chili and being Inclusive (11-2-22)

Last week was about chili and appreciating simplicity. This week is about chili and intentionally being inclusive in day-to-day life.

About 2 years ago I wrote a blog series about inclusion and my wife being a vegetarian. You can read that entry and any of my past blogs by going HERE. In summary, when my wife comes to my parents’ house for dinner, my mom makes vegetarian options, so Diane is included. This makes Diane feel cared for and valued. This week’s story takes this to the next level.

I take my kids over to my mom and dad’s house for a family lunch almost every Sunday, and my wife stays home so she can have a day to herself after holding it down with the kids all week (teaching, taking care of them, running the house, putting up with me 😉 etc.) Recently, we went over to have chili. My mom makes chili with beans and ground beef. As we were leaving, my mom asked if I’d take some home to Diane. That’s when my mom reveals that she made Diane her own separate small pot of chili WITHOUT meat. Isn’t that awesome? Now, my mom didn’t want to be praised for this or anything, she just wanted to show Diane she cares about her. I get home from my mom and dad’s house, and I tell my wife that my mom made her a separate pot of vegetarian chili and my wife simply said, “She’s the best!” You could tell my wife felt loved and appreciated.

What does this have to do with anything? It’s great that my mom makes vegetarian options when my wife comes over for dinner. It’s even better that my mom takes action when Diane isn’t around. In a similar way, it’s appropriate to focus on diversity and inclusion when we are in forums focused on those things or celebrating holidays. It’s even better, when we are consistently putting in the work because it’s the right thing to do. It’s even better, if we are making these actions just part of what we do vs. some kind of action that should be celebrated because we are showing initiative.

The challenge: Do an honest assessment. How are YOU consistently and intentionally being inclusive in day-to-day life? Where could YOU improve?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

15 Years- The Power of Small Gestures (6-22-22)

Last week was about caring enough to give tough feedback. This week is about the power of small gestures.

Let me take you back a few years. I had graduated from our marketing rotational program and was looking for my first official role in the marketing world. I had my heart and hopes set on market research, because I love sifting through chaos, connecting dots, turning insights into stories, and allowing my curiosity to run free. I was lucky to land a role with a market research team.

After my boss officially hired me, we sat down together for the first time and he said something like, “I’m a big Kentucky basketball fan. I think we need to do this right.” He grabbed a piece of flipchart paper and wrote up a letter of intent and had me sign it was like I was a top college prospect. We had someone snap a photo, and then he shared it with everyone as a way to say I had joined the team. It was a little thing, but it makes me smile whenever I think of it.

What does this have to do with anything? Can you think of a time when someone did something small to welcome you? How did it make you feel? This is a great example of how a small gesture can have a big impact on making someone feel welcome. My boss didn’t have to do that. I would have been happy just knowing I was part of the team. However, by putting in a little extra effort he turned a routine moment into something special. On top of that, he brought me in and made me part of his love for basketball. It was that little extra energy, which set the tone for a great adventure with the market research team.

The challenge: What small things can you do to help people feel more welcome and valued?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

The Not So Polished Human Side of Things (2-9-22)

Last week we looked at giving yourself permission to not be perfect. Let’s continue that theme by giving ourselves permission to share the not so polished human side of things.

This is from lap 2 of the Abominable Snow Race. On the first lap I scaled the 8 foot wall like a pro. Not so smooth this time. I misjudged the distance, swung my leg incorrectly, and got stuck in a painful position. If you zoom in, you can see me dying on the inside from the pain or as my cousin said, “I can see your soul leaving your body.” It took me 30 seconds or what felt like 1 hour to shimmy my other leg over and slide down the wall. I was hurting. It was ugly. But I made it. #bestphotoever

Whether or not you’ve ever done an obstacle course race, we have all been in some version of this moment from the picture on the right. Everything is going smoothly, and then bam it turns painful and awkward in a heartbeat from a trip, stumble, or our minds just blanking. We’ve all been there. You can probably picture that moment in your mind right now. I hope you chuckle when you do. Sharing this story doesn’t make me look cool. It’s not a flattering photo. However, it is one way of showing I’m human. It is one way of helping us all connect to the fact that we are all human. I’d hope that by sharing something like this, it might make you feel a little comfortable sharing the human side of you whenever you’re around me.

What does this have to do with work? Have you ever been around a co-worker who only shows you the polished side of things? Have you ever been around a leader like this? I don’t know about you, but I have a real hard time trusting people like that. I have a hard time being open about my thoughts and feelings. If the leader never shows that they are human, how can I be expected to show that I’m human? Now, am I saying that everyone needs to share a painful picture of them getting stuck on an 8 foot wall? No. What I am saying is that it would be great if we all felt comfortable to share a bit of us that makes us human. This could mean sharing stories of our mistakes, flaws, joy, love, passion, and anything that gives an insight into who we are as people. These are the actions that create the environment where humanity can be shared.

The challenge: How are you sharing the not so polished human side of you? What are you doing to give people a place where it’s safe to show they are human?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Parenting, Leading, and the Burden of Wellness (10-27-21)

This week I want to kick-off a series about wellness. We will start by thinking about parenting, leading, and the burden of wellness. Fair warning, this one might hit hard.

There are times when my girls struggle with their mental/physical/emotional/social health. They get tired, stressed, grumpy, anxious, and lash out. When this happens, my wife and I get together and figure out how we can adjust the environment to make it easier for them to be well. We don’t swoop in to save them. We help create the space for them. There are a lot of different levels to pull. We might say no to extra activities, keeping things off their plate. We might adjust our expectations of them, asking them to only fulfill their minimal chores and obligations vs. asking for more. We might do our best to slow everything else down, so we can spend quality time together. This environment then helps them find their path to wellness.

You might wonder where this one is going. It feels like “wellness” has been the biggest corporate buzzword since COVID started. It has also felt like the burden of wellness often falls on the individual, instead of the company and systems the person operates in. To me the focus on wellness sounds like this, “Andrew, you’re already burned out, so please make time to listen to this webinar about burnout. You’re overworked, so take a course on time management. You don’t have enough time for your commitments, just take a day for self-care.” Do you ever feel this way?

In the story this week, I don’t put this burden of wellness on my daughters. They can’t do this on their own. They need an environment that supports them. As a parent, as a co-leader of the family, I am responsible for creating this environment that promotes and enables wellness. What if our companies, leaders, society, and systems we live in did a better job of creating this environment that promotes wellness? What if instead of always asking for more and more and more and then telling you to take care of yourself, they did a better job of building wellness into the fabric of the way we do things?

The challenge: As a leader, what are you doing to create an environment that makes achieving wellness easier? What strategies and tactics can you execute to create this environment?

The hard reflection: If you aren’t creating an environment that promotes wellness without putting the burden on individuals, you’re likely inadvertently causing harm. Is that okay with you?

Additional thoughts: Even if you’re not a leader with formal authority, I think you can do things to help the wellness of others. I don’t lead a team, but I can make sure I’m recognizing people and showing them how much I appreciate them. This doesn’t solve all problems, but it does give help fill their bucket so they can keep going. I don’t lead a team, but I can spend an extra second making sure I’m clear on what we are trying to accomplish with a given project. This clarity minimizes swirl, which minimizes how much energy a person has to spend doing something. They can use the energy they didn’t waste to do other things in life without going empty. I don’t lead a team, but I can tell someone, “This isn’t urgent. Don’t rush to get it to me. I’m not going to look at it for a couple of days anyway,” which gives them time to breathe. Reserving speed and urgency for only the things that truly require speed and urgency allows people to save their energy for when it matters. I’m not perfect at any of these things. I am trying to be more cognizant, so I can do better because even my actions as an individual contributor make a difference.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry