Hello! 🙌

Welcome to the 2nd edition of That Works! This is a weekly digest of the most captivating articles, podcasts, and tweets (X's!) on the current and future state of work that we have come across this week. Additionally, we will share some Townish news!

Hope you enjoy and forward to a friend who may want to subscribe!

Achieving the highest professional level

Novak Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles (with his most recent one on Sunday) - more than any other player in the long history of tennis. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. During this press conference, he discusses the necessary factors for achieving personal growth and reaching the pinnacle of success.

Djokovic was asked about his relationship with his coaching staff, and it is fascinating to hear how one of the tennis greats views this topic.

Young companies are more remote

Young firms are much more remote and flexible than older ones, according to Prof. Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University. He shared the following graph, which shows that the % of US companies offering work location flexibility increases as the company is younger.

The expected result based on this data is an increase in remote and flexible work over time as the cohort effect takes place - the cohorts of companies starting today are much more remote than cohorts of existing companies. This effect is magnified among tech companies.

Tech’s middle managers feel the squeeze

The Tech industry has seen better days, and in light of the layoffs, hiring freezes and push on efficiency, a lot of middle managers have seen their jobs disappear. Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg said he intends to flatten the organization and eliminate some middle managers jobs. The reality is that happens in every recession - focus on reducing costs leads to eliminating some middle manager roles, and as companies start hiring again, they see the need for these positions to re-emerge.

What else we’re reading about

• Workers and bosses are reaching a truce - hybrid work becomes the new norm.

• The Myth of the CEO as Ultimate Decision Maker - CEOs don’t make decisions ; they shape decisions.

• A video from 1960 projecting how work will look like in 2023 - not as far off as one would expect!

What's new with Townish

• We reached 10 customers - only the beginning, amirite? Here’s some lessons we learned from it.

• New pricing page - we’ve noticed that small and medium companies are looking for events partner, someone they can trust to work with on an ongoing basis, as they can’t afford someone doing this full time and no one wants to do this dirty job…but we’d love to! (obviously, you can still work with us on a per event basis).

• We were at DisruptHR in Vaughan - that was fun! check out our cool banner :)

Partner of the week

Dr. Josh Elmore

Dr. Elmore is one of those people who immediately makes you smile when you meet them. Genuine, intelligent, and simply a lot of fun to be around. And yes – he is also an exceptional offsite facilitator. We are delighted to collaborate with him and provide his services to our clients.

Tell us a little bit about the business / yourself

I’m an expert in social and organizational psychology. I’ve built my business to leverage my background and help leaders and managers make their teams more effective. Getting a PhD in the social sciences has made me curious about human interaction, and I translate that curiosity to ask thought-provoking questions. I’d say my ability to ask questions is what my business centers on. My clients are the experts in what they do, but my outside inquisitiveness helps them to see what they do, differently. Right now, my focus is on facilitating offsites for remote and hybrid teams. I see offsites as a vehicle for organizational change, a check-in point for folks to reconnect, recommit, redesign, and make updates on what is already working.

How did you decide to start this business?

I’ve always been entrepreneurial. Since I was young, I’ve sought to build new things and turn a profit. My current venture is exciting because I get to bring science to life by helping teams focus on the things that matter. I also love seeing between organizations and building a perspective that helps my clients. I believe that we are in a transformational moment in the world of work, where leaders and their people need to redefine the arrangements that work best for them. This could be about where, when, or how folks work. I see a need for support on that journey, and I am fortunate to have the training to provide it.

What's the coolest / most interesting thing that happened during an event you hosted?

A while back, I designed a career development workshop. My aim was to help folks that were at a crossroads in their career. I had participants share their current situation and leveraged coaching techniques to listen, ask questions, and get people in a reflective mode. Following this, I had participants engage in a career reflection activity about how they pursue goals. I gave them a worksheet that asked them to reflect on a particular goal they worked toward in the past, a goal they were currently working toward, and a goal they planned on working toward in the future. With regard to these goals, I asked questions like, What helped you succeed?, What were some challenges you faced?, etc. When we came back together to discuss what they had written, I was delighted to see that participants had picked up on patterns they fall into when pursuing their goals. Given these insights, it was great to hear folks discuss what they might do differently in the future. I love seeing people experience AHA moments; that is when I know I am doing my job.

To read more about Dr. Elmore journey, check out our blog

By the way, we also believe that this is a transformational moment in the world of work. That’s why we’re here and thrilled to partner with Dr. Elmore!

Townish exists to bring teams together and help them plan intentional gatherings where they can spend time together, work together, collaborate, and have fun. Have you seen cool ideas for team events, or have any questions about your own?