Mind-Bending Experiences

00:00:03: Hi folks, this is all

00:00:05: things

00:00:06: product with Petra Bille

00:00:07: and Theresa Kortz.

00:00:09: And we're so happy

00:00:10: you here!

00:00:16: Petra I have a weird topic for us today...I want to explore- I think i'm gonna frame it as like mind bending experiences.

00:00:27: So

00:00:28: my god things.

00:00:29: yeah big time

00:00:30: context context Things

00:00:32: that happen in your life at an event Like.

00:00:37: I know both of us have conferences that we've attended, that fall into this category and not like normal work conferences but a little bit more.

00:00:44: We can talk about that.

00:00:46: Mind

00:00:46: bending conferences?

00:00:48: Or for me pushing myself to do activities that are maybe outside my comfort zone or reading something so counter-to your point of view... Something that pushes you to see the world a little differently, or see yourself a little bit differently.

00:01:11: And like whether or not companies should be trying to create these experiences for their employees and is there a benefit to that?

00:01:20: So maybe we could just start with.

00:01:22: what do we mean by mind-bending experiences?

00:01:24: you can share about your house of beautiful business experience... Is this something company should think as way help grow their employees.

00:01:38: Yeah, so it's actually really hard to pinpoint what happens if you attend this The House of Beautiful Business Conference or in the past I have been attending THE conference in Malmö Sweden which had a similar vibe.

00:01:54: It was always mixed back.

00:01:56: You were never fully sure about your experiences wise topics-wise formats-wise.

00:02:05: But you knew, you go there for I don't know new lenses.

00:02:11: New angles thoughts that you have never thought.

00:02:14: but You see people comfortably thinking about these things all the time which is massively inspiring And it really brings in this like

00:02:22: huh?

00:02:23: Is That something that i should think About more often as well?

00:02:27: and then oftentimes It's not by The way.

00:02:29: so oftentimes you just like oh i appreciate your Thinking about the topic.

00:02:34: It has nothing to do with my corner of the internet or world.

00:02:38: So I appreciate the beauty of your thought, but it's not helping me over here and still... ...I always come back richer!

00:02:48: i think its very similar to the experience that you sometimes have when exposed to art because You really have to immerse yourself in The Art Experience to some extent To build a connection With it.

00:03:01: And these conferences are a bit similar to my art experience at least.

00:03:07: So, to some extent maybe you can share about your conference experiences as well and they are still business events.

00:03:15: so... To some extend business, and maybe there's something about how to retrofit houses through the current changes in world climate or something like that.

00:03:26: Is this is a thing I will need next week?

00:03:28: No!

00:03:29: But we may be needing to re-trofit some of our software in the past.

00:03:35: so it might come where an interesting piece But at least it's inspiring.

00:03:47: Atleast, It creates this more artsy resonance in me and I always feel enriched coming back richer than i went And...it ALWAYS has some very raw and personal interaction with other humans that I haven't planned for, that are outside of my bubble.

00:04:09: That have other thoughts than i have other opinions...that the background experience is mine worldviews.

00:04:16: so um that in itself has a lot off beauty and it's rare to find places if you not attend such a conference or ...and by the way companies asking more different types of events again.

00:04:35: So I think the in-person offsite was a bit dead over the last few years.

00:04:39: for whatever reason, maybe budget constraints but i see them coming back to some extent...I have more companies saying like hey we're bringing the band together and we want to create um different experiences than in the past!

00:04:51: We don't only want to talk about our strategy on next year planning and we don't that we currently want everybody to improve.

00:05:01: We want to really push everybody out of their comfort zone, sports is often added to the mix?

00:05:06: We can double click on that.

00:05:08: I would say in a second yeah but what's your mind-bending business experiences?

00:05:15: Yeah i think...I think a word that comes to mind is awe

00:05:20: like yeah that's a lovely word.

00:05:23: Experiences that inspire awe and It's such a little word that has so much power.

00:05:30: So for years, I went to the World Domination Summit which was a conference put on by Chris Gillibow and The tagline of the Conference Was How To Live A Remarkable Life In A Conventional World.

00:05:41: And it wasn't like the Silicon Valley Bro achievement remarkable?

00:05:48: What is more remarkable about you than your life fit awe-inspiring every year.

00:06:00: So like one year this guy, I can't remember his name calling somebody did a solo trip across Antarctica and His talk was just about history And that's very awe inspiring.

00:06:15: Like another time A magician stood on the stage and talked About The role magic played in his life.

00:06:21: while he is doing it He did one of the most mind-bending magic tricks I've ever seen in my entire life.

00:06:27: And even just describing it, i'm getting goosebumps like that's how powerful was!

00:06:31: I heard a talk by an NPR person someone really famous...I'm not gonna remember her name and she gave a really raw story about losing her job and having no idea what she is going to do next..and just the like bravery of telling that story....And NOT after The

00:06:50: Fact!!

00:06:50: Not After It All Turned Out

00:06:51: Fine!!!

00:06:52: but in the middle of the messy, middle-less having no idea where she was going.

00:06:57: And every year it was like eight speakers and you never knew what you were gonna get?

00:07:01: Some of them are crunchy bits.

00:07:02: I started this blog and got to a million readers.

00:07:04: here's how i did it.

00:07:05: But most of them were very real human stories that humans doing remarkable things In ways we're meaningful for them.

00:07:16: That left really just thinking about What the hell am I doing with my life And

00:07:23: it shook you.

00:07:25: It did, and literally I actually moved to Oregon because of this conference.

00:07:29: like there was a year where the woman talked about...I don't even remember what her talk is all about but i don't really think she's talking about that at all.

00:07:38: What do we have here?

00:07:40: She passed out strips-of paper.

00:07:42: That said one year from now Fill in the blank.

00:07:48: The point of our talks were That you're not doing that.

00:07:52: You're gonna commit to doing by the time you come back for this conference next year and What I filled in the blank?

00:07:58: I was living in San Francisco.

00:07:59: at The Time, I was fed up with a Bay Area.

00:08:01: I didn't want to live somewhere where the only thing people did their life Was work Where people had good jobs who were stressed out about Not being able To afford Life.

00:08:08: And what i've Filled In The Blank Is By This Time Next Year Im Gonna Find A New Home And I Did Honestly Like By The Next Year When the conference was coming up, I was like holy crap.

00:08:23: I need to find a new home and i started looking at other cities Actually decided on portland.

00:08:28: The conference was based in portland And then next year I didn't

00:08:31: know that.

00:08:32: yeah

00:08:33: At the next-year conference I signed A contract for an apartment.

00:08:37: This is so amazing!

00:08:38: And I moved following August.

00:08:41: So what did this do For me?

00:08:45: It's really about hearing really human stories, sometimes of accomplishment but it wasn't about the accomplishment.

00:08:54: It was people finding a thing for them that created meaning and pushed them outside their comfort zone.

00:09:07: And there is meaning in that.

00:09:10: This

00:09:10: why I associated with awe.

00:09:13: How do we get so uncomfortable when creating meaning?

00:09:17: The book, the Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter I think falls into this category which i recommend to people.

00:09:25: But I think good things happen at those end.

00:09:27: Yeah

00:09:27: and another framing and that is coming too just a sports connection.

00:09:31: I think it's.

00:09:33: how do we create an environment where that something beautiful happens as well.

00:09:43: And I think, for example... That's I'm big in all the water and wind sports so that kite surfing and wing foiling is all mine!

00:09:52: You cannot practice that while checking your email.

00:09:57: it just not happening right?

00:09:59: So you have to gear up get into your wetsuit.

00:10:03: It has to be windy.

00:10:04: usually conditions are like not so pleasant unless you're at the Red Sea in Egypt and it's warm.

00:10:12: But other than that, oftentimes its'not-so-pleasant conditions but still are excited about getting out there You have to fall down a board one million times only for thirty seconds right?

00:10:24: This feels amazing!

00:10:25: So your willing do another thirty thousand time.

00:10:29: And then is another thing I really like.

00:10:31: if companies allow employees to experience something like that and it can be all sorts of things.

00:10:39: For example, when I was at SAP, motor racing was big back then... Was one million years ago!

00:10:46: But i remember us having a team event where we were really going through the Formula One courses And there are no Daimler Mercedes cars back then really fastly drove over the tracks.

00:11:03: And you cannot do this half-assed as well, right?

00:11:05: So when were very present and we're very much in a moment of course there was an introduction or course it wasn't safety training part on blah all that other things but he was such different experiences experience any was still amazing team building And I think he created so much energy within the entire department back then that it had really a long lasting energy boost for all of us to some extent.

00:11:29: and i saw that happening for similar things as well with different sports, you're doing different sports right?

00:11:37: what's your thing?

00:11:38: yeah!

00:11:39: The kitesurfing comment of like... You can't be checking in email.

00:11:42: this is mountain biking and hockey.

00:11:44: For me they both require a hundred percent of your attention Like there's no ability for your mind to wander Especially for me with mountain biking because I have no depth perception.

00:11:55: So my brain has to work exceptionally hard.

00:11:57: They even follow the trail And you don't really want to make a mistake, you know like it hurts hurt yeah um But i actually find this to be the benefit of both activity.

00:12:08: This is like a huge benefit of Both activities.

00:12:10: first they're incredibly fun but there are also like Complete and total escapes from their rest of my mental life

00:12:18: Mm-hmm,

00:12:19: and i think that's important.

00:12:21: I also think, like one of the things that i love about sport and where it could be really helpful on team events is off-sites.

00:12:30: When you're learning a new sport... It's like we get to practice being a beginner again.

00:12:40: Even

00:12:40: mountain biking or hockey!

00:12:42: I've been playing hockey for very long time.

00:12:45: I'm fairly new only in last several years.

00:12:48: Mountain biker.

00:12:49: But I don't think it matters, like no matter how long i do both sports there's always things that im learning to do.

00:12:56: There are always things Im not very good at right?

00:12:58: And so one thing I love about sport is its allows you practice getting comfortable with being a beginner Getting comfortable with learning how to break down the skill and How Do I Practice That Skill?

00:13:12: And theres always going be people better than You.

00:13:15: Theres Always Going To Be People Who Are Better Than and like.

00:13:18: how do you just get comfortable with this continuous improvement mindset pushing outside your comfort zone.

00:13:25: And also, feeling strong in your body?

00:13:32: Yeah!

00:13:34: That's by the way if designing such experiences for a professional environment that is sometimes a bit of tricky part because Let's say you have a team and three hierarchy layers included, then not everybody is comfortable to struggle in front of everybody else.

00:13:52: In such activities right?

00:13:54: So whoever is designing these activities need to be cautious about hierarchy and politics to some extent And maybe we split the group in certain ways so that it's easier for other people too be with their peers or something like that.

00:14:08: But in general, and most companies it's not no problem at all right?

00:14:12: If I would look to all my Scandinavian clients nobody will care.

00:14:16: so if the boss is equally good in horse riding then everybody else nobody would care.

00:14:21: but other environments maybe this just isn't appropriate for your boss on a horse and they're not succeeding in horse-riding.

00:14:30: It really depends on cultural preferences here as well.

00:14:33: I think it would be amazing if companies do more and we talked about innovation, right?

00:14:40: And why innovation is so boring?

00:14:42: for the sake of novelty.

00:14:45: But you allow people to step outside their cubicle or boxes that everybody has contained into these days and really experience life, the interface of nature maybe every once in a while.

00:15:03: that actually creates an energy.

00:15:04: That might lead to innovation everybody was hoping for at first place.

00:15:09: I will add one caveat.

00:15:11: so i love this exploration.

00:15:14: also think if leaders are going plan something like they have input from their teams Mm-hmm.

00:15:20: Yeah, because I also please do

00:15:22: not put everybody on the mountain bike or under.

00:15:25: yeah

00:15:25: cuz you don't want to alienate people and like it's all just share Like your experience at The F one Raceway?

00:15:32: I Don't have a driver's license.

00:15:34: mm-hmm

00:15:35: Like if i was on that team would be totally quiet.

00:15:38: That Would Be Totally Alienating To me right?

00:15:40: i'm glad It wasn't required.

00:15:42: um But like We see Companies Making Policies like this like I remember when I read that DoorDash is requiring their employees do deliveries.

00:15:52: I was like, wow what would i do if I worked at a company?

00:15:55: I can't do deliveries!

00:15:56: Bike Deliveries Teresa

00:15:58: True...I could do bike deliveries but also with sport in particular we have to be cognizant of

00:16:07: not everybody's an enabled body.

00:16:09: Not

00:16:10: all disabilities are visible.

00:16:12: And

00:16:13: so I think that's where if you're gonna do something like this, You have to find a way to get feedback from your team.

00:16:20: That's safe for the people who expose those things and what they are comfortable with.

00:16:25: So i do love this idea.

00:16:26: Yeah!

00:16:26: I DO LOVE THIS IDEA.

00:16:29: THAT COMPANY SHOULD CREATE EXPERIENCES.

00:16:30: THAT ONE INSPIRE AWW AND TWO PUSH PEOPLE OUTSIDE THEIR COMBURS.

00:16:35: DON'T A LITTLE BIT

00:16:36: But... Keep them in the moment, keep them in da moment, that's the thing

00:16:39: When you push people outside their comfort zone, it has to be in the zone of proximity.

00:16:44: It has to close what they're comfortable with.

00:16:47: if you pushed too far is not helpful.

00:16:50: so that's where I feel like.

00:16:51: this feedback loop.

00:16:52: getting your employees to co-design experience helps make sure...it does push a little bit but not much.

00:16:59: Important addition!

00:17:01: Thank You So Much!

00:17:03: That was a very fun topic.

00:17:07: Thanks,

00:17:11: Petra!