We can form habits as quickly as 2-3 weeks; the more difficult the habit, the more time it takes to form. But once a habit is formed, our elephant takes the lead and our rider can take some much needed z’s.

Imagine if a wizard gives you a magic wand that can improve any aspect of your life by 0.1%.

Maybe you might pick it up, play around with it for a couple of days or weeks to see if you notice an impact. Strange, you think to yourself. I’ve used this wand for a whole month. WHERE ARE RESULTS?

In reality it is exactly these 0.1% baby steps over time that make all the difference. A year of 0.1% improvements everyday will result in a 44% total betterment of any field of your choosing. Two years, 107% improvement. And in 5 years, a massive 520% improvement.

This is the compound power of habits. Tiny actions over time can lead to massive results.

Tim Sackett

Sometimes, it’s essential to take a step back and see if certain habits might be holding you back.

Tim made a list of what habits are holding us back as a profession:

  1️⃣  Keep It Personal🐘: In HR, relationships matter. Instead of relying on emails or texts, try talking face-to-face or picking up the phone.

  2️⃣  Be Open-Minded in Hiring🐘: Don’t let small things affect your hiring choices. Whether it’s where someone went to school or how they shake hands, focus on what really matters – their skills and qualifications.

  3️⃣  Deal with Salary Realities🐘: It’s easy to get frustrated about pay differences between departments. But instead of dwelling on it, concentrate on excelling in your HR role.

  4️⃣  Skip the Power Trip🐘: Avoid using power just for the sake of it. True influence comes from collaboration, not strict rules. Approach your role as someone who facilitates, helping people succeed without unnecessary control.

  5️⃣  See the Bigger Picture🐘: While HR is important, it’s not the only show in town. Shift your focus from thinking HR is superior to understanding how you can contribute to the whole organization. Use your HR skills to make everyone’s life easier.

🔽 Tim’s LinkedIn

The Idea Party should take place right after a creative session in which the product of the session is laid out like a gallery where “ideas and insights are displayed on big foam boards or walls.”

During this party, everyone in the organization should be invited to mingle, ask questions, leave comments, and rank which ideas should move forward.

How It’s Done:

1. Once a creative session finishes, make each team responsible for making their work into a poster.

2. Designate a facilitator to kick off the party by outlining the goals of the session to the entire organization.

3. Make sure the idea poster with the most votes to move forward gets a special prize — “a basket of gifts, funding for the project, or something else,” authors suggest.

4. Leave the posters out after the party to increase exposure.

It is best to introduce a group ritual in “the sweet spot” of the Wundt Novelty Curve.

STEPS:

#1 Make the ritual’s intention clear and tell its story.

#2 When first rolling out a ritual, keep it simple and see if it sticks. If it sticks, you can evolve it.

#3 Look for signs of early support and ask those early supporters to help you facilitate buy-in and alignment from others.

#4 Remember that rituals don’t last forever. They expire once they lose their meaning. Keep them as long as they are useful, but no longer.

🔽 Notes and Takeaways from Rituals for Work

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