The Secret To Your Leadership Is Not What You Think

http://real-leaders.com/secret-leadership-think/
by Pino Bethencourt Gallagher

It never ceases to surprise me: the world is full of dreamers willing to pay anything to those who promise they can make our dreams come true. A great example of this is the best-selling book The Secret. The book promises that “Everything is possible, nothing is impossible. There are no limits. Whatever you can dream of can be yours, when you use The Secret.” and “Ask. Believe. Receive.” Well, sorry to break it to you folks, this is not the way the secret works! Rather, it’s the other way around. And getting it right is the difference between being a dreamer and a leader.

The main idea behind the book is the law of attraction. We attract people and events in our lives that respond to what we carry inside ourselves. There’s no mystery here. This pearl of wisdom is included in most spiritual lines of thought, and depicted on ancient cave walls, traditional pots and paintings the world over. The inference that we can control or choose what we attract, however, has turned out to be a very profitable distortion of the original law.

I wonder if money and fame were what the author was unconsciously trying to attract when she“Asked. Believed. Received.” Or more likely, whether the excessive attention that comes with money and fame was the secret her heart truly desired. The genuine secret is that our life experience is a mirror of what we don’t want to know about ourselves. Life does not give us what we choose or ask for. Many of us would be incredibly good-looking millionaires if asking and believing were enough.

Nope, life gives us what we need in order to help us face hard facts about ourselves. About our family history, our unconscious feelings and our hidden desires. Life’s learning is not in getting what we want. It’s in getting precisely what we don’t want. Get it? If we go back to Freud’s terminology, the secret would be the gap between the “super-ego” and the “id”. The super-ego is the perfect image we formulate about ourselves. It’s the best possible version of ourselves we try to fulfill.

The id, on the contrary, is the hidden, wild animal within us. It’s the part of us we try to control and discipline into civilized behavior. It’s the sum of our unexpressed frustrations, trapped desires and unspeakable whims. Freud concluded that our behavior, or as he called it, our “ego”, was the result of our lifelong battle between these two extremes. Repression was the name of the game. Pleasure was guilty. And very, very secret! Back to the bestseller fantasies of our internet era.

Byrne’s book promises we can magically materialize our super-ego’s intolerant requirements if we try very, very hard to believe them…. if we quash all our inner fears of impossibility. Reality, however, guarantees just as many problems, sabotages and traps to help us acknowledge and express the deeper truth of our own panic in order to release it. I frequently laugh at how it took me two full years of failure in a saddle to recognize and release my own fear of riding (and anything else that moved before I gave an instruction!). The secret, in fact, is on us: all we need to experience effortless abundance is to fall in love with the wild emotions and impulses within us. Without judgment or intolerant ideals. Rather than repress and deny what we feel deep inside, reality pushes us to let it all out for once and for all. That is the end of subjugation, control and wishful perfection.

Because utopian dreams become irrelevant when you’ve come to embrace the person you really are. Repression and strict discipline are no longer needed when you let go of your own cruel judge. In leadership terms, the secret is the gap between the idealized fantasies of success, the super-performance we try to live up to every day and the deep, hurtful realities about our jobs we try to leave behind. Unsuccessfully. As long as we strive for the pretty future in order to hide from the ugly present, the law of attraction keeps us trapped in endless repetition. We find ourselves reliving the same patterns over and over and over: same conflicts with the boss, similar predicaments around finance, familiar issues in our teams.

Let’s look at Steve, an international activist, for example. He has founded many projects and NGOs to fight against the ugliness of our world: plastic pollution, animal cruelty, political corruption and other images that mirror humanity’s lower imperfections. Steve describes the sublime, super-ego definition of what he does: He passionately believes that his activism is like a nurturing mother caring for her baby: endless patience, a loving response to all desires, and gradual guidance towards the right direction. Steve likes to think of himself as someone who changes the world with the power of nurturing love and irresistible charm.

Zero violence whatsoever. Steve’s reality, however, is quite the opposite. He bans any caterer who packs food with plastic. He will not do business with companies that rely on animals in captivity, and he writes many abrasive articles against politicians he suspects of corruption. While such behaviors are apparently consistent with his business goals, his ban on plastic actually cripples many families’ current income models in several third world countries.

His refusal to work with attraction parks using animals does little to change the way such parks think or operate. Quite on the contrary, many of them go out of their way to contradict him with defensive ad campaigns. And his insulting articles have won him a pretty acid reputation among colleagues and peers. Steve’s demeanor and language are quite aggressive in general. His eyes have a steely-hard shine to them, and his voice cuts off harshly at the end of each sentence.

Steve wants to be nurturing and tender like a mother. But icy violence is contained in his words and actions. Which of course brings him no shortage of entrepreneurial explosions, exhausting battles in court, and distasteful public attacks at events. The world brings Steve exactly what he needs to unveil the secret of his own personality: he is not the loving mother he would like to become. He behaves much more like the violent father he tries to forget.

Life, and its fundamental law of attraction will continue to bring conflict, attack and hardship on Steve until he comes to terms with his past reality. So if he asks you for your investment, well, what do you want me to say? Simply be aware that if you strongly feel like you should give him your money after reading all this, it’s because your secret means you need to lose some money in order to uncover something valuable about yourself! ;-)!

The secret to your leadership is right in front of you. Just look at what life offers you here and now, and stop dreaming of something else. This is who you are. The day you fall in love with this, here and now, is the day you’ll be ready to lead others. Your secret will be unveiled.

4 Ways to Create Positive Synergy in Team Meetings

http://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2016/01/21/4-ways-to-create-positive-synergy-in-team-meetings/
BY PRISCILLA BAROLO

Almost every single aspect of modern civilization can be traced back to collaboration and some division of labor on a grand scale. This fractal of synergy is what makes us the most innovative species by far on the planet. In the 21st century, we count on things like team meetings to clarify everyone’s individual tasks and coordinate large projects. But you can’t count on meetings alone to boost the productivity of your organization. If you want to remain competitive, the meetings have to lead to something. If you’re hosting the meeting, you need to lead the discussion into something highly-productive and positive.

You need to know how to have a proper team meeting on Zoom! The road to a great meeting can be summed up in four basic principles that you must adhere to whenever possible in hosting your meetings. Let’s have a look at those, shall we?

Make the conversation about data.

After the chit-chat has finished, it’s time to make it clear that we’re getting down to business. One of the best ways to do that is to get the numbers flowing as soon as you can. All the data related to the conversation should be discussed here. Emotional and opinionated talk should be discouraged and put aside in favor of empirical discussion. This pushes everyone towards a data-driven mentality. It makes people use the numbers discussed to justify their points of view later in the conversation.

If you can, present some visual cues of the importance of data by using Zoom’s screen sharing feature and displaying charts and graphs that are relevant to the discussion.

Steer towards inclusivity.

Now you have started to see embers. It’s time to breathe life into them so that they may transform into flames. At this point, make sure that the conversation is as inclusive as possible. Do not allow people to dismiss each other’s ideas, and make sure that you are as attentive to all of them as possible. In short, make everyone feel that their voice has been heard. Even if an idea sounds objectively weak, try to expand on it for a moment. If all else fails, just acknowledge the idea and move onto the next one. The idea is to make people feel as much a part of the conversation as possible.

Build consensus through win-win thinking.

The most productive meetings have some form of consensus between their attendees. Working towards a consensus involves trying to engage everyone in a similar mindset. Yes, humans are humans, and because they’re humans, they’ll have a confrontational and competitive nature. There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition as long as the end goal of collaboration and compromise comes first. In a team effort, everyone has to be on the same wavelength. It might actually take you a few meetings, but you can accomplish this as long as you try as much as you can to create environments in which people can come up with win-win situations in every possible occasion.

Find common ground.

It’s inevitable that you will reach a point of entropy, where conflict will overtake the discussion. It is at this point that you should actually avoid going into “damage control” mode as much as possible. If you want to solve the conflict, backing down is only going to make things worse. Instead of trying to quell things, focus on trying to find common ground. Elevate yourself above the rest of the voices and be assertive. Then, once you have everyone’s attention, attempt to find where the dissent comes from. After that, discover every point where everyone is in agreement and pick it up from there.

Once you’ve finished quelling the conflict, you should then try to work with the naysayers to see whether they are spotting a potential issue with what’s being discussed. Sometimes, they’ll spot something that could cause deep problems with the goals you’re trying to accomplish. Listening to negative input doesn’t hurt!

The 5 Traits I Look for Before Hiring Anyone

http://motto.time.com/4202379/danny-meyer-hiring-advice/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook
By Danny Meyer


MELISSA HOM

The first time I applied for a job in the restaurant business, the interview consisted of my walking into the restaurant, the owner looking me up and down, and him blurting, “You’re hired”—all while he was sitting 20 feet away at the bar.

Later, when I started hiring employees, I knew that wasn’t going to be how we did it. At first, I looked only at technical skills. But I just kept finding that a lot of the candidates who came with impressive credentials were not always the kind of people who I could also see genuinely wanting to take care of our guests. Some people who had the least impressive technical skills ended up being the biggest stars at the restaurant, while others—with the most impressive technical skills—ended up weighing the ship down.

Hiring people is kind of like being the captain of your neighborhood touch football team. You distinguish yourself first and foremost by picking your team even better than the other guy. And I always felt that would be our advantage.

Every time we employ somebody, there’s a big leap of faith on our end and on the end of the prospective employee. We’re both taking a risk that this is a good fit. And what I started to realize is that a person may be great at knowing how to cook or open a bottle of wine, but that even more important were the innate hospitality skills. People who thrive when they make others feel better would become our biggest champs.

So for a few years, I said, “I’m going to stop looking for technical skills and just look for emotional skills,” because I figured I could always teach technical skills.

I eventually realized that wasn’t enough, either: We needed a balance. You can be somewhat less accomplished on the technical skills because, if you have those emotional skills and you need a little polishing on the wines of Tuscany, I bet we can teach you. But you can’t come in and work at The Modern never having opened a bottle of wine in your life.

The five emotional skills I look for are:

1. Kindness and optimism: We work long hours, and I want to be surrounded by friendly, hopeful people. Skeptics rarely work out well on our team.

2. Intellectual curiosity: Do you approach each moment as an opportunity to learn something new?

3. Work ethic: In addition to being trainable on how to do a job the right way, does it matter to you to do that job as well as it can possibly be done?

4. Empathy and self-awareness: Do you know your own personal weather report and how it’s impacting other people and you today? Do you care how your actions make other people feel?

5. Integrity: Do you have the judgment to do the right thing even when no one else is looking?

So while we don’t have a test for them, just by naming these emotional skills and being conscious of them before, during and after the interview, I think our batting average is pretty high because we’re being mindful about what success means for ourselves and our employees.

Danny Meyer is the founder of Shake Shack and the chief executive officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes beloved restaurants like Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and The Modern, as well as the catering company Union Square Events and the consulting business Hospitality Quotient. He is a 2015 TIME 100 honoree.

How to Write an Executive Summary

http://articles.bplans.com/writing-an-executive-summary/
BY TIM BERRY

Your executive summary is the doorway to your business plan—this is the time to grab your reader’s attention and let them know what it is you do and why they should read the rest of your business plan or proposal. We’ll show you how to write an executive summary that sets your business plan apart from the stack.

Your executive summary is your pitch. You’ve heard of—and probably even given—an “elevator pitch”; write your business plan’s executive summary like it’s an elevator pitch that you’ve had the time to edit to perfection. It should introduce you, your business, and your product, but the purpose of writing an executive summary is also to deliver a hard sell. Convince your reader here that you have a great idea they should invest their time and money in.

Write it last. Even though the executive summary is at the beginning of a finished business plan, many experienced entrepreneurs (including me) choose to write the executive summary after they’ve written everything else. Ideally the executive summary is short—just a page or two—and highlights the points you’ve made elsewhere in your business plan, so if you save it for the end, it will be quick and easy.

What should an executive summary include?

For a standard business plan

In a standard business plan with a standard executive summary, the first paragraph of your executive summary should generally include your business’s name, its location, what product or service you sell, and the purpose of your plan.

Basically, the first paragraph is an introduction to what you—and your business plan—are all about. Another paragraph should highlight important points, such as projected sales and profits, unit sales, profitability, and keys to success.Include the news you don’t want anyone to miss. This is a good place to put a highlights chart—a bar chart that shows sales, gross margin and profits (before interest and taxes) for the next three years. You should also cite and explain those numbers in the text.

For an investor-ready business plan

If you’re looking for investment or a loan, say so in your executive summary.Specify the amount required, and in the case of an investment, specify the percent of equity ownership offered in return (leave loan details out of the executive summary).

And if you’re shopping around for capital, your executive summary should be persuasive. Make your prospective investor want to keep reading; convince them to invest in your new business idea.

For an internal plan, operations plan, or strategic plan

An internal plan—such as an annual operations plan or a strategic plan—doesn’t have to be as formal with its executive summary. Make the purpose of the plan clear, and make sure the highlights are covered, but you don’t necessarily need to repeat the business location, your product or service description, your team’s biographies or other details.

Choose from hundreds of executive summary examples

Every business plan begins with an executive summary. Take advantage of Bplans’ more than 500 examples of good business plans—all available online for free—to search for the sample plan that best fits your business’s profile, and then use that plan’s free example executive summary as a guide to help you through the process of writing your own.

How long should an executive summary be?

• Never waste words in an executive summary. Experts differ on how long an executive summary should be—some insist that it takes just a page or two, others recommend a more detailed summary, taking as much as ten pages, covering enough information to substitute for the plan itself—but although 50+ page business plans used to be common, investors and lenders these days expect a concise, focused plan.
• The best length for an executive summary is a single page. Emphasize the main points of your plan and keep it brief. You are luring your readers in to read more of the plan, not explaining every detail of your business. A helpful exercise in writing concisely is to try to make every point you want to make—such as the seven key elements of a pitch—in three sentences or fewer.
• Don’t confuse an executive summary with the summary memo. The executive summary is the first chapter in a business plan. The summary memo is a separate document, normally only five to 10 pages at most, which is used to substitute for the business plan with people who aren’t ready to see the whole plan yet.

Executive summary format

The standard executive summary format is about a page of writing, followed by easy-to-skim subsections that highlight your main points. These subsections are usually your financial chart—a bar chart that shows sales, gross margin and profits (before interest and taxes) for the next three years—followed by your main objectives (a numbered or bulleted list is best), your mission statement and your keys to success (i.e., what makes your business stand out from your competitors).

See a sample executive summary for a Washington, D.C., bakery or for an online pharmacy.

10 Books You Must Read to Strengthen Your Leadership Skills

http://www.lifehack.org/320382/10-books-you-must-read-strengthen-your-leadership-skills?ref=gp
BY ANDY PREISLER

Whether we disagree with their leadership styles or not, all true leaders have one thing in common. They are naturally curious people who are life-long learners, and they satiate their need for knowledge through reading books. If you are interested in bettering your leadership skills, you may wish to add reading to your list of daily habits. Better yet, you should considering adding these 10 books to your reading list. They are certain to help you boost your leadership skills quickly.

 1. The Leader Who had no Title – Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma has worked as a leadership consultant for multiple fortune 500 companies. In this book, he teaches his readers what he has taught employees at major corporations for years. This is an amazing book if you are ready to tear down the barriers of what a leader should be and who can become a leader. Did you know that you don’t need an official title to be a leader? You don’t even need people working underneath you. The author explains in detail how you can build the emotional and mental strength, among other personal traits (including compassion and purpose), to lead and influence people no matter where you are in your career path.

2.  Emotional Intelligence 2.0 – Travis Bradberry

You won’t find too many motivational books that include a testimonial by the Dalai Lama. Of course, that is only one reason to add this book to your reading list. You have probably heard of emotional intelligence. It is a measurement of your EQ that tells you how well you function and relate to others on an emotional level. The higher your EQ, the better you are able to lead others by becoming a more empathetic, socially aware individual.

3.  The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John C. Maxwell

This is another book with an impressive endorsement. This time, Stephen Covey steps in and provides a great forward. However, even without this endorsement, this is a great book. It uses compelling stories of leadership to help illustrate Maxwell’s 21 laws of leadership. You’ll be influenced and enlightened by the time you put this book down.

4.  Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek

A great leader isn’t a person who can get people to do what he or she wants. Anybody with power can do that, and power does not equal leadership. A great leader builds a team of people who want to succeed because they feel valued, that they are making a contribution, and that there own personal and professional development is a priority. This book is a great primer on obtaining success through treating people well.

5.  Principle-Centered Leadership – Stephen R. Covey

You can’t go wrong by picking up any of Covey’s books, but this one is especially inspirational. One of the most difficult challenges you will face as a leader is healing strife within your team. Through stories of great leaders, Stephen teaches you how to make people connect with one another and work together in even the most contentious of circumstances.

6.  Bold – Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis

Exponential technologies are technologies that have the ability to generate change and improve lives in ways that their creators could have never imagined. The personal computer and the internet are two examples of these technologies. In Bold, you will learn how to use exponential technology, especially the internet, to make your visions a reality.

7.  Drive - Daniel Pink

As you develop your leadership skills, one of the most important things that you will learn to do is motivate others. Unfortunately, many leaders don’t understand what it is that actually motivates people. Daniel Pink defines both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that drive motivation. Then, he provides helpful guidelines on using intrinsic motivation to produce and increase drive in ourselves and others.

8.   Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi

Effective leaders build relationships with their team members, peers, and others. In this book, Keith Ferrazzi not only explains the importance of developing meaningful relationships in the workplace and elsewhere, he also provides action steps you can take to make this happen. After reading this book, you will find yourself better prepared to make connections with others.

9.  Zero to One – Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

This is a book especially written for future leaders who are also entrepreneurs. All too many brilliant people come up with great, potentially world changing ideas, but thanks to conventional thinking, never let those ideas come to reality. Instead, they tame and reshape those ideas until they come to fruition as yet another uninspiring business. You don’t have to let that happen to you or your ideas. Read this book and learn to build your startup your way.

10.  The One Thing – Gary Keller

If you are struggling to find success as a leader, you may be trying to do too many things. The author, Gary Keller asks you to focus on one thing. This is the one thing that you can do right now that will make things easier and better. That is what should become your focus. When you are done reading this book, you will be able to apply this principle to all areas of your life.

Featured photo credit: Germán Poo-Caamaño via flickr.com

10 UNIQUE WAYS LEADERS BOND WITH EMPLOYEES

http://www.fastcompany.com/3050651/hit-the-ground-running/10-unique-ways-leaders-bond-with-employees
BY STEPHANIE VOZZA

At startups, it’s easy for leadership to connect with employees—they often just need to shout out to someone two desks down. But when companies grow beyond a few dozen employees, staying connected becomes a challenge.

Brad Rencher, senior vice president and general manager of Adobe’s Marketing Cloud, was struggling to find an effective way to communicate with the employees he oversees, and traditional methods weren’t working.

"There are too many emails and conference calls, and while these tools play a role in getting things done, they don’t resonate with all of a company’s objectives," he says. "We wanted to find a way to get everyone aligned and enlisted in the company vision."

So Rencher created Bradchat, a weekly vblog modeled after the web series Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis, where Rencher shares strategies and information, and interviews other Adobe leaders.

"It’s fun, informative, and irreverent, and it gives employees a sense of our personalities; those things don’t come across in the written word," he says.

Employees can leave comments within the video, participate in online forums, or contact Rencher directly via email, and all three have greatly improved engagement. "My email traffic jumped dramatically, and we’re getting thoughtful questions on the content within Bradchat," he says. "I feel like I am connecting personally, and it gives me an opportunity to really embrace what it means to embody Adobe values."

Bradchat is just one example of innovative ways leaders at large companies connect with employees. Here’s how nine other executives have improved engagement within their workplace:

1. START A BOOK CLUB

Mark Dankberg, CEO of the broadband services and technology company ViaSat, started Mark D’s Book Club, where employees can read books on business, strategy, leadership, and innovation. The idea was started as a way for the company’s global team to learn the same business concepts and language, think strategically together, and exchange ideas.

"It has become a way for the ViaSat employees to better know how we think, how we view the world, and how we make decisions," says Dankberg. "And it helps each employee be more prepared in shaping their own career development."

2. REACH OUT TO THEIR FAMILIES

When Indra Nooyi was named CEO of PepsiCo in 2006, she discovered the sense of pride her parents had at her accomplishment when they began inviting people over to meet her when she would visit.

"It dawned on me that all of my executives who worked for me are also doing a damn good job, but I’d never told their parents what a great job their parents had done for them. I’d never done that," she told Fortune magazine in 2014. So Nooyi wrote them letters. "I said, 'Therefore, I’m writing to thank you for the gift of your son, who is doing this at PepsiCo, and what a wonderful job this person is doing.’"

Nooyi says she was surprised when parents wrote back, and the gesture created emotion and loyalty.

3. GO ON A MOTORCYCLE TOUR

Harry Herington, CEO of information service provider NIC Inc., increases employee engagement by visiting NIC branches across the company via motorcycle. He calls his initiative "Ask the CEO," and the idea was born to foster open communication within the company in the aftermath of the 2001 Enron scandal. 

"How do you get someone to trust you? You look them in the eye," says Herington, who hosts a dinner during his visit where the employees can ask him business and nonbusiness questions.

4. KNOCK DOWN OFFICE WALLS

Meg Whitman sent a message to Hewlett-Packard employees when she became CEO in 2011, and immediately got rid of the executive suite of offices. Leaders were relocated to cubicles throughout the office.

Kegan Schouwenburg, CEO of SOLS, the New York City-based startup that creates 3-D-printed orthotic insoles, doesn’t believe in the C-suite either. She maintains a connection with her employees by sitting with them.

"A CEO has to serve the team, and it’s important to me to be present and not isolate myself," she says. "Sitting alongside my colleagues allows unfettered exchange of ideas and collaboration, and preserves the culture we’ve worked so hard to cultivate."

5. GIVE EVERYONE YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER

Charles Phillips, CEO of the software company Infor, calls his management approach "flat," and he provides his cell phone number to all Infor employees, encouraging them to call or text when they wish.

This informal style of engaging employees not only inspires more direct interaction among the entire workforce, but helps to break down traditional notions of hierarchy.

6. TALK ABOUT DREAMS OVER COCKTAILS

Mark Josephson, CEO of Bitly, connects with his employees on a daily basis by sitting at the tables and desks throughout the company office, but it’s his Cocktails & Dreams meetings where he finds some of the best engagement. Every week, someone is nominated to be a bartender and everyone in the company grabs a drink together. The casual setting gives Josephson a chance to update the staff on the current happenings, goals, and wins.

"We meet weekly to share updates and progress as a company. We celebrate wins and acknowledge losses. It's ultimately a great way to recap the week and set the stage for the following week," he says.

7. PLAN THE WEEK TOGETHER

Alexia Bregman, cofounder and CEO of the natural energy drink company Vuka, looks for innovative ways to connect with employees, and one thing she and her cofounder/husband Darian Bregman did was to implement WOMP, which stands for What’s On My Plate.

Each employee meets weekly with Bregman to create a to-do list. "We don’t really mind where or when these are completed, but when we meet the following week, we look at that list again and see how each individual employee is doing," Bregman says. "It’s a great way of giving employees autonomy while still staying on top of what they’re doing without micromanaging."

8. START A COMPANY MICROBREWERY

While some CEOs grab a beer with their staff, Andrew Fingerman of PhotoShelterbrews it. Each month, he purchases supplies and team members stay in the office after hours to "move the beer along."

There's a huge benefit to making beer together, Fingerman says: "Because group members range across teams and seniority, inevitably we talk about work challenges and ideas," he says. "We also get to know each other as friends. It brings us closer together, and some very innovative ideas have emerged."

9. HOLD FAMILY DINNERS

Cohesive teams are like Italian families, says Brent Smart, CEO of the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi New York. Each month, he selects 20 employees across all departments for a "family dinner" followed by drinks and karaoke. The casual setting helps staff members get to know Smart as well as each other on a more personal basis.

"An Italian family dinner is a metaphor for the type of culture we need at Saatchi to be a great creative agency," says Smart. "Everyone around one big table, different disciplines and talent surrounding a business problem, lots of debate, opinions, and passion."

10. PLAY GAMES

Nihal Parthasarathi, CEO and cofounder of CourseHorse, a New York-based company that connects people with classes in their area, wanted to create a team environment, and he decided games were the fastest way to bonding.

Every week, the team gathers in Washington Square Park or Central Park to play lawn and board games, such as bocce, KanJam, Cards Against Humanity, and Settlers of Catan.

"I’ve discovered the best way to connect personally with employees is through gameplay," says Parthasarathi. "It creates a fun environment and levels the playing field so we can just connect as people."