Econic

So proud to be a part of the legacy of this event in Omaha! Creating spaces for the talents of young people to be SEEN is a joy. Come visit the Children's Business Fair this Sunday from 2-4pm. Details below.

Earlier this month, our Econic team came together in Ann Arbor to focus on our vision for the future. As a fully distributed team, these in-person moments are invaluable for deep collaboration and connection.

A (non-food-related) highlight of the retreat was learning from Ari Weinzweig and the ZingTrain team, whose approach to visioning inspired us and gave us a jumping-off point to explore new possibilities for our team.

One key takeaway was their focus on the future: instead of dwelling on the problem, they asked, ‘What does success look like once the problem has been solved?’ This simple shift has allowed their team to think bigger and move forward.

We’re heading back to our work with that same mindset—excited to move forward with renewed focus as a team.

Go Allison! 🫶 Thanks for sharing, The Foundry Community!

We want to give a huge thank you to the smart, inspiring, and ICONIC Allison Dahl from Econic for presenting some fascinating research and frameworks on understanding communication styles. We were honored to host you at our community lunch last week.

We look forward to putting some of these strategies for understanding each other and ourselves to good work!

Innovation isn’t just designated teams or titles — it’s a culture you cultivate.

Throughout the year, we partnered with different divisions within a consumer goods company to nurture a culture of innovation. Our custom program, rooted in business and psychological research, was designed to drive key behaviors of innovation — including intellectual bravery, experimentation, and psychological safety.

At the heart of these programs was our focus on creating a safe space for both leaders and individual team members to practice communication skills that increased collaboration and self-confidence.

And we found that…

Small-group discussion → offered participants a comfortable and consistent environment to continue learning outside of workshops.

Leadership participation in these programs → helped emphasize the importance of fostering team culture at all levels.

As a result, participants across both divisions were able to attribute to our program improvements in collaboration, communication, and connection. 🫶

Read more stories in our Impact Report:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/649ee310f329153b6d083b10/t/65f30cfe67603114531746d5/1710427393055/Impact+Report+2023.pdf

It’s amazing what people can do if given the opportunity.

Every quarter, we encourage our team members to self-manage and utilize their development stipend to pursue opportunities that help them grow.

And that, they did! 👏

In 2023, we had team members pursue an executive coaching certification, complete a carbon accounting course, and appear on several podcasts.

(Go Melissa, Eunice, and Joshua!)

To empower our team even further, we aim to sponsor and celebrate individual career- and impact-related goals in 2024. 💙