Creating and nurturing collaborative, innovative and creative corporate cultures is no easy feat even in the calmest of times. And now, with the world turned upside down, finding new ways to reimagine cultures of innovation can vex even the most seasoned leaders. In the last installation of our Bloomberg Breakaway CEO Town Hall series on January 21, we spoke with top executives and innovation experts as we addressed ways to build truly collaborative, innovative cultures in a remote world.
Speakers included:
- Leisa Reichelt, Head of Research and Insights, Atlassian
- Kate Ryder, Founder and CEO, Maven Clinic
- Mark T. Smucker, President and CEO, The J.M. Smucker Company
- Brian Whipple, CEO, Accenture Interactive
Moderators:
- Carol Massar, Anchor, Bloomberg Businessweek TV & Radio
- Alix Steel, Anchor, Bloomberg Television
Click here to access videos of all the sessions.
On corporate social responsibility: In response to a question about growing trust in businesses over government institutions, J.M. Smucker Company CEO, Mark Smucker, said business leaders are being more vocal on moral and social issues. “Even if we chose not to make a statement publicly, even internally with 7,000 employees, there is an expectation that we stand up for what is right,” he said.
On the workplace transition post-pandemic: “We know that the changes in flexibility around time and around place for working has led to a lot of individuals feeling a lot more empowered personally in terms of the way that they are able to combine their personal and work lives,” said Atlassian Head of Research and Insights, Leisa Reichelt, based on research her team has conducted. “I would be disappointed if we weren’t able to try to really build that in moving forward.”
On communicating culture remotely: “People see each other in a much more non-hierarchical human way,” Accenture CEO, Brian Whipple, said about communicating with co-workers from their home settings. “I’ve always believed that you need to be yourself at work. You can’t check into work and have a different personality than you have at home or you’re probably in the wrong career.”
On building community: When asked about recreating spontaneous conversations that once happened regularly in the office, Kate Ryder, Founder and CEO of Maven, said her company is now intentionally making time for personal sharing and virtual events. “We’re now very deliberately teasing it out in meetings to just drive that community and connection,” she said.
Bloomberg Breakaway’s CEO Town Hall was Proudly Sponsored By
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