HubSpot - More work, less loneliness?

Our master this week once led 40,000 people in one massive virtual dance party for Oprah. (Oprah!)

As someone whose dance moves resemble a malfunctioning robot, I'll admit that the concept sounded incredibly awkward to me. But watching the vids made me realize Agrawal is onto something: People are desperate for connection.

Which is what this week's edition is all about.

On tap:

An entrepreneur on why most companies fail at cultivating community
Nutter Butter has a deeply disturbing TikTok account… And it works
Microsoft's Copilot AI is now your "hype man." Yikes

MEET THE MASTER

Name: Radha Agrawal, community architect, public speaker, entrepreneur

Job: Helps businesses (like Meta, Nike, and Campbell’s) create stronger communities within their workplaces; founder of DAYBREAKER, a morning dance party in 33 cities around the world

Claim to fame: Led a virtual dance party for 40K attendees at Oprah's Your Life in Focus virtual event

Fun fact: She DJs with her identical twin sister Miki globally as Me2Me2, and she used to race motorcycles in her mid-20s

Lesson 1: You need a community architect. (And no, not the intern.)

Before you scoff at a big ol' fluff post on "community" and "friendship," let's take a good hard look at some numbers:

In 2023, only one-third of employees were engaged in their work
Disengaged employees account for $1.9 trillion in lost productivity
92% of execs say that high engagement = happier customers

Or, consider a personal example: I met my best friend, Kristen, in-office a few years ago. She's now a bridesmaid in my wedding, and I told Radha I'd turn down a job elsewhere even if I was offered $20K more because I'd much rather continue my weekly tradition of working gossiping in the coffee garden at HQ with Kristen.

Community has the power to keep employees happy, engaged, and willing to go above-and-beyond to keep the cash a-flowing for your business.

To cultivate a community, you have to prioritize it.

"You need to hire a community architect — and I don't mean tasking the newbie intern with the job," Agrawal told me. "Your chief community officer should be brought in with the same level of seriousness as a chief marketing officer or chief executive officer."

Once you've got your CCO, you'll want that person to sit down with the head of each department to understand the needs behind each role.

"In a disaggregated work-at-home environment, it's hard to build a sense of camaraderie and loyalty inside a company without first understanding who the humans are behind each department. You'll need to know the miniature ecosystems inside the company, and bring them all into one cohesive value alignment," Agrawal says.

Lesson 2: Work is not just for churnin' and burnin'.

Agrawal acknowledges that loneliness exists at every level — whether you're a CEO, middle manager, or the new intern.

And Agrawal wholeheartedly believes work can be a solution to that loneliness. In fact, she met her own husband in an office.

"It's important to remember that workspaces aren't just spaces for churning and burning. They're spaces to socialize, and it's where you actually achieve and receive your social connections the most."

Agrawal believes it's a leader's responsibility to figure out how each person on her team wants to socialize.

For instance, she's interested in the newbies on her own team: "I, as a founder of my company, want to understand and learn what the youngest team members on my team want. What do they need? How do they socialize? How can I support them in their camaraderie? That level of curiosity is so important inside of a team."

My own socializing preferences? Two words: Margarita night.

Lesson 3: Off-sites, off-sites, off-sites.

In the midst of the pandemic, I remember all too well the awkward attempts at connection.

Zoom happy hours. Remote scavenger hunts. Virtual trivia.

The effort was nice, but it wasn't nearly as powerful as the one company off-site HubSpot hosted last March (which resulted in a team outing to a karaoke bar, where we brought the house down with a moving rendition of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On).

Agrawal emphasizes the importance of doing company off-sites as a chance to keep employees motivated and engaged. She also encourages more consistent in-person events if possible.

"The important part is to give it a name and give it a cadence. There's a sense of belonging you're creating when you consider energy and intentionality and space."

Agrawal provided me with a few examples: Maybe your company hosts a monthly poker night, or creates a roller-skating team who roller-skate in silly costumes once per quarter.

If having everyone in-person isn't an option, can you encourage mini meet-ups in various cities? And if not, how can you make virtual connections easier to make?

The easiest solution is to ask your employees: What would make them feel more excited to turn up to work each morning?

"Too often we think of community building just as butts-in-seats, but not as actually humans, with thinking, feeling souls."

Remember, those thinking, feeling souls can account for almost $2 trillion in lost productivity — treat them like humans, and you could be shocked by how it sways the bottom line.

Check Out Past Interviews with Experts at Liquid Death, the NBA, and More

DATA DIGEST

Be a remarkable manager

You realize you’re a cornerstone of your organization — it’s on you to lead, support, and inspire on the everyday level.

That means keeping projects on-track and people on-point in spite of surging targets, mountains of tasks, and clashing personalities. Here’s our full guide to doing it right.

For proper people management:

Foster positive workplace culture
Master clear communication
Develop your team
Provide excellent feedback
Coaching and mentoring

Team leadership essentials

OPEN TABS

Nutter Butter — the snack tucked into every kid's lunchbox in the early 2000s — has an absurd TikTok account with millions of views, and sales are skyrocketing. AdAge dives into their "nightmarish" vid strategy.
Whether you're a teen or a startup founder, the sentiment is the same: Stay young while you can. New research finds that businesses that scale early (within 12 months of founding) increased their risk for failure by 20 to 40%.
Microsoft's CEO says Copilot, an AI assistant, can now be your "hype man" and give you emotional support. While I'll admit that this could be an opportunity to boost productivity with positive reinforcement, it might instead come across as surface-level and lacking the depth of real, human empathy.

This week's email was brought to you by Caroline Forsey. Editing by Laura M. Browning.

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HubSpot - More work, less loneliness?

Be a remarkable manager

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