HubSpot - More work, less loneliness? 

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.

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

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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