Last Friday we had again our Autonomy Day presentations at MDI. I am impressed how simple and effective this agile tool is. We agreed in our company on the following: Each employee has 1 day during the quarter to work on whatever she/he wants to work on as long as it supports the success of the company.
This time, we asked people to pair up in teams of two for developing and presenting ideas. This added even to the fun and motivation. Having a sounding board, a partner for co-creation increases inspiration and creativity.
The weeks before the idea presentations, where already filled with a different energy. People started with implementing new ideas, discussing between departments and working on something that touches their values and the common company values.
The presentations of the results and ideas took place in an external meeting room of a co-working space. Some distance from our office and an agile environment helped to lift the mind above day to day business. We spent about 4 hours together. It was a firework of great ideas. As the CEO of the company, I can say, that all the ideas are fitting to bring us forward.
The common denominator was “Walk the talk”. Our MDI vision is “Sustainable leadership culture for a better world”. Most of the ideas contributed to this vision from different perspectives:
- Personal health and healthy office
- Changing our seminar material to environment friendly
- Reducing waste and saving energy
- Bringing our own development and especially the one of our leaders on a new level
- Strengthening our team cohesion and fun of working and being together
- Experimenting with new technological solutions for serving our clients in a more effective and more ecological way (less flights due to better digital learning and conferencing solutions)
Some readers might think: Does it pay off? I am convinced that the effects on increased sales and reduced costs alone outweigh the invested time and money by minimum 4 times. But the most important effect is, that we can contribute more to making the world a better place and enjoy doing this together.
Some companies hold Autonomy Days each month. For us now, we want to keep it more special and a frequency of once or twice per year is enough.