Innovation by SIT

Seeing candidates waiting in the SIT reception area to be interviewed for a facilitation and account management position brought back memories of my very first impressions of the place. So if insights about innovation & the SIT methodology are more your thing, this might not be the post for you…

During the long recruiting process and gazillion interviews I went through way back then, I spent quite some time in the SIT reception area. Having recently left a corporate career at that time, I came to the interview wearing what I thought was an appropriate interview outfit: buttoned up shirt, dress pants and high-heeled stiletto-like sandals. The first indication that I may have gotten it wrong happened as I was riding the elevator up to the SIT offices and was asked: “are you going to see the weirdoes on the third floor?”

Pretty quickly I understood what it meant. The first thing I noticed going in was the shoes or in most cases, the lack thereof. Most of the people in the office were walking around barefoot. This was accompanied, what else, by short cargo pants and plain T-shirts. As I was digesting what I was seeing, examining my own outfit all over again and feeling oh so inadequate, I thought I spotted a woman with shoes on. As she approached, I looked more carefully and realized the one real pair of shoes I managed to spot, except for flip-flops and comfort footwear, was of a bright yellow color.

Once I joined the company, I got to know its routine that includes yoga in the office on Wednesdays which the managing director religiously attends; lunch for all the company together on Mondays; photography classes initiated and taught by one of our very own; learning days dedicated to expanding and deepening our knowledge by learning from each other about facilitation, the application (and constant development) of our own methodology etc.

As time went by I also got to know my colleagues: the one that fools you into thinking he speaks Russian fluently whereas he actually speaks fluent Gibberish with a perfect Russian accent, the one that roams the offices looking for company when he needs inspiration, the one that while eating lunch one day is already securing lunch for the next day, the one that speaks backwards, the one that travels with his miniature guitar to projects, the one that gives a loud chirp known as “koolooloo” to mark the receipt of good news, the one that organizes traditional bi-annual theme parties etc.

I also discovered that everybody certainly knows how to dress up appropriately, from head to toe, when meeting with clients and facilitating workshops.

I don’t know if this is what one would imagine when thinking of a company in the innovation area but along my 15-year career, I met all kinds of characters along the way. What stands out where I now work is that once I look beyond the shoes, I see people that have a spring in their step. It could very well be the freedom of walking barefoot…but probably it’s simply the privilege of enjoying what one does and each other’s company.

I am a couple of years at SIT now and you will still not catch me walking barefoot around the office but I do show up with the occasional flip-flops and Capri pants. While it is quite a relief to be able to dress down for work, I have to admit I still occasionally stare with a bit of nostalgia at the suits hanging in my closet. But I guess, I’ve probably become one of the weirdoes on the third floor…