5 Big Lessons from The Day When Everyone Was a Writer

– by Kenneth W Wheeler

 

We all have heard the saying ‘Winners don’t do different things but they do things differently’

 

Winning is an in-born human behavioral desire, we all want to be recognized as winners, we all get pumped up when we compete to win. Acknowledging that thought with an urge to get our employees to do things differently was born the idea of Blogathon!

 

Blogathon – a competitive event where the company took time off to write business blogs!

 

Yes, a fast-paced, constantly evolving SaaS company, took a day out to look inwards and develop the creative element in them. It all began with the concept that ‘Everyone Can Write’, and at the end of a very fruitful and creatively fulfilling day, that concept became a fact. Everyone’s commitment to discover hidden talents within themselves transformed the event into something that each of them would remember for the rest of their lives.

 

If you want to relate to this feeling, just think back to the first blog you ever wrote, and if that brings a smile or fond memories, then you know the value of such an event.

 

Striking observations came to light which when put together validated the events success, making a compelling case for Blogathon 2.0.

 

Let me highlight 5 key learnings that made the event worthwhile and memorable

 

1.      Explore Your Discomfort Zone

 

Learning always multiplies when you are bold to take on your discomfort zone. That is how you expand your horizon of influence, add more weapons to your artillery and evolve your growth as an individual. Writing is not that common cup of tea that most people sip naturally, taking it a step ahead and writing for business Blog, well it only gets tougher. Blogathon event pushed employees to explore this discomfort zone and the result was overwhelming that produced several brilliantly written blogs, which I am sure surprised even the participants themselves.

 

Learning always lies in the circle of discomfort!

 

2.      Challenge Your Limiting Beliefs

 

We hold back from challenging our limiting beliefs. When we want to attempt something difficult, something we have tried before, often a voice pops in our mind reminding us like a devil ‘you can never do that, you are not good enough, this is not your strength’. Lot of employees would have gone with a similar mind set at the beginning, however, when push came to shove, the only option to succeed was to challenge their limiting beliefs. With good support provided by in-house experts, individuals were ready to put the devil to silence.

 

Work hard to destroy your limiting beliefs!

 

3.      Gamification – The Best Tool For L&D Effectiveness

 

Irrespective of the talent one possess and how strong one’s opponent might be, as a core human nature things get heated the moment you spice up the arena with a sense of competition. Why are millions hooked to playing video games? Why are LIVE shows such as singing and dancing competition make huge success stories? Why sports have the largest fan following? Blogathon event was designed on Gamification point system format that gave it the desired punch power of competition, of beating other teams, of emerging a winner. The fact that the wining team earned themselves a company sponsored ‘Chopper Ride’ added glamour for the right reasons.

 

Learning and development is multiplied with tool like Gamification!

 

Recommended Read: 6 Key Impact Of New Age Technology On Talent Acquisition

 

4.      Nothing Supersedes Team Spirit

 

Foundation of companies that have done astonishingly well, at their core are driven by supreme team spirit. They are proud to mention unanimously the theme ‘All for one and one for all’. When you come together as a team and build the faith and trust on lines of ‘You want to go fast, go alone. You want to go far, go together’ you can be sure of creating something significant. Blogathon event produced exactly that – a solid platform to execute strong team spirit. What made it special was that teams were cross functional and put employees from different departments together. The blend worked perfectly pushing team bonding at a different level which delivered fantastic results while having great fun too.

 

Invest to inculcate great team spirit, it always will serve as a winner!

 

5.      Make Time for Self-Development

 

Investment on self-learning and development is a critical factor for success. One cannot and must not rest on their past laurels and achievements. For continuous growth and learning it is massively important that one makes time to engage in activities that helps one develop and pick up new talent and interests. In today’s social media dominant World, it is almost compulsory to build and care for your self-branding. Blogathon was one such event that gave individuals a fantastic opportunity to learn and explore. Blogs when posted on social media platform brought that visibility and excitement for individuals with questions like ‘how many likes? comments? Count of sales lead generated?

 

Don’t have time, well make time and keep growing!

 

To Sum It All Up

 

Every event teaches us things to improve if we have the correct acuity sense to capture all the essence of learning. Blogathon event created that initial ripple, spark, and motivation along with the satisfaction of attempting something different. In the end, as our in-house expert had suggested and highlighted repeatedly came true ‘writing is just another art of expression, it can be done as easily as you tap your feet or sway your body when you listen to your favorite music’. It was truly a win-win for each person directly or remotely involved in the event and we can now say that if anybody can dance, anybody can write too!

 

♥150 Subscribe