Work without passion and fun creates a level of unease
This week we hosted an evening reception at which two great young entrepreneurial talents spoke at.
Double Dutch which started in 2015 and today operates in close to 20 countries worldwide and is a genuine challenger to Fever Tree and Tuk Tuk Chai which is also making impressive growth. Both are inspirational stories and both will talk of their love for the challenge and how they realised that just working in an environment with a passionate intent just did not free them up.
Working life has become highly pressured – more so than ever – if one cannot find a voice in their work then yes work todays becomes almost a negative battle that drains people. We talk so much of the issues around mental health and productivity but part of this can be solved by freeing people up to have a voice, build relationships, enjoy their work with a passion. In the last week we have meet people that have confined to their offices and told not to meet clients – madness surely – senior professionals who talk of how process and compliance makes decision making almost impossible to be customer friendly and a group of 55 year olds who were counting down their days to retirement.If we want a positive work environment then people need to have a voice and live life with a passion?
In a world whereby the young professionals can be heavily patronised, it is a genuine joy to see the Double Dutch twins not just find success but they are the same characters today as they were when I first met them in 2014. One gets the feeling that success just will not affect them as they have won a number of prestigious awards but they have shown, many times over, both a sense of fun, perspective and maturity that does reflect highly upon them. They are still in their mid twenties and operating globally from Canada to South Africa to UK and Europe. Not many can say as much.