To show you how we practice our core values, both internally and externally, we’re breaking each one down into a lovely little journal for your reading pleasure.
Last but certainly not least, this is how we ‘Aspire’ each and every day.
Go beyond and create impact.
Take the road less travelled.
Listen with empathy. Voice with vulnerability.
Share your thoughts, share the burden, share a gif.
- Aspire
Keep learning. Mistakes are not a failure, just a correction. So be bad until you’re good, and good until you’re great.
Aspire
Our favourite mantra around here is: “Be bad until you’re good, and good until you’re great.” We love it so much we’ve had it etched into the cover of our company notebooks. The simple definition of aspire means “to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal”. At Rock & Bloom, it goes beyond that. It’s about creating goals, yes, but it’s also about taking risks (hey, that’s another one of our core values!), failing, learning from said failure, iterating, and coming back stronger and better.
One common thread amongst our team (besides that we have some pretty intense opinions about food) is that we all love learning. This is one of the most talented and skilled teams I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and yet, not a single person believes they’ve mastered their skill or is better than anyone else. There is always something to learn and that shared enthusiasm for growth makes us more aligned as a team.
BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goals
We adore a big hairy audacious goal, or BHAG. In fact, the bigger, hairier, and more audacious the better. We live and work by a growth mindset – yeah, yeah, I know you’ve heard this buzzword a thousand times, but for us it simply means we don’t like to get too comfortable or too cocky.
In other words we’ve accepted the fact that we won’t always be perfect, and we see that imperfection as a learning opportunity. Once you’ve accepted that you’re allowed to make mistakes, it’s easier to step out of your comfort zone and aim high. Like ridiculously high. You might not stick the landing every time, but you’ll always achieve more than if you had stuck with what you knew you could safely do.
Our ability to set BHAGs is the reason our portfolio looks like it does – stuffed to the brim with everything from small, start-up businesses to Silicon Valley tech giants to Agriculture industry shakers to your favourite local mom and pop shop. You name it, we’ve done it. And we can’t wait to set our sights on more.
Go big or go home
I know I sound like a broken record, but Rock & Bloom’s Ultimate Brand Course & Workshop – a four-day immersive workshop that helps entrepreneurs dive into their brand – is just that good. And none of it would have happened if our fearless leaders hadn’t aspired to do better; to offer more to the world.
These workshops are the epitome of bold aspirations. When it felt like it couldn’t be done, we pushed harder, and guess what, it worked. Now our leaders get the opportunity to work directly with businesses in a small and intimate setting and help them really move the needle for their brand.
We still love to make pretty, shiny things that you can’t take your eyes off of, but this kind of work is fulfilling in a different way. We’re empowering other business owners to go big – to aspire.
Can we do that?
Our Slack conversations are packed full of “Can we do thats”. No, I don’t mean doubting our ability to do something. It’s more about getting everyone on board with an elaborate or out-there idea.
Fancy chocolatier website? Can we do that? Let’s pitch ‘em.
Create our own branded events? Can we do that? Design’s already got a logo and Content has come up with 10 witty taglines.
Build and brand a secondary microsite for quirky holiday cards, offering both nice and not-so-nice options? Can we do that? Consider it done. Literally.
Some may call us naive, but our ability to believe that we can truly do anything has led us down some interesting paths. It’s how we got Sweet & Sour – our holiday card microsite with both nice and naughty options for your mailing delight. It’s also how we’ve landed clients that should have been a long shot, and launched a game-changing workshop in record time.
Here’s to even bigger, hairier, and more audacious goals!