Sometimes you need a nudge to do something you know you should do.

The biggest obstacle in trying to bring Friend-Building to your office is finding the time to actually get started. Once people read about the science and see the success stories, they realize that a consistent plan is needed to make their company culture better.

But who has the time?

A friend of ours in Seattle recently got into a jam with a planned company morale event. Weather and logistics turned a sure thing into "we have to scramble" to make some magic happen. And the folks in the FunCorp Seattle office were happy to oblige. We turned around a Conference Room Olympiad in less than 24 hours.

When it was all said and done, staying inside the office was way more fun and valuable than the road trip, which was more expensive and more planned out.

You know in your gut you are missing out on opportunities to impact your office culture by not running consistent events that actually focus on Friend-Building, as opposed to a happy hour or booze. So what if instead of waiting until "next month" you tried to put one together in 37 hours? What if you took away all the expectations of weeks or months of planning, and you just said "Hey, this Friday afternoon we are celebrating a big win, and not waiting a month to try and start planning."

When your new puppy does a good job, you don't wait 3 weeks to congratulate it.

If your company hits a huge milestone, or has an amazing month, how fast can you get a party in the office to reward them?

For our friends in Portland and Seattle, the answer is about 37 hours.

Don't worry so much about the perfect party in the PERFECT location. Think about all the extra space you have in your hallway, your parking lot, and your empty conference room, and instead ask, "What's keeping us from getting started?"

Probably just a spark, a bit of necessity, and 37 hours.

Maybe your existing event fell apart, maybe you want to put something together real fast, maybe you are just curious. But don't "wait until next month" or say "we will get to that in Q2" when it comes to building friendships and social capital. If you start that process it will multiply throughout the year. It will do the work for you when no one is looking.

There is no perfect time to move your office, to switch to a new software system, or to plan a Friend-Building party. Sometimes, as you probably know from your own personal life, it's the spur of the moment parties and celebrations that end up being the most memorable.

Focus on the "friends" and not the location, and see if you can have someone help you run a 37 hour party INSIDE of your office, when all of your employees least expect it.

You might find that it was just the party your company was looking for.

FunBlog

The 37 Hour Party