BEYOND DEI: SHAPING THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE (with Mark Rickmeier)
In This Episode
• [02:03] The PechaKucha storytelling framework
• [05:44] The TXI office experience prior to the pandemic
• [06:58] Outgrowing and letting go of the experiences that helped shape TXI's culture
• [07:25] Why rent is a dumb way to facilitate experiences
• [08:12] How different tools help TXI bridge the connection gap as they transition to remote work
• [10:39] Fostering a sense of connection and belonging by finding other ways to bring people together
• [14:22] Finding other DEI leaders, and Mark's learnings as part of Loyola University's inaugural program for DEI Leadership
• [18:34] The importance of giving everyone an equitable understanding of what growth means
• [23:36] The Kermit Collective camps, the unconference approach, and what other leaders can learn from it
• [27:28] The best advice Mark has ever received about leadership
• [29:59] The Combustion Questions
what we learned from Mark
• You can do more in-depth experiences around bringing people together than you could just shopping money and rent where it's gonna sit empty most of the time for most of the people.
• Using rent to foster connection is a stupid use of resources these days.
• The value of Cooperatition.
• You should have a dedicated budget and leaders who are getting trained in DEI.
• Take things that are implicit and make them very explicit.
• Busy is the new stupid.
Notable quotes
[08:32] - "You need to have everything easily accessible to improve transparency and equitable access to everyone."
[10:40] - "Unlearn and let go of some of the things that historically worked to experiment and find new things that work."
[27:00] - "The most important way to learn is through admitting and owning up to failure."
[28:52] - "Your time as a leader is not just when you"re busy doing a bunch of things."
Our Guest
Mark Rickmeier is the Chief Executive Officer at TXI, a product innovation company. He has created more than 100 mobile apps, custom-built web applications, and intuitive user experiences for clients like the Field Museum, Roger Ebert, AccuWeather, and Tyson Foods.
In 2014, Mark founded the Kermit Collective, a high-trust community of leading software companies, to help get new ideas and insights from outside of his own bubble.
He is the author of the Sticky Note Game and created a concept called the Inclusion Meeting Card game.