How Lunch Revolutionized Penji's Creative Process

I’d like to share how lunch in revolutionized our startup: Lunch and learns. We’ve all heard of them and I am sure we all feel a certain way about lunch and learns. However we wanted to change the negative connotation between what a Lunch and Learn was. We take education incredibly serious here at Penji. So serious, that every week we have a lunch and learn about any particular topic we choose. Each week, the administrative team nominates a fellow team member to teach something interesting during lunch. The beauty behind the words “something interesting” is that something interesting is so vague. We make sure that it’s not just about business. It can be about: A team member’s passion Their favorite foods How to cook a certain meal Arts and crafts. One in particular where we had to create a playing card for the person to our right. How to properly use gifs on Slack All of which have been done. And you can only imagine how many gifs are now used within our Slack channels. Pop Culture References At Penji, we LOVE YouTube. On some days, we all gather around a few of the computers in the office to watch trending videos. Some of our favorites are: Good Mythical Morning Matt Stonie Try Guys Stephanie Soo OfflineTV Swoozie Erik the Electric Even though we are watching these YouTubers, it actually helps our creative process. A lot of our marketing ideas and even content have stemmed from these mindless minutes of watching the new generation of TV. Livestreams During lunch, we started livestreaming on Penji's Facebook and Instagram to engage with our audience. We ran a quick pilot where we would record a fun lunch video every Thursday. The pilot went incredibly well. So well, we are about to launch a new version of our livestream in 2019. The videos put faces to the brand without being too serious. You can see Naciye Cakir and Jie competing to eat chicken nuggets, myself and my cofounder Khai Tran play Pie Face, or Taylore Bryant and Sekinah Brodie playing Never Have I Ever. We're inviting you into our office to get a glimpse of our #culture. Although the first pilot was more for fun and games. We want to take education and value up a notch by offering more education content that you can “snack” onto so to speak that you can directly apply to your business. Relaxation During this time of relaxation, we aren’t necessarily supposed to work. However, we still find a way to do so. At times during lunch, we’ve used this hour to brainstorm and bounce ideas. This time was the best for innovation because we did not feel the constraints of being "on the clock" and our creativity shines through. Even though we have “worked” through lunch, there are days where we don’t do anything but sit back and relax in a bean bag chair. It ultimately depends on the day, but having this piece of mind is important. In closing, at times, we all work so hard. It’s good to reset the clock and know that life isn’t always about working your tail off. You can have not only work hard, but play hard too. As always please reach out anytime if you have any questions at [email protected] or connect with me directly at tbeshow.com. You won’t want to miss next week’s episode where we talk about “4. 3 pillars to get any job you want” Catch you next Thursday, until then. Go out there and execute your vision, have a great rest of your day. Follow Us: Podcast Website:http://www.tbeshow.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grzybowskij YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9lkipQ_wV2vmzspwtdA7hQ Sponsors: Penji is an effective on-demand design service that provides unlimited selections of custom designs at a flat monthly cost. Clients are given [unlimited graphic design][1] hours and revisions that undergo each project. Follow Penji Here: Website: https://penji.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dotpenji For dads figuring out work, family, and everything in between. Nobody prepares you for this. Not the guilt of leaving for work when your kid is still asleep. Not the pressure of providing for a family while trying to build something that actually matters. Not the identity crisis that hits when you realize you're not just the guy who grinds anymore — you're somebody's dad. And that changes everything. I started Working Dads because I lived that. I'm co-founder of Penji, husband to Emily, and dad to a two-year-old who already has more energy than I do. I've been bootstrapping a company for over a decade and I still don't have it all figured out. But I've learned that the most dangerous thing a working dad can do is try to figure it out alone. So every week I sit down with founders, executives, investors, and everyday dads who are in the thick of it. We talk about the real stuff. The marriage conversations you keep avoiding. The financial pressure nobody admits to. The moment your kid looks up at you and you realize you've been somewhere else even though you've been standing right there. We've also got Built During Bedtime — my weekly newsletter for working dads. The one thing I write after my daughter goes to sleep. Straight to your inbox. No fluff. And we've got a community. Slack channel and Facebook group full of dads who get it. The kind of guys you can be honest with. The kind of friendships that actually go somewhere. Come find your people. Working Dads. For dads figuring out work, family, and everything in between.