As 2023 draws to a close, many of us have put the biggest impacts of COVID behind us, but the ramifications of how it changed our workplace are unavoidable. Long gone are the days of 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, in the office with all our peers and colleagues. While I don’t want to sound like the old man yelling at the kids to “stay off of my lawn,” there are definitely elements of this in-person work dynamic that I miss, and I'm feeling a longing for those days.
With that craving top of mind, we held our 2023 Boundless Expo recently at our home base in Austin, Texas. This was our first time bringing our entire staff together in one location in more than 2 years. Given our growth this year and our expansion with new collaborations and acquisitions, this was also the first time many of us met colleagues face to face. The daylong Expo—and evening fun and frivolity—proved to be a dynamic session appreciated by all.
Throughout the course of the day, our team was able to learn more about the Boundless mission and vision and where we are going in 2024 and beyond, take a look back at the successful launch of the Boundless platform and brand, and meet and network with some of the new partner groups joining our family (soon to be announced!). We also had some very informative and educational guest speakers helping coach us through evolutions in diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as where creative visual media is headed with the democratization of artificial intelligence. We were even joined by a celebrity entertainer when the whole event was kicked off with “The King”!
What inspired me most was seeing the genuine enthusiasm and passion that all of our team—veterans and rookies—showed by coming together to learn from one another and break bread together. The group activities where teams were mashed up randomly to allow them to meet and learn new things about each other resulted in some fun and entertaining anecdotes. Lastly, as a partner, I was thrilled to hear several of our guests and soon-to-be new Boundless team members recognize the potential of what we’re creating, with remarks such as, “Wow, you all really have something special here…a great, infectious culture.”
In the past few days since the Expo, I’ve had several colleagues reach out and thank me for the fact that, as a group, we place so much value in our staff and invest in these types of activities. While this is greatly appreciated and humbling, the following parts of these conversations have resonated with me most. Invariably, in each of these conversations, I heard something to the effect of “I didn’t know we could do that,” or “After meeting [person or new division], I can already see opportunities for us to collaborate,” or “I’d love to spend some more time with leadership to brainstorm additional areas where I think we can do more for our clients.” It’s in these truly organic discussions that creativity takes a front seat, and as I shared with the team at the Expo, that is where the potential for “Exponential” growth truly exists!
Our Boundless brand is about breaking barriers and rejecting the status quo. The feelings from this Expo were that we accomplished just that. We rejected the status quo of constant Zoom meetings, and, if only for just a day, we had the full collective of all our colleagues together in one place, where the energy, creativity, and truly Boundless aspiration were amazing!
