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HONOR HISTORY
Let the Past Propel You Forward
The past is a kind of screen upon which we project our vision of the future.
—CARL BECKER
Where have we been? Where are we going? Where am I? Your Google Map isn’t equipped for navigating existential dilemmas, but your company history can help. A shared past knits an individual into a community and imbues the group with a distinct identity. The history of your organization can be a source of pride that helps you see events and yourself as part of a larger, still-unfolding story. History connects you to meaning.
Whether you are re-envisioning your brand or wondering, Why do we do things this way? the past can provide rich insights. Has your company survived turbulent economies or lasted for centuries? Find the energy (and confidence) to reinvigorate the future by tapping into your organizational roots.
Learn from those who came before you. Innovating for tomorrow doesn’t mean forgetting all the acumen acquired in the preceding eras. As companies merge, leadership shifts, and employees depart, institutional knowledge offers pragmatic insights.
We all want to be remembered when we are gone (and while we are still around). As an employee, hearing your name called out at the company meeting of 200 people recognizes the risk you took in believing before there was something to believe in. The new staff is reminded to tap your experience.
Recalling the personnel who traveled thousands of miles (in the middle seat of often delayed airplanes) and the late-night teams that loaded trucks in the rain humanizes your company and reminds employees that they, too, have a chance to earn their place in history.
THIS IS FOR YOU IF
• The inspiring “why” of your company has been forgotten.
• You want to be remembered, and would like to do the same for the people on whose shoulders you are now standing.
• Less glamorous roles have been filled by staff who have been invisible but highly impactful. You want to inspire the organization by telling their stories.
• You’re new in the job and appreciate that learning about the organization’s history may help you better adopt the culture.
TAKE ACTION
Think and talk about the past in living color in the present. Tell stories about charismatic leaders, long-tenured but less famous workers, breakthrough innovations, involvement in notable social movements—and what it says about the company you are today or want to become.
Create your own organizational “museum” with artifacts like the receipt for your first desk or ideas for a logo. Start with a corner of your shelf: the prototype for a new ski boot that never gained market share, the kitchen sponge that inspired you to make a cartoon series. You’ll honor the past and have great conversational prompts in the present.
Agree on the founders. In the absence of money, entrepreneurs, keen to involve other talent, may offer the title of cofounder. As the company expands or gains fame, the initial founder may be less comfortable sharing the credit, believing that the cofounder isn’t pushing growth, taking risks, raising capital, or working as hard. Resentment kicks in. Meanwhile, the cofounder believes he or she earned the title, given the sacrifices made. It can get ugly. Best to be abundantly clear from the outset about how you want to write your organizational history in the future.
Decorate the office walls with employees’ pictures. Use obstetric doctors as a model. They often have poster boards with pictures of all the babies they delivered. What kind of new life has your team brought into the world? Start a collage of your product advertisements—and have the staff that worked on its launch sign the picture.
Include a company history in the employee manual to connect new hires with the organization’s DNA. List the names of people who worked at the company even if they no longer do. You may surprise or make a new hire proud when they discover an unknown family connection. And you will demonstrate that you are an organization that doesn’t forget its people.
Create an internal database of past blunders, the conditions that led to them, and how they were solved. That’s it, three lines. Keep it simple. During brainstorming sessions, encourage risk. Read these examples as a reminder that the organization has survived mistakes in the past.
Include alumni. Your former colleague knows your company’s system and has now been trained at a new enterprise. She is in a great position to challenge your assumptions. When putting together strategy sessions, don’t forget to invite the outside expert who used to be inside.
Establish an annual award. Keep a visible record of the winners. Mount a wooden plaque on the side of the conference room, and add an engraved plate with each year’s winner. If you move offices, don’t forget to pack and rehang it!
Let history speak for itself. StoryCorps (www.storycorps.org) and Brazilian Museum Museu da Pessoa (www.museudapessoa.net/pt/home) have methodologies to capture the oral histories of individuals and institutions.
If you are part of the new regime responsible for ushering out loyal, longtime employees be sure to help plan or attend their farewell dinners.
KEEP IN MIND
• History can be subjective. Be sensitive.
• Don’t let disagreements about the past prevent you from documenting history. It’s OK to share a few alternative perspectives.