By: Kara Schniepp
If I had to choose the most important lesson I’ve grasped from my first few months of working at Olive, it would be the value of living and thinking in the now. Throughout college, I had always thought working in PR meant consistent planning beyond today. While that may be true, I’ve learned more recently that the magic is happening at no other time than the present.
My first impromptu champagne toast gave me my initial experience of Olive’s team culture. At first, I couldn’t understand why we all stopped what we were doing in that moment to clink our glasses on a late Wednesday afternoon. Hadn’t everyone just been talking about how long their to-do lists for the week were, and all the deadlines they had to meet? Of course, I thought it was awesome and couldn’t wait to tell my friends what I did today at the office, but I didn’t realize until later what this experience said about Olive.
During the toast, we went around and raised our glasses to what each woman felt like celebrating that day, accomplishments big and small. Taking a minute to sip some bubbly and soak in the moment with the team didn’t just demonstrate a work hard, play hard mentality, but illuminated a celebration of each other’s successes and acknowledgment of appreciation.
This is just one example of the positive work culture that helps us all to work more efficiently and passionately. The team shows me different ways to live in the moment every day.
While it’s essential to plan ahead, you must live in the here and now to do your best work and relish in the accomplishments of your peers and yourself.