Here are my top ten takeaways from the Fortune Connect offsite. We had coworkers fly in from all over the world. These were my takeaways.

1. Talent, talent, talent when you have a bunch of brilliant people in the same round. There are magical things you can co-create together.

2. Culture beats strategy for breakfast. You can have the best strategy in the world, but having a mission-driven group of passionate people who are excited to get up in the morning makes a difference in reaching our goals.

3. People make mistakes. We all make mistakes. During the last two years, when we were building out the Fortune Connect brand, we were trying to figure out how to improve the community. The product, websites, and learning sprints.

4. It truly takes a village. Fortune Connect, although as of right now, is one of the smaller products of Fortune, has so many different employees that I took for granted a lot of the behind-the-scenes that happened to make it work. I was curious and asked more about what other people did to learn more about everything and all of the pieces that make something work effectively.

5. Authenticity and being Genuine goes a long way. I’m happy that Fortune Connects hired, such good-hearted people. Coming into the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is easy because you genuinely enjoy your teammates and coworkers.

6. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and say something. There have been many times when I have some value to add, but I’m afraid of speaking my mind because I don’t know if there is value in a particular statement. The mark of a company is that you feel like you can be 100% yourself.

7. The power of in Person events– yes, from a productivity standpoint working remotely currently has its advantages but the level of bonding that you get in person, even compared to when people have their camera on in zoom, is way more powerful and effective. You can go up to the person and talk to them instead of slacking them and waiting to get an answer.

8. Having a powerful vision- everything starts with a vision. Of course, there are going to be roadblocks and obstacles that get in the way, but without a direction or vision/end goal, nothing can materialize. Fortune Connect was founded to support the next generation of leaders who will be the C suite of the corporations that make up the backbone of our country and society.

9. Kindness works– I was surrounded by people who really wanted to make a difference and did not miss how kind everyone was. The genuine curiosity and the wanting to help are incredible.

10. Sharing gratitude always– The excitement that people have, and when they share with you the are genuinely happy that you are here, you can feel it. There is a shared mutual interest. I’m looking forward to celebrating many more milestones as we continue to grow this rocketship!

Gratitude Learning Fortune Connect