COVID-19 has forced businesses worldwide into a precarious balancing act – protecting the health and safety of their employees while simultaneously continuing operations. Like all essential businesses, we are working through this challenge ourselves. And as weeks turn into months, it’s become increasingly obvious to us that business is forever changed.

It’s imperative that small businesses embrace the new normal and start working on adapting.

With our eyes firmly on the horizon, here’s our 10 best predictions on business “after” pandemic. 

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10 Trends for Business “After” Pandemic

1. WFH.  If there’s any sure thing in this Coronavirus world, it’s that Work From Home (WFH) isn’t going anywhere. Sure we miss our co-workers and water cooler gossip, but not enough to trade in pajamas for a 30-minute commute. Companies need to embrace the virtual workforce. Now that more people have had a taste of it and proven their productivity, it will be hard for companies to take that flexibility away from their talent. 

A Gallup survey revealed that 54% of U.S. workers would leave their current job for one that allowed them to work remotely.

2. HQ 2.0.  Once there are treatments and vaccines, offices will be designed to foster and promote interaction and community rather than closed-door productivity. Nothing will take the place of the serendipitous group-think that often leads to creativity and innovation, and COVID-19 has made us appreciate those interactions more than ever.

3. Wellness leadership. Now that we’ve all experienced feelings of isolation in a social-less environment, successful businesses will need corporate leaders to manage the mental health of their workforce as well as their productivity. HR departments and team leaders will be tasked with creating unique, innovative ways of engaging their virtual workforce to ensure that no employee feels detached from the rest of the team. Giving rise to a new kind of business “coach” if you will.

4. Work-ready design. As new homes are built or existing ones are remodeled, WFH considerations will be a top priority. Internet in homes will improve, drastically and quickly, and home offices with home video studios will become selling features. Technology will be developed to create an environment that more closely resembles a WeWork than a suburban townhouse. 

A study by GetApp reports that the majority of survey respondents cited a lack of proper technology for remote work that hindered their success and productivity.

5. Real estate redesign.  While employees were celebrating their 30-second commute, it became clear to companies that the huge P&L item for real estate may not be the best way to spend their money. Having people work from home—even if it’s not everyone all the time—is proving to be profitable.

This will have an impact on the real estate industries as most office buildings will be forced into residential offerings. Major cities will experience an explosion of square footage for residential buildings— with whole floors dedicated to co-working amenities— and that will significantly reduce the cost of renting. Likewise, suburban developments will need a significant boost in technical infrastructure and lifestyle amenities to compete with a more-affordable city center.

6. E-learning for everyone. Right now, primary education is Ground Zero for e-Learning.  There will be huge shifts in the way we teach our children in a post-COVID world. That said, from a business perspective, many companies realize that up-skilling is essential for innovation and strategic advantage. As in-person workshops and seminars go by the wayside, successful businesses will invest in dynamic e-learning solutions to guide their ongoing training.

7. Video goes mainstream. The developers behind Zoom, WebEx, Google Hangouts, and Skype made WFH possible. We believe this will hugely impact change front-facing service roles as customers look for real humans on the other end of the screen. In fact, watch for video chat to replace text chat in the near future. 

8. The end of email. Ok, maybe that’s a stretch. However, this trend has been increasing for a while now. With millions of workers trying to do their jobs from home, we are going to see faster, more efficient communication tools be adopted at a record pace. For context, it took Slack almost five years (2015 to 2020) to go from 1 million to 10 million users. In March 2020 alone, Slack added 2.5 million users—and is still growing rapidly.

9. The rise of a contact-free economy. In terms of e-commerce, the pandemic has accelerated the change in online shopping habits we already saw happening. However, the figures for telemedicine exploded. So much so, the U.S. has changed regulations to ease access to telemedicine, and Teladoc Health, the largest independent U.S. telemedicine service, is adding thousands of doctors to its network, according to the Wall Street Journal.

10. Redefining business resilience. Even post-pandemic, companies will continue to rethink, if not tweak, their business models. Companies will have to strengthen backup and safety plans, whether that’s succession planning, trimming overhead, deeper profit margins, or significantly expand supply chain networks.  Investors are likely to take note and businesses will need to work resiliency metrics into their valuations.

The world is undoubtedly changing before our very eyes. And these are just a few examples of how we think the future of work will never be the same again.

It’s no secret that COVID-19 changed our lives. As a small business, we’ve had to pivot in extraordinary ways. And while we can’t ignore the impact isolation and swift, life-altering changes have on our psyche, we have also learned that our resiliency and ability to manage is more powerful than we thought.  Here are just a few ways our incredible team has navigated the pandemic in fun and fulfilling fashion.

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How has your day-to-day work life changed during COVID19?

Cherie Edelstein, President:   Although I always thought about the health and safety of our organization, my concerns now include our employee’s families and home environments so that we can ensure everyone is staying as healthy as possible at all times. We need to look at our own protocols but also what happens in the home since that now affects our colleagues.

Michael Gauthier, Senior Strategic Buyer: It has improved tremendously! Without the daily commute, my days are not as long, I’m more rested, less stressed and ultimately more productive

Elisa Hernandez, Senior Customer Service Representative:  Wearing “work Pajamas” …it’s a thing! 

Deborah LeCouffe, Customer Service Manager:  Managing my team at a distance is a new concept, but we have found how to make it work well. I have to say, we are incredibly productive and efficient!

James Begin, CTO: Finding solutions to issues has become easier and faster because distractions are now less frequent.

Ilana Perlman, Human Resources Manager:  I am still coming into the office daily, but I do miss seeing everyone’s face! 

Sandra Agnessi, Accounts Payable Coordinator:  Driving to work the streets are deserted. With most of the employees are working from home, the office is like a ghost town. It’s like a Twilight  Zone experience.

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What’s been the biggest challenge for you during this time?  

Colby Fisher, Account Executive:  The biggest challenge for me has been not being in the field to see customer applications. Plus, it’s more difficult to really develop trustworthy relationships with existing customers and new prospects when working virtually.

Michael Gauthier, Senior Strategic Buyer:  Cabin fever! Unable to physically interact with colleagues, friends, and, of course, family.

David Jugan, Outside Sales Associate:  There’s been a spiritual and physical health decline. We have lost a sense of worth and motivation due to both church and gym closures.

Chantal Girard, Senior Customer Service Representative:  Grocery shopping and shopping for essentials in general. Outdoor lineups and angry people have made those normal experiences much more challenging!

Sylvie Scrivo, Senior Customer Service Rep: Making sure my home office was functional in every way so I can do my work as usual.

Rosemary Mercer, Customer Service: Remembering to wear my mask in public; it does no good in my purse!!!

Deborah LeCouffe, Customer Service Manager: Knowing which day of the week it is!  Not quite sure why, but the days and weeks just disappear on me.

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Has there been any silver lining for you and your family?  

Cherie Edelstein, President:  Working from home has allowed me the time to think more clearly and connect with others in a very positive and supportive way.

Mei-Lee Wang Langi, Account Executive:  My boys were sent home from college, so I get a lot more family time. We have been playing board games and having family dinners again.  The boys are looking up new recipes and taking part in cooking for us.

David Jugan, Account Executive: We have invested in a home gym so that our entire family of 5 can get and stay fit. 

Colby Fisher, Account Executive:  My engagement!

Kevin Quesnel, MIS Specialist:  Having the kids stay home has increased our time with them. It has made a big, positive impact and a bigger appreciation felt by all.

Ashley Caward, Order Management Specialist: I think we are all stronger then we think. If we can handle this, we can handle anything

James Begin, CTO:  Not spending 2-3 hours driving each day. Not having to get up at 5:30 am and fighting traffic! Also, not going out for meals has put us back in the kitchen thus improving our cooking skills.

Rosemary Mercer, Customer Service: Our grandson, Edouard, was born on May 8^th!

Sandy Lee,  Business Operations Analyst:   Absolutely! I love having three meals together with my family every day and enjoying the extra time we get from not having to travel to and from work. On nice days, we get to enjoy the outdoors during lunch and breathe in the fresh air, which I rarely did at the office.

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Have you tackled anything new and exciting?  Did you finally make sourdough bread? Start training for an Ironman? Finished that craft room? 

Colby Fisher, Account Executive:  I’ve been able to get my yard and landscaping in tip-top shape, and torn down my washing machine to completely rebuild it with new parts.

Elisa Hernandez, Senior Customer Service Representative:  We made the beignet Micky Mouse donuts from Disneyland. Delicious and fun!

Michael Gauthier, Senior Strategic Buyer:  I finally taught my daughter to ride a bike. She was always too nervous.  I’m now able to work out every day, without sacrificing sleep, lost 9-11lbs so far.  On the downside, I help out a lot more around the house now.

Kayla Greenberg, Senior Collection Specialist: I have tried every new recipe I could get my hands on and started a walking routine each evening.

Deborah LeCouffe, Customer Service Manager:  I confess, yes I made homemade bread a few times. Although, I probably should have been training for an Ironman.

Nathalie Abdelhadi, Strategic Sales Support Coordinator: Trying my hand at gardening with herbs and vegetables. So far, so good!!

James Begin, CTO: Due to cooking meals that would normally have 6 portions and not wanting to eat leftovers the next day, we have mastered the art of freezing meals. We have learned how to thaw and heat again so they are just as tasty as the day they were cooked!

Steve Underhill, Senior Marketing Coordinator:  I have been able to complete several home projects, like painting, setting up our Pergola, and a new BBQ.  We are slowly transforming our back yard into our vacationing spot for the summer. 

Sandy Lee, Business Operations Analyst: I’ve tried new recipes, started baking a little, and incorporated 10-minute yoga stretches into my day… what a difference this makes!

Sandra Agnessi, Accounts Payable Coordinator: I purchased and started to read a new book series, The Neapolitan Novels. It’s my escape, it brings me to another world and takes my mind off the things.

Sylvie Scrivo, Senior Customer Service Rep I finally learned to make my own pizza dough from scratch, and it’s very delicious!

Eva Varelas, Customer Service Supervisor:  I’ve started a garden for the first time.

David Jugan, Outside Sales Associate: We planted our first raised bed garden this spring and are hopeful that our $1,000 veggies will taste amazing!

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Any funny anecdotes? For example, did your kids crash your ZOOM calls or did you start making TikTok videos?? 

Elisa Hernandez, Senior Customer Service Representative: The office came to my house for a socially-distant birthday and I had my “work” pajamas on!!

Mei-Lee Wang Langi, Account Executive:  I have walked into a few Zoom classes because my sons point their cameras toward their doors. I drop to the floor and crawl out of view when that happens!

Kevin Quesnel, MIS Specialist:  The kids have come up with interesting games and crafts each day. Always something fun, like the other day they set up a full live-action show in the living room. It was complete with a table of snacks, built-in audience (lots of animals), and a magic act.

Chantal Girard, Senior Customer Service Representative: My son tripped on the steps outside and broke my Mother’s Day present: A bottle of Champagne that he was leaving at the door for me.   

Michael Gauthier, Senior Strategic Buyer:  During a department video chat, my clothesline was in the background. Suffice to say, the meeting was “BRIEF”!

Mauricio Acuña, Strategic Buyer:  In the beginning, I had to hide from my 2-year-old son; he would assume that daddy being home meant playtime! Three months later, not so much. 

Nathalie Abdelhadi, Strategic Sales Support Coordinator:  My dogs crash every Zoom meeting I have with my volunteer group. Thankfully my work video chats are at the office!

Steve Underhill, Senior Marketing Coordinator: My daughter, Taylor, moved out at the onset of the pandemic and since then I have become her contractor and advisor of choice when it comes to just about anything except for fashion or décor.  I know I am in for something new when she calls and it starts with, “Hi Daddyyyy….”

Sylvie Scrivo, Senior Customer Service Rep: In one of our Friday video conference meetings, I came in costume, wearing everything I love about my favorite Caribbean island: Jamaica! The girls found it really funny.

Rosemary Mercer, Customer Service: We installed and filled a kiddie’s swimming pool in our garage, complete with 8 octopus spraying tentacles so our 4-year-old granddaughter could go swimming as her regular swimming classes were canceled due to COVID-19.  It took three hours to install including laying cushioning on the garage floor, blowing up the pool, filling it with water, connecting the spraying tentacles, etc. She played in it for exactly 11 minutes!!!  Eleven minutes of pure fun. Then we had to empty it. Not so fun.

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As we start to resume “normal” life, what are you most looking forward to? 

Mei-Lee Wang Langi:  Being able to hug my parents again.

Colby Fisher:  I’m looking forward to human interaction. I’m looking forward to not taking other people for granted because they’ve always been there. Time away from people and made me realize how necessary it for us to interact on a personal level with each other.

Michael Gauthier: Interacting with people, visiting family, and yes, taking a Caribbean Cruise!

Chantal Girard: Flying to the Caribbean!

Elisa Hernandez: Sushi and spending time with my daughter

Ashley Caward: Looking forward to starting Roller Derby again.

Ilana Perlman: Going to the hairdresser!

Eva Varelas: Going out to dinner with friends and seeing my colleagues again.

Mauricio Acuña: Eating a good spicy pita Falafel, and babka bread!

Cherie Edelstein: Connecting with friends and food in a restaurant of some sort. Just chilling and hanging out without all the stresses of a virus.

“Paper and packaging… how life unfolds.”  

The clever slogan from the Paper And Packaging Board certainly has new meaning in the wake of COVID-19.  Here’s how a predominantly North American industry is pivoting to meet demand.

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Paper, Corrugate & Cardboard Rise to the Occasion  

“Most people don’t think about the important role that packaging plays except during a crisis like this. Aside from protecting crucial healthcare supplies and facilitating shipment, the eCommerce we are all totally dependent on now wouldn’t be possible without sturdy, reliable packaging.” That’s according to Bill Drake, a well-respected industry analyst and President of B2B Industry Packaging.

For our company, packaging, and more specifically corrugate cardboard, is one of the main industries we serve. Indeed, the world’s leading corrugators and paper mills trust us with their adhesive application needs. Double-sided splicing tapes, flat-back tabbing tapes and polypropylene tear tapes are all used in the paper manufacturing process to make everything from shipping boxes to food containers to tissues.

“Corrugated cardboard packaging is the backbone of the American supply chain,” says Fibre Box Association President and CEO Dennis Colley. “As COVID-19 changes our daily lives, we want to assure consumers that the box industry is continuing to operate and to deliver needed packaging to our customers who supply grocery stores, pharmacies, doctor’s offices and hospitals with food and medical supplies to keep us all healthy and safe.”

As manufacturers of corrugated cardboard boxes work to keep transport packaging, so are we. Risa Edelstein, VP Marketing, says, “We’re receiving a deluge of communication from our suppliers making sure that we know we are part of essential services, and we are rapidly pivoting to meet those needs. That includes implementing new protocols for our distribution center and warehouse as well as managing an increase in production and delivery. Our reps always said that tape is not important until you do not have it because it could shut an entire mill down!”

However, like other small businesses, ECHOtape has transitioned many of its non-warehouse teams to work from home. “We have a responsibility to meet our customers’ needs, but our first priority was to ensure the safety and health of our employees.  That said, we  are dedicated to continuing to operate under the guidelines of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure products continue to flow to market.”

That’s not been an easy task considering ECHOtape’s uniquely Canadian and U.S. business model. “It’s a challenge for most businesses to keeping track of the daily changes affecting business continuity, let alone 50 states and 10 Canadian Provinces, each with different regulations. And yet our team has been able to pivot and redirect itself, not missing a beat. What a testament to ECHOtape’s incredible employees!” says Edelstein.

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To Disinfect or Not? Handling Packaging During COVID-19  

Obviously, the packages you order on the Internet or local delivery services aren’t exactly sterile. They’ve each likely been touched by multiple people—the person who put your food or item in the package, the person who loaded it onto a truck, the person who hands you your bag or box, and so on. How careful should you be?

Although The CDC’s advice on protecting yourself during COVID-19 does not include disinfecting packages, its general advice stands: Wash your hands frequently and avoid close contact with people.  However, erring on the side of caution isn’t wrong. Consider disposing outer packaging outside of your home and wash your hands immediately after handling.

When it comes to food, the same advice stands. Donald W Schaffner is a food microbiologist and professor at Rutgers University. He told CNN: “Right now there’s no evidence that [the virus is] spread through food. There’s no evidence that it’s spread through food packaging. That doesn’t mean that we might not learn new evidence tomorrow that would change our thoughts on that, but right now that’s what we believe,” Schaffner said.

That said, there’s no harm in throwing away nonessential outer packaging (cereal boxes, meat trays) or in wiping down cans and jars with an approved disinfectant if it puts your mind at ease. Alternatively, you could set aside non-perishable groceries for a few days before using them, since the information available now suggests that the virus can’t be detected on plastic or stainless steel surfaces for more than three days.

Aside from washing your hands with soap and water, before beginning any food preparation you should sanitize sinks and counters using one of the approved disinfectants.

[echo_cta]

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What’s Next? Toilet Paper & Demand Shock

Toilet paper has become the poster child of pandemic, and no one is more surprised than the tissue paper industry itself. 

Companies that help supply these everyday paper products are rapidly pivoting to meet consumer demand.  But when will shelves be restocked? No one seems to know — not the stores, not the suppliers, and certainly consumers.

Here’s why:  Most paper mills already operate manufacturing facilities 24 hours, 7 days a week. It’s not like there’s an idle machine that can be cranked up to increase production, let alone while adhering to stricter CDC and Canadian Health guidelines.

The American Forest & Paper Association, an industry group representing paper product makers, noted the industry is working hard to respond to the sudden spike in demand.

“Rest assured, tissue products continue to be produced and shipped — just as they are 52 weeks each year as part of a global market,” AF&PA’s CEO Heidi Brock said in a statement.

Georgia Pacific, the maker of Angel Soft and Quilted Northern, told CNN that toilet paper orders from retailers nearly doubled. The company managed to ship out 20% more than its normal capacity. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble transitioned production to prioritize their bestselling sizes to maximize the amount of product shipped to retailers. Other suppliers are shifting manufacturing away from similar non-essential products (napkins, for example) to make more room for toilet paper production.  

However, there’s another big concern looming: demand shock.  Consumers who stockpile toilet paper now could eventually hurt manufacturers’ sales down the road, leaving a surplus of product to strain the system yet again. 

It’s a concern we share at ECHOtape.  Edelstein says, “Sales for adhesive products in a variety of industries, not just corrugate or paper mills, have increased. An uptick we are grateful for in an economy where small business are quickly shuttering. However, as we pass through the peak of pandemic, and life eventually returns to normal, will orders dry up?  We’re creating a contingency plan, but like the rest of the U.S. and Canada, only time will tell.  We’re all in this together.”

Read more about ECHOtape’s response to COVID-19 here. 

As the end of the year draws near we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for an amazing decade. The success of ECHOtape is based on the relationships we have built over 40 years, and we are so grateful and thankful for your continued support. I’m proud of what we accomplished this year, and it’s energizing to feel the momentum and enthusiasm our company is building in the marketplace.

What does 2020 hold for us? Well, this will come as no surprise: ECHOtape will continue to evolve as a company, and we will continue to obsess over our customers.

It is in the spirit of the holiday season that we reflect on what we are thankful for and how we can give back.  Many years ago, we at ECHOtape decided that instead of sending cards or gifts, we would donate those funds to a charity geared to helping others.  This is a tradition we have proudly kept for more than 25 years, donating generously to The Special Olympics, The Children’s Wish Foundation, Free the Children,  The One Drop Foundation, AUTISM SPEAKS, Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders.

For 2019, we have selected Habitat for Humanity to benefit from our donation.

Habitat for Humanity partners with working, low-income families to help them build strength, stability, and independence through affordable homeownership.  The impact is immediate and the effects are lasting.  Research has shown that Habitat homeowners are happier, healthier and more financially stable, which can allow them to return to school, learn a new trade or upgrade their job skills. Their children are more confident and do better in school.

Founded in Georgia in 1976, Habitat for Humanity supports families in Canada and the United States, and around the world. They have had a positive impact within the communities they are helping, and we believe our gift can continue to make a difference.

At this time of year, we are grateful for our partnership with you. We wish you good health, happiness, and peace in a new year filled with hope. 

Happy Holidays from all of us at ECHOtape.

As we shift our focus to 2020, it’s important to pause and reflect on where we’ve come from.  2019 was a heck of a year, filled with challenging pivots, and remarkable accomplishments. Far more ups than downs, thankfully, but I think we can all agree that business was even more unpredictable than usual and will likely continue into 2020.

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Buyers Are Changing, And So Are Markets

Like many American companies, we leverage the global supply chain and, as such, we were affected by the tariffs.  The uncertainty out of Washington, D.C. and subsequent trade wars, challenged our ability to adapt this past year. Thankfully, our global partners pivoted with us and we were able to navigate the changes, but it was a big lesson for small businesses like ours.  

Regardless of where your politics land, changes to foreign trade practices will inevitably have ripple effects across the global supply chain.  This is just the nature of a global economy. With a tumultuous election on the horizon, it’s safe to assume that 2020 is going to challenge businesses even further. 

That said, politics won’t be the largest economic driver… culture will be.  At least accordingly to Mark Penn, author of Microtrends Squared: The New Small Forces Driving Today’s Big Disruptions.  Arguably, one of the best business books I read in 2019, Penn points out that of the 50 micro-trends identified in the book, only seven deal with politics. That ratio seems about right. The other 43 highlight trends involving love and relationships, health and diet, technology lifestyle, and work and business.

These microtrends have the ability to really shift how business is done and who our core customers will be, so we need to pay attention. Immediately. 

Take millennials for example. We’ve been talking about millennials for so long, few of us realize that this market is now 35-40 years old.  They are business leaders and decision-makers, whether they choose to ride-share, rent garage apartments, or use co-working space rather than a traditional office.  Old school businesses like ours need to pay attention or we will become irrelevant.

There are several other trends identified in the book that I believe will have a direct impact on small businesses like ours. They include:

• Women in the Workplace, or as Penn says, “Guys Left Behind.” American women are outpacing men in almost all ways; they are more healthy, living longer, and more educated. Collectively, they are shattering barriers and redefining the business landscape.
• The New Factory Worker. Even though old factory jobs are disappearing, factory workers are actually more valuable than ever.  Their skillset is changing, but these boots on the ground are often the key difference to socially-savvy consumers who want to invest in businesses that are powered by people.   
• Droning On. Very few technologies have grown and developed faster than the drone.
• Virtual Entrepreneurs. While entrepreneurship as a whole is in the decline in the U.S., the number of online businesses is increasing dramatically.
• Work With Limits. Americans in the prime of their careers are choosing to work part-time.  As employers, we must be open to balancing their work-life needs with our business goals.

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Customers Are In Control

No matter how much we may want to change or affect buyer behavior, we —meaning the suppliers—are not in charge. Consumers are.  Indeed, thanks to businesses like Amazon, consumers are now used to incredible levels of customer service in their personal lives that B2B must follow suit.  Indeed, customers are so much more knowledgeable and can buy products globally, the only thing that will differentiate suppliers is the customer experience. 

Targeting customers with personalized messages is a big priority for our team in 2020. Customers want you to treat them as individuals and market to them accordingly.  The good news is that this personal approach to customers has always been in our DNA. The hard part will be leveraging the right technology to get the job done and ensuring our staff is well equipped with all of the skills they need in an increasingly demanding business environment.

It’s no longer who markets best wins; it’s the business that delivers the best customer experience who will win. 

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People Still Need Tape

Adhesive tape isn’t sexy. It’s not AI or VR or even smart.  And yet, this “analog” product is quickly replacing fasteners and glues thanks to better engineering and science that’s improving adhesive performance.  We’re excited about tape’s new playing fields and are grateful to be on the growing side of the equation…at least for now.

Changes in our markets constantly alter the dynamics of our business, so it’s important that we remain adaptable.  Trends like switching plastic to paper are great because that means more paper is going to get used and we are leaders in that market. But we also recognize that consumers are trying to reduce packaging waste, so it’s critical for us to keep close to our customers and pivot fast enough to meet their needs. 

The good news is that we’ve been doing that for more than 45 years. What’s another decade or two?? 

On a personal note, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work side-by-side with smart, passionate and fun people who are devoted to our mission. They motivate me every day to be my best, to deliver the best work experience possible to them and their families. It’s an opportunity I’m thankful for every day.

 

How does twenty sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, a yard of string, and a single marshmallow build a stronger team?

That’s what we asked our management team to figure out during our last quarterly meeting. 

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What is the Marshmallow Challenge? 

Every three months, the ECHOtape leadership team gathers to review our strategic objectives and initiatives. The goal, outside of accountability, is to keep the company moving forward, discuss challenges, and encourage communication. While our company is not huge, many of us work remotely so these quarterly meetings are a great way to reconnect with the people who make ECHOtape tick every single day.

It is also a great opportunity for team building.  Recently, we ended our day with a fun exercise called The Marshmallow Challenge. It ended the day on a high note – just what we all needed!

If you haven’t heard,  The Marshmallow Challenge has become a popular exercise in which small groups are asked to build the “tallest free-standing structure” from 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string, and 1 marshmallow.  Each team has 18 minutes to complete the challenge, including the entire marshmallow on top. It’s a fun and instructive exercise that allows teams to experience simple lessons in collaboration, innovation and creativity.

In his TED talk “Build a tower, build a team”, Tom Wujec shares his findings from performing this challenge with a variety of different groups – recent business school graduates, lawyers, engineers, CEOs, and even kindergarten students. As you’ll see, his observations about how the various groups approached the challenge gave rise to some surprising, and at times humorous, results:

Surprisingly, recent business school graduates are among the worst performers and kindergarteners often excel at this challenge. The children don’t spend time fighting to be the leader of the group. Instead, they just start playing and in the process begin prototyping. Business school grads spend most of the time talking, planning and building, which means they don’t have much time to change the design when it finally comes time to put the marshmallow on top which is usually too heavy for the structure that was built.

So… how do you think we fared?? 

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What We Learned From The Marshmallow Challenge

Always test theories through prototyping. You think that marshmallows are light and will be easily supported, but when teams start building the structure, it suddenly tips it over. Prototyping and iterative process make for constant improvement and eventual success. We know that after years of working with our own tape products, but putting it into practice is another thing — especially in 18 minutes. It was a great reminder! 

Working on a team is hard.  Everyone brings something to the table but it takes a while to figure what that is and how to leverage it all.

There’s no such thing as perfect. You do not always get it right the first time, or even the second. The key is to keep trying! 

Use what is available. In business and in this challenge, there is never unlimited resources or the perfect environment to grow.

Playing with spaghetti and marshmallows is fun.

As Wujec says, every project has its own marshmallow. I have been on many projects where you get to the end and all of a sudden there is that oh-no moment. It’s a great reminder not to assume outcomes, and not to put all your eggs in one basket.

If you’re looking for a fun way to kick start a meeting or get a team into a creative frame of mind, try running a marshmallow challenge of your own. Is your team up to it?

Two months into the new year and let’s just say, some old habits are dying hard. That goal to get up an hour earlier to exercise and actually eat breakfast? That hasn’t really happened. Neither has limiting my coffee intake, but that I blame on the weather. I share this only to prove that we humans are creatures of habit. We tend to park in the same spot, sleep on the same side of the bed, eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same stores and, well, you get the drift. But when it comes to business, changing habits is often the key to success.

We have talked about ECHOtape’s goals heading into the year 2015, and even highlighted some trends, but let’s be honest here – there are some bad habits we need to break if we’re going to achieve any of those. Part of winning the day for tomorrow — and 5 or 10 years from now — is seeing obstacles before they arrive and applying the proper plan to step around them and keep plugging forward.

So what bad habits have we been working on breaking?  Let me tell you.

1) Thinking short term. We just had an amazing 2014, our best year yet. And while that’s worth celebrating, it doesn’t mean we can stop looking for more ways to improve.  Short term goals (weekly, monthly, yearly) must be paired with long term goals, and that’s scary. Businesses like ours are often afraid of looking too much into the future and planning for change because they are afraid of forfeiting current success for the unknown. However, this type of limited thinking can inhibit you from evolving and changing in order to keep ahead of the game.

2) Being reactive instead of proactive. Related to short-term thinking, reactive thinking means that a company stops spanning the horizon for future trends, opportunities, and potential pitfalls, only responding to the here and now. This strategy might work today and tomorrow, but over the long term it will always put the company a step behind the competition. I struggle with this just like anyone else, but being proactive really paid off for us. For example, a few years ago we convinced our team to product spec sheets on the web, even though many of us felt like we were giving away our ‘secret formula.’  For close to four decades, our sales team was the first point of contact with a customer, but that is no longer true. New prospects spend up to 70% of the sales cycle researching what they need first and then they contact sales.  Today it is critical to give prospects as much information about our products and company as they do their research and providing our spec sheets were the start of this new way of thinking.

3) Failure to delegate. Delegating simply means that once you have trained your team to do a great job, you let them do it! And guess what? We encounter this a lot. As a family-owned business, we are used to managing every detail from beginning to end. This strategy might work well if you are a very small company, but the advantages recede as the company grows. We hire great people for a reason! It is our job to train and entrust them to do their jobs well instead of micromanaging them. We are trying hard to change this culture by accepting that there must be room for mistakes and that these mistakes are simply part of the learning process for our team.

4) Bottlenecking. One of the major costs of failing to delegate, bottlenecking happens when we try to force too many work items through too small of a processing channel, and a single person (inadvertently) becomes the lynchpin for things not getting done, through no fault of their own. We distinguish delegating with bottlenecking because the former is about trusting your team while the latter is trusting your process, and knowing it well enough to understand where sticking points in the workflow can happen. Find the bottlenecks and work on removing them as quickly as possible so the team can do their best work.

5) Meaningless meetings. You know what I’m talking about. Those pointless endeavors that veer off topic the moment someone opens their mouth with some shiny new thought unrelated to the business at hand. There’s no shame or finger pointing here. It has happens to the best of us, but meaningless meetings combined with poor planning, no clear agenda, lack of focus, etc. have a cost to the company.  I use this framework from Forbes magazine to keep my agenda in line, and it really works! Now our meetings generate ideas, create synergy between departments, and move the company forward.

6) Slow to adapt new technology. We make adhesive tape. There’s nothing really Silicon Valley about that. But even though we are a traditional industry, technology plays an ever-increasing role year after year. We also know that the technology industry leads, while our industry lags. The good news is that if we can be early adopters of new technology, we have an opportunity to get ahead of our competition. The bad news is that it is sometimes difficult to convince ourselves that the world is so far ahead of us, and it is easy to settle into an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality toward technology that has not yet gone mainstream. Don’t do this. Shake off that fear and wade right into the shallow end by trying one thing at a time.  Last year we dove into social media and blogging. Has it paid off in spades? Not quite yet, but it’s no longer scary or daunting, and it allows us to test new ideas to a wider population. This year, we’re looking at adding more productivity and collaboration tools like Dropbox and Evernote to help streamline our in-house communication.

We’re all friends here. Tell us about your bad business habit(s) in the comments, and let’s see if we can combat it together.