Kind Productivity

It happened again the other day. Someone asked me…

“But Graham, you’ve spent years talking about productivity – what’s this kindness at work thing? It feels like such a big step away from what you know…”

And I answered him the same way I always answer that question: Creating a kind culture in your team is one of the most productive things you can do.

“Trust and Kindness is our rocketfuel”

There’s a reason why, for years, my company, Think Productive, has had “Trust and Kindness is our rocketfuel” as one of our corporate values. It stems from what we did in the early days of Think Productive. I started the business with no money other than what I could earn and put into it. We had no investors, no bank loans – pure bootstrap stuff. But I knew that if we could assemble a team and pull together, we could build a brand without the big budgets. And that then, by placing the highest levels of integrity at the centre of things, we could expect it to thrive.

Like most businesses, we are a people business. We are only as good as the last conversation we have with our customers, and what makes our work better than the competition is largely to do with intangible-but-vital qualities like care, effort, infectious geekiness and a constant sense that we will up our game. It meant asking a lot of our freelancers – we had only a small client base in the beginning, and we expected them to be sales people and brand ambassadors to make sure there was enough work for them, as well as helping us grow the product. In return, what we could offer was the ability for them to be part of something much bigger than what any freelancer could do alone – a community of practice, being part of a company with a great reputation, working together to constantly build and evolve brilliant things. As I look back on it, building that high-trust community at Think Productive is one of the things I’m most proud of in my career.

Kindness. Empathy. Accountability. Commitment to truth.

Ability to see the bigger picture aligned rather than stressting over the minutiae. These are all things that helped drive us to lots of impressive metrics – millions in turnover, double digit growth, a global footprint where the sun never sets on us doing great work, somewhere in the world. Except on weekends, obviously.

Of course, it doesn’t always run smoothly. When there’s conflict, it requires a kind commitment to truth. To not letting the ‘potential stinky fish issues’, as our brilliant CEO Elena calls them, to fester. And it requires a commitment to sharing the rewards as well as the effort (to this day, we work on a shared percentage-of-revenue model with all the people that helped us build it, and two of our most brilliant staff members, after demonstrating their commitment to that bigger picture, now own some of the jigsaw pieces, too). But what we know is that when you have good people who share a vision, committed to working the tricky stuff out with trust and integrity, then we know what no matter how difficult the conversations are, we’ll usually find a way.

One of the fastest ways to build trust is through kindness.

That’s not why I’m kind (and I think fake kindness, where you ‘give just to get back’ is pretty easily spotted), but it’s a pretty cool by-product. I value kindness at work so highly because I was lucky enough to have kind bosses in the early part of my career (shout out Annette, Max and Julia!). I saw how much better work was for me than for some of my peers who worked for tyrants. I saw that I gave my bosses even more of my energy, focus and flexibility than they did, working for bastards and idiots. I felt more satisfaction about my work. I never got that Sunday dread feeling.

And when I got to be in charge of a charity, and then later when I set up Think Productive, I vowed to follow their lead, and create the kind of organisation that I’d want to be a part of, not one that micro-managed or exploited people. Where “People First, Work Second. Always” is the mantra.

When we do away with this notion that driving performance requires bastard-behaviour, we not only create more interesting, empathetic and fun places to work, but also a sense of psychological safety that drives more creativity, higher levels of commitment and staff retention, and yes, stronger productivity.

And then it’s a virtuous circle. The kindness and empathy creates more clarity, and the clarity creates more productivity – and then when you feel like you’re winning, you have more time and energy to think about what everyone needs to win, too.

So when you’re productive, it’s easier to be kind. And when you’re kind, you’re more likely to be productive.

So, what is Kind Productivity?

It's about creating an environment where people feel valued and respected, which in turn boosts their productivity. It's not about getting as much done as humanly possible but about how we get them done; balancing efficiency with empathy, and understanding that a happy, respected team is a productive team.

People first, works second. Always.