At The Perk, we’ve spent the year diving into books, podcasts, & data, & now we’re excited to share six mind-blowing “A-ha!” moments that shaped our approach to leadership and culture— & might inspire you too!

Atomic Habits “A-Ha!”

Emily read James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” this year, & while there were so many things about the book she loved, one quote stood out: “The impact created by a change in your habits is similar to the effect of shifting the route of an airplane by just a few degrees. Imagine you are flying from Los Angeles to New York City. If a pilot leaving from LAX adjusts the heading just 3.5 degrees south, you’ll land in Washington DC instead of New York.”  

 It was a great reminder that it’s truly all about the little things in leadership—whether we’re talking about recognition, creating trust, or building up your resilience bank. Such small changes might be “barely noticeable at takeoff,” so to speak — but over a period of time, you could end up miles ahead than if you hadn’t made the change.  

When the Logic is Flawed

Corie read Cy Wakeman’s incredible book “No Ego” as part of the curriculum for one of our clients, & a part of the book talks about employee engagement surveys. Cy says that when you get feedback from your engagement surveys, not everyone’s feedback counts in the same way. Instead, you think about the feedback in different ways—specifically through the lens of high-accountability employees (“Deb the Drivers”) & low-accountability employees (“Vicki the Victim”).  

Cy says that your Drivers will give feedback that is focused on improving business results & the client or customer experience, while your Victims will focus only on the actions that will make their own lives better. It’s about listening to the right people—the ones that will truly move your organization forward.  

Rest as Resilience

The Perk did some work with Nina Nesdoly at the beginning of 2024, & this work continued to make an impression on Steph throughout the year. “My entire definition of ‘resilience’ changed this year,” she says. “Resilience isn’t just about being able to ‘grin & bear it’ through tough times.”  

 Taking a pause, pivoting, stepping back when you don’t think something is working for you, or simply quitting—they’re all levers that we can pull when we need to reset or recharge our resilience banks. Our March newsletter from this year talks a little more about this! 

The Neuroscience of Micromanagement

The moment Leah read this quote by Dr. Rachel Cistern Davis, PhD., it was like someone had given the perfect example of what micromanagement feels like for so many people: “Your boss micromanaging you is like someone walking behind you in a dark alley in terms of what it does to your brain.” 

 OOF. So, so true. Micromanagement is tricky (& fascinating!) because it means something different to everyone. What feels like micromanagement to you might feel like great leadership to a peer. Because it exists on a spectrum, & we all experience it differently, it’s important to discuss it with your team: Do they feel micromanaged by you? Do they feel safe to alert you when they feel like they’re being micromanaged?   

The Gratitude Gym

We continue to love our neuroscience nerdery at The Perk, & one of the things Jess learned this year was how gratitude is more than just a nice practice—it’s a way to build new neurological pathways.  

 Our lower brain is wired for automatic defensiveness, but when we practice gratitude, a feeling of community & togetherness, or even mindfulness—it physically redirects the blood flow in our brains away from the lower brain & to the higher brain. The more we do that the more both our brains & our bodies physically change. It’s like going to the gym to build your gratitude muscles!  

Trust: The Great Revenue Grower

We’ve talked about trust a lot this year, & a lot of that is due to a line by author & CEO David Horsager: “What impacts a business’s bottom line more than anything else? Trust.” 

Yes yes YES. Trust isn’t fluffy. It has a direct impact on your bottom line & business results! And as we always say, trust doesn’t happen by default—it happens by design. It’s a big reason why we strengthened our “Trust by Design” framework even more this year, & why it’s become one of our most popular workshops.  

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