BACK TO ARTICLES 
We are in our third day of our agency's internal challenge, 31 days of writing. Hüify "royalty" and some Squires decided that we would write at least 300 words each day of something: a blog post, eBook, couple pages of a novel, etc. (if you are a little lost about the medieval references, it's a culture thing). The idea was to help everyone increase their skills in writing, but has began to grow into the best team building assignment I have ever been a part of. Community with the new Squires (interns) and the rest of the team has grown significantly! Conversations are happening among different groups and the "getting comfortable" phase has transpired a lot quicker than expected. Why would this exercise add to the culture? It adds to the atmosphere because successfully building a working community revolves around these elements: Culture, Hardship, and Achievement.
source: MemeCenter
Culture.
Within the great walls of Hüify, we have adopted a medieval themed company culture. It began with our position titles and has worked it's way into our daily lives. Now we do not exactly go around saying "Hail!" or "Good 'morrow!" every time we see each other in the office, but it has given us something to belong to. Through this, the adoption rate of Hüify's culture has decreased significantly as our company is getting older (probably not more mature though). Needless to say culture provides a structured place where employees can identify with their company in a tangible way; relating to unique traits that go past products and services. The more fun and enjoyable ways a company's culture can be embodied, the more rapidly it will be adopted.
Hardship.
Going through trials with others has a way of quickly creating unbreakable bonds. There are two styles of creating scenarios that encourage bond making: humiliation and admiration. Unfortunately, going the route of humiliation is fairly easy to accomplish. This is why fraternities and sororities have had such a history with hazing. Each pledge class that goes through this intense humiliation comes out with a tight knit bond with their fellow greeks. In this same spirit of humiliation breeding camaraderie, gangs take their initiations to a whole other level. Thankfully, there is another style of creating a strong connection, admiration. Admiration means that "feeling of approval" is about building a community around encouragement. In a generic sense of hardship, cultivating admiration when it is due amongst the team will have tremendous results in developing a community's sense of belonging.
source: 1wdnotes
One way that Hüify exhibits this is through the first couple weeks of our Knights of the Round Table Academy (training program). We send the Squires through a rigorous set of online courses and group work. At the same time, we also provide optional opportunities for self improvement. In the end the top talent Squires always pull through as more knowledgable, loving Hüify, friends outside of the workplace, and continually encouraging one another.
Achievement.
This goes along with what we were just saying with admiration through hardship, but is more the latter half of the process. Once the team has gone through the tunnel of hardship, the company should foster achievement. Not gold star for showing up achievement, but rewards associated with actual profitable performance. Notice I said "profitable" not positive. Helping a team benefit is directly correlated to the financial success to the organization.
At Hüify, we are continuing to grow in our development of our culture (cooler medieval swag) and the ways we relate as a team. These three attributes to building a working community are just a few of the many that we have been learning along the way. If you have some more suggestions please do not hesitate to let me know in the comments below. I would enjoy continuing this discussion further with you.
