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TCJG Future Journey 3.0

27.02.2021

Two years ago, we at The Company Journey Guides set off again into the future. Courageously, committed and with a lot of esprit. A retrospective on the first year, at the end of January 2020, showed a differentiated picture of how the alignment had succeeded and illuminated how we had actually made a few rookie mistakes ourselves. At that time, it could be read how we want to work on this in a next sprint. And then came Corona. So the TCJG Future Journey 2.0 came to a standstill. And is currently undergoing its relaunch as TCJG Future Journey 3.0.

Start 2.0

A quick look at blogs and the documentary shows – two years ago, we set out on our TCJG Future Journey 2.0. A good four years after the founding of TCJG, the Future Journey 1.0, that was simply the next step. A look, a direction into the future. A strategic redesign.
Things got off to a good start, and the first stage was met with a great deal of joy and energy. We had formulated the purpose together with the team right at the beginning and a north star quickly pointed the way. The next step, defining our ideas in a governance and thus formulating the foundations of our culture, also worked out very well. Not to forget the co-creation of our new website as a carrier of our future orientation.

Stumbling stones along the way

So far so good. And just as we started, the first distractions came. Everyday life took hold again and displaced the co-creative space and the euphoria. First delays occurred, our common journey temporarily moved out of focus. And already the spirit began to weaken. That happens quickly, and a year quickly comes to an end without any important next steps having been taken. In the retro at the end of January 2020, there was talk of this and also of how this could be captured in a next sprint. They were still just stumbling stones.

That was it for 2.0

A little over a year ago, at the end of February, we were just about to hold a restart workshop for our TCJG Future Journey 2.0. And then events came thick and fast. First, a TCJG founding member and co-managing director spontaneously decided to take on a new challenge. And away he went. And two weeks later, Corona was there. The first week after the lock-down was marked by cancellations. The order books for the next months, which were quite full, were emptied within three days.

And that was it for 2.0. Now it was more a matter of squaring the circle. From now on, think everything in virtual terms. Within a very short time, we had to massively expand our own digital competence. Redesign concepts, create new designs. First attempts. You can do it. Quickly become bolder.
Within four weeks, something like a new, completely new everyday life had set in.

In no man’s land between today and tomorrow

In a completely different form, this is how a TCJG realignment came about. Unplanned, chaotic, disturbing and at the same time close and connecting in the team. We shared daily in each other’s fate, we listened to each other, we wrapped up understanding for each other. We met in “kitchens”, “bedrooms” and next to the “cuckoo clocks”. Live reports from Bergamo have shaped our day, as well as the narrowness of a mountain village without guests in Austria.

There was no thought of the future. We simply thought from today to tomorrow. There were some days when we wondered if and how things would continue. And there were also days when we thought we wouldn’t be able to do it as well as we usually do. Especially since in the middle of the year, planned, a long-term and experienced guide started to work independently. And we have also somehow compensated for this and from May still two new colleagues virtually taken on board.

In July, we started with 40 virtual sessions, not counting the virtual coaching sessions.
In the fall, the presence sessions were supposed to start again. And indeed, we managed 15 external days in empty hotels and conference centers before the next lock-down light and then lock-down in full version was announced.

A safe bench for us was that we have been working a lot in the development of learning architectures, designs and concepts for years. This has stabilized us well again.

What a roller coaster ride, back to the future.
Unexpectedly with a good operational end in 2020 and exciting new prospects in 2021.

TCJG Future Journey 3.0

Alright, if that’s the case, then let’s take a look at our future again. But this will no longer be a 2.0. This is now the TCJG Future Journey 3.0, which we are thinking about and developing from the future.
We already know how to design the Future Journey. What’s new is that the journeys are now being recreated more frequently and at shorter intervals. Strategy in sprints, so to speak.

Familiar and new faces and people have come together and are transforming what was into what will be. How exciting is that. An understanding that there is no going back to what was. And a bunch of vague and also more concrete ideas about what might come.
New skills enrich the TCJG team and fuel a change of perspective.

It’s the end of February again. Time for a TCJG vision workshop. We are planning it for March. Still in lock-down. So be it. We know and can do how virtual vision workshops work by now.

Turning back to the future is really exciting. The TCJG Future Journey 3.0 has begun.
We will continue to report on the next stage of the it.

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Onboarding Remote

08.06.2020

 

In the spirit of COVID19, Onboarding Remote is currently taking place. In this case two new TCJG guides share their individual, personal experiences with getting to know each other, arriving and taking the first steps on a purely virtual way. True stories about a whole new journey.

Delayed start due to lock-down

It is exciting to start a new job, which involves unfamiliar situations, new co-workers and new projects. …but it becomes even more exciting when you start from a distance and virtually without seeing anyone from the company in the “real world”. Onboarding Remote is what we call it. There we are, Gina and Katharina, who both came to TCJG in Munich during the Corona lock-down. We are both grateful that we were able to take on a new role at a time when most companies are reluctant to hire someone…. “Originally I was supposed to join TCJG in March, but because of the start of the Corona outbreak, this date was postponed and I started in May. This was already an extraordinary challenge for me, as I was not sure if there would even be a chance to join the team. The whole time, from March to May, I stayed in contact with Eva. Our communication was always transparent, open and friendly. That means a lot to me”.

Then just completely without “live”

“I had a completely different start. In fact, I got to know Eva during the Lock Down in a webinar that Eva and our strategic partner Barbara Wietasch held on the topic of “Shared LeaderShift“. The two presented a new leadership concept for organizations that I found unique and had never seen before. I contacted Eva directly after the webinar to see if she was interested in working with me to test this concept with companies. While we got to know each other better, Eva offered me to work in her company. And here I am.”

The first days with Onboarding Remote

On the first day we joined, there were many question marks over how this would work. We both had experiences with Remote Work, but this way of working was completely new for both of us. We asked ourselves how we could prepare ourselves and how we could make this situation as positive as possible. The first week of virtual collaboration with Eva and the team went very smoothly, as it was very structured and well organized: We started every morning with a team call via Zoom, where everyone outlined their current personal situation and their daily goal. We also got to know each team member over a virtual cup of coffee and had short virtual onboarding meetings on MS-Teams with Eva, who introduced us to the company’s vision, customers and projects. All this allowed us a smooth transition into the team, work tasks and work culture. We very quickly felt welcome and included by everyone. This was also helped by the fact that we always had a call at lunchtime where we learned together.

Interpersonal vibrations also come across online

At the beginning we also had a personal conversation with Eva. “I saw Eva for the first time in my life when I came to sign my contract and picked up my laptop in person at the office… It was a nice meeting. I was surprised when I realized that we had the same interpersonal vibrations in person as we did virtually. This is a confirmation that human vibes exist in virtual channels even when using the Onbaording Remote”. “I also came to the office once during the lockdown to meet with Eva and pick up my laptop. It only took a few hours and I was able to start working. The equipment, the account, everything was there and ready to go. …“ It was great to learn how we quickly became familiar with the company’s server and virtual collaboration tools. In case we had a technical challenge we could ask our IT support for help. It was quick and easy.”

Live and in color is still better

Having been with the company for almost a month, we all decided to come to the office on May 25th. It was a nice and warm experience to sit at the same table with all our colleagues in the morning meeting and see each other in real life. Another experience, to be physically so close to the colleagues.
It’s not clear what the future will bring or how long we can work in the office, but we are all looking forward to working together. We two “newcomers” have learned from this onboarding experience to accept new situations as they come, in an open-minded, positive and flexible way. As a takeaway for us, we think that we can overcome any challenging situation by being close and communicating transparently: both onsite and remotely.

What we recommend from our experience
The most important finding is that onboarding remote works well when these concepts are followed.

  • Technical equipment (laptop, access to the company server, collaboration tools, etc.)
  • Regular virtual sprints
  • Structured way of communication and information exchange
  • Getting to know each other via video

We thank the TCJG team and Eva who made this experience so positive and smooth for us and showed such an excellent way of interaction. It’s really fun with you here!