Mulberry St. Chapter One.
Almost 2 years ago I wrote a wee story about leaving the job I loved and all the incredible lessons I’d learnt in my time at Cucumber. To say I was surprised by all of the comments and insights shared as a result of that post was an understatement.
Leaving the comforts of an incredible team, challenging projects and real opportunities to make our customers lives better was terrifying. Made even more terrifying by the fact I had no real plan of what to do next, two children under 3, a large mortgage and a real love of working. But what I did know was that experience (how our people and our customers feel as a result of their interactions with us) was the thing that differentiates good businesses from great ones. I also knew businesses could no longer craft those experiences in isolation to the people they impact. I knew the power of taking a human-centred approach to change and ultimately I knew if I went out and did that work, I’d continue to be one of the lucky ones that can hand on heart say if I won Lotto I’d still be doing what I am doing right now.
So fast forward to today. Close to two years on. And I am making the next terrifying step in the journey by launching Mulberry St. For some in the background, you know I have been sitting on this for the longest time. Launching a brand rather than continuing to operate as ‘Clare Swallow’ feels big, but weirdly personal at the same time. Deciding on a brand when, at this stage, it’s just you – even worse! But then I thought F*#k it! 2020 has been all types of crazy already, so I am choosing to prioritise progress over perfection, something that this self-confessed control freak still finds difficult.
Why the name Mulberry St? Glad you asked. Mulberry St is inspired by the Dr Seuss book ‘And to Think I saw it on Mulberry St.’ I’ve been a Dr Seuss fan since I was a child. Dr Seuss is weird, funny, creative and a bit of a rule breaker. His books are master classes in storytelling and for me, they evoke joy. All the things I sometimes think we are too scared to be or feel inside our organisations as they don’t naturally sit in our pre-conceived notion of work. But I believe, creating a space where people can feel their weird, funny, creative and authentic selves is where some of the answers lie in solving our toughest organisational challenges.
‘And to Think I saw it on Mulberry St. ’is the story of a boy whose father tells him to keep his eyes up when he is walking home from school. The boy sees a horse and carriage but thinking this is not good enough to tell his father when he gets home, he concocts an amazing tale of all the things he sees on Mulberry st. When he arrives home and is asked what he saw, the boy replies ‘a horse and carriage’. To me this little book is a lesson in culture, trust and creativity. We can tell people all we like that we want to hear from them, to hear their ideas, that vulnerability is ok, but unless they feel safe, supported and allowed to be authentically them then we can lose all the creativity, fun and innovation that goes ‘on the way home’.
So my hope is that Mulberry St. helps businesses take a human-centred approach to change in this crazy and changeable world we are in. To find their purpose, craft their culture and employee experience, co-create with their clients to solve the problems clients want solved not the ones we think they do, and build capability around curiosity, creativity and connection. And to do all this so we can show the world what amazing people, innovations and businesses NZ is home to.
When I made the 4am decision to leave the job I loved, and start on the path to Mulberry St. (see what I did there), I wrote on a post-it the values I wanted to hold onto. They are as true today as they were then. Human-led, experiment and co-create, have fun, do what’s right not just what the book says, keep it simple. So with those in my back pocket and a whole lot of gratitude to the clients who, in the last two years have already trusted me in helping them do some of this important work. Mulberry St chapter one begins. Wish me luck. Oh and come and check out my new website.....
This post was originally published on LinkedIn