Helping our customers in their Digital Transformation journey requires us to constantly stay outside of our comfort zone, to make sure we are a step ahead of our competitors while adding value to our customers. Our participation in the Du Tough Mudder race, with a team led by our Global Sales Manager Luca Spinelli, reminded us of key values we try to keep always in mind in whatever we do. Read the full story written by him.
The idea
How did we manage to mix team building, sports and analytics in an event? We just did what we are good at: stay out of our comfort zone!
It all started back in September: I posted a poll on our internal Yammer where I asked our team if anyone was up for an obstacle race.
This idea came to my mind for two reasons: the first was to get to know my colleagues better, the second was that I believe that sport brings endless benefits to our daily activities. A healthy lifestyle drives our productivity and focus at work or at home.
I did get some positive feedback, and being a sport addict, I started working on what would then become the Team ClariBeasts (Clariba Beasts).
Getting together
The winning team that signed up to join me was Jonny, Gaith, Ahmed, Rami and Sara. Not a bad start and we will surely get more people involved next time! Marc and Joan who were not quite ready for the challenge, but promised to throw their hat into the ring for the next time, supported us by taking pictures and cheering us on.
Preparing for the race
Ready for the challenge, the team subscribed to the Du Tough Mudder in Dubai. Our team started eating better, training a bit more and a great sense of community took shape in the office during the 2 months prior to the race.
With the help of marketing and our graphic designers we also designed a T-shirt for the team. We were ready to hit the desert for 10.5km of dust, dunes, muddy obstacles, ice pools and even electric shocks!
Race day
On December 9th the day had finally come. What we did on this day was a pure reflection of the company values we have on the walls of all our offices: we were striving for excellence (each of us at their max capacity), we were winning & losing as a team against the obstacles looking out for our peers, and, last but not least, we finished what we started.
Not to miss anything and as the data geeks we are, we of course tracked our performance and path, to make sure we have a benchmark to improve in our next race. We weren’t that fast I have to say, but we all crossed the finish line together, which gave us an adrenaline boost that is difficult to forget.
This race together once again proved that we can achieve challenges together, we can overcome unexpected obstacles and create new memories of success, making us stronger for the future!
The race as a metaphor
As outlined above, this race is like our daily work: helping our customers in their Digital Transformation journey requires us to constantly stay outside of our comfort zone, to make sure we are a step ahead of our competitors while adding value to our customers.
December 9th was a Friday. We could have stayed on our couches; we could have relaxed. Instead, we chose to make better use of time. This is what happens also at work. When we could just sit and implement simple operational reporting, we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and innovate with artificial intelligence, machine learning, mobile APP development and other technologies instead!
If we were to only spend our free time on the couch, we wouldn’t be healthy. In the same way, if we would just focus our work on what we know we are good at, we would not challenge ourselves towards uncharted territory and our business would not be healthy either.
My insights
It does not matter whether we talk about a desert obstacle race, or a machine learning project; succeeding in activities which are out of our comfort zone requires both self-confidence, dedication, and a great team. I have seen this at the Du Tough Mudder Race as I see this in the office every day!
My kudos go to Jonny, Gaith, Ahmed, Rami and Sara for being great individuals, professionals and a great team!
I cannot wait for our next team initiative, in which I am sure we will once again succeed and I am counting of course on more colleagues and friends to join the ClariBeasts!