Never Settle for Vanilla
The Summer Olympics at Footers Catering has become an annual tradition that our team looks forward to. As a way to celebrate our busy summer season and energize the team heading into September, we pick an afternoon to come together for field-day-inspired games that bring out some of the fun and freedom of our childhoods.
We divide everyone into six teams that compete in a series of events leading to an overall champion. Each year has a theme, with teams dressing up accordingly and a prize for the best costumes. We also give out a "Fab Tiger" award to the person on each team who best embodies our core values throughout the day.
Typically, I've been very involved in the planning, coming up with the games, theme and logistics. But this year I took a step back and let some of our team run with it. April and I served as referees, but they came up with everything else. And they exceeded my expectations!
This year's theme was wedding participants. We had the DJs and band members, officiants, planners, bridal party, brides and grooms, and photographers.
I stepped back, handed over the reins, and our Team delivered an unforgettable day!
The games started with a sponge relay. Sponges were dipped in sticky homemade soda and launched across the field with slingshots, where teammates caught them and squeezed as much liquid as possible into measuring containers.
Next came tug-of-war, except the middle of the field was a slip-and-slide covered in teal Jell-O that the losing team got dragged through.
There was a spelling bee with catering-related words, where every missed letter resulted in a blast from a Super Soaker.
Oreos were dropped down a Plinko board into different sauces, with more points awarded based on the grossness of the combination. Oat milk and grenadine earned one point. Pickle juice and soy sauce earned two. Horseradish and mustard earned three.
And it all culminated in a relay that included wrapping a teammate in a toilet-paper wedding dress, carrying trays of champagne flutes filled with water, and freeing a frozen place setting from a block of ice so the team could properly set a table.
It was ridiculous and it was awesome!
We don't plan traditional picnics for our team events. We want to create experiences people will remember. Does everyone attend? No. Does everyone love every activity? Probably not. And I've become more comfortable with that.
As leaders, our desire to make everyone happy can sometimes keep us from doing anything that really stands out. The safest option usually has the broadest appeal, but memorable experiences require us to go out on a limb.
They might stretch people outside their comfort zones. They might be a little weird. They might even involve being dragged through teal Jell-O. That willingness to take a chance is part of what makes an experience special though.
And perhaps my favorite part of this year's Olympics was that I wasn't the one who created it. I stepped back, gave our team the freedom to run with the idea, and they took it further than I would have imagined. There's a lesson in that for me too. If we want our people to create bold ideas, we have to give them the freedom to try them.
When we try to please everyone, we usually end up with vanilla. Creating memorable experiences takes a little courage and a willingness to try an idea that might initially sound a little crazy. And sometimes they might even involve Oreos dipped in horseradish and mustard.
