One of the things that I really love about working at Mindset is the steady way that the organization embraces and exudes our values. This is one of the reasons I was attracted to work here and remains one of the reasons that I look forward to coming to work each day. Two of those values are focused directly on the people we work with, coworkers and customers alike. These are: Build Deep and Trusting Relationships and Find, Empower and Grow Great Talent.
Over the past 16 months, these values were instrumental in keeping the organization growing and moving forward, which it has absolutely done. But, everyone would readily admit that the strength of these values has been strained due to the forced separation that social distance and our COVID protections have imposed. 
Through that process, Mindset has rightly focused on the safety of its team and its customers. But a new day has dawned with a locally receding COVID disease and a largely vaccinated workforce. With that comes the opportunity to renew relationships and strengthen our core values.
This week, Mindset took a large step forward in reinvigorating those values. Over the course of three days at our headquarters in Minneapolis, we brought together staff from around the country. The agenda was full. Team meetings. All staff meetings. Strategic direction setting. Team outings. Happy hours. Lots of great food. Many of us were continuing to fulfill our client obligations. And we rolled up our sleeves to provide community service. So there was much to do. But there was one, simple, overriding goal, spoken directly and emphatically by our Founder and CEO Gavin Quinn. Build Relationships.
For me, this week has been so important, because I only recently joined the Mindset family. I had not yet had the opportunity to meet many of my colleagues, and many others had only been virtual introductions. The opportunity to have face-to-face conversations, and to have longer, more meaningful conversations was invaluable. Coming out of this week, I feel a much stronger connection to many of my colleagues, and to the organization as a whole. I know them better now through our time together. I learned their backgrounds and what motivates them. I better understand their perspectives on how our industry is evolving. I know that this will enable better conversations, more open 
communication, and ultimately better outcomes for our collective work efforts over the months and years to come. Without deep and trusting relationships, all of our collaborative work (which is almost everything we do, right?) is so much harder to accomplish. I am energized and confident that Mindset will continue to flourish with a renewed foundation of trust and empathy. I’m excited to continue building on this foundation and extend it to our customer relationships as we continue to emerge from our pandemic induced separation.
The other great revelation that came from our time together (for myself at least) is the depth to which the other value I mentioned at the beginning (Find, Empower and Grow Great Talent) has been brought to life. What a remarkable group of people! I knew that there were A LOT of talented people in this organization when I was reviewing the company prior to joining. But personally meeting and talking to this collection of talent was truly inspiring. The depth of experience and capability is pervasive across the organization, in all roles and functions. Our recruiting team is clearly top notch, because the people that find their home at Mindset are truly impressive, and many of them have been recruited and joined the organization during the pandemic. Knowing that these capabilities reside within the Mindset family makes me excited for the collective creativity, innovation and client service that we are able to provide (of course, that’s another Mindset value).
All in all, the week was a smashing success in my mind. We got work done. We had some fun. We made an impact in the community. But more importantly, we checked off our primary goal for the week in emphatic fashion!
