The story of how Cadence Culture began, the struggles we faced while starting something we truly believe in, and the learnings and benefits we gained along the way.
Not too long ago, before Cadence Culture, I’d run to work (not literally, but I couldn't wait to get there!) with a wonderful bunch of passionate and multi-talented colleagues. I was enjoying the camaraderie, the co-creating and delivering training and consulting programmes we tailored for clients. I am so grateful for those days at ROHEI, which I miss a lot!
The decision to pursue my calling was tough because it meant leaving the organisation I felt very much aligned to—leaving the people I love and the relationships I treasured, and leaving the culture that was very much a part of me. It was so tough that I thought and prayed about it for more than a year before I left. During that time, I grieved the leaving, and every now and then, I still do.
Despite how painful it was, I felt it was my rite of passage towards the final trimester of my vocation. I've worked for 30 years, and God willing, I may work for another 15 years. In this final season, where I believe I can add the most value, I’m choosing to hear the call for me (by the way, “vocation” comes from the Latin word vocare, “to call”), because my calling is my raison d’être—my purpose or reason for living, which goes beyond my work.
"Quality conversations foster trust and alignment, and unite people in a shared direction."
My calling is to be a courageous peacemaker and culture strategist, integrating my business experience, strategy consulting, and culture consulting. To put it another way, it’s to help people with ways of relating to others and doing things, whether at work, in the community, or with family. At work, it’s to restore, revitalise, and strengthen relationships and culture, so as to bring out the best in people and performance.
So when Eddie approached me to co-found Cadence Culture with him, it was the answer to living out my calling. For we both truly believe in organisations where work can be fulfilling for the people and flourishing for the business.
Cadence Culture works with organisations to transform or revitalise their desired culture through their communities of practice by deepening their connectedness, conversations, and collaboration.
Connectedness to their organisation, work, and colleagues brings a sense of purpose and belonging. Quality conversations foster trust and alignment, and unite people in a shared direction.
Collaboration brings out the best in each other’s diverse strengths to co-create solutions beyond the sum of their individual parts. This is akin to each one bringing their own rhythms of work and harmonising them with others to create a symphonic effect for greater impact.
Cadence Culture works with organisations to transform or revitalise their desired culture through their communities of practice by deepening their connectedness, conversations, and collaboration.
After deciding to start Cadence Culture, we faced different struggles, which brought about various benefits as we worked through them, resulting in a positive impact for the clients and learners.
Firstly, we built from scratch our corporate purpose and identity; our mission, vision, and values; our products and partnerships; and our initial go-to-market strategies. We spent weeks wrestling with ideas and concepts, aligning and turning them into clear and communicable pieces. We shared this with potential partners and clients to seek their feedback and input. This process of ideation, alignment, and synthesis required a tenacity to hold fast to our true north of ‘culture enables life-giving rhythms,’ yet with a willingness to explore ‘culture and leadership’ with fresh lenses to challenge previous paradigms and break through to new vistas.
Secondly, we invested in deepening our competencies, particularly in acquiring new tools to enhance our offerings. We felt this was necessary as it enabled us to provide greater tangible value for clients through bespoke and customised solutions for them. This took us on a journey of unlearning, relearning, and deepening our learning, which would benefit both our previous clients and new clients.
Thirdly, both of us had to do everything end-to-end, from strategic planning to business development to delivery and post-administration and billing! This challenged us to go beyond what we, as Principal Consultants, used to focus on (client engagement, proposal, consulting, training, and coaching) to see the entire value chain. This enabled us to enhance the entire client and learner journey map and also deepen our appreciation of the various roles required to make the whole consulting and learning experience sing!
What about you? Do you know your calling? What sacrifices are you prepared to make to follow it? More importantly, what would you gain in return?
As leaders and organisations, we’re called to follow our calling too, which will impact others’ lives. Cadence Culture can help you discover yours and pursue it. Join us as we embark on this journey.
