Hooray, I found a way to beat the algorithm

Last week I was invited to a supper club.

If you’re wondering what a supper club is, so was I.

The concept is simple. A talented home cook hosts a ticketed dinner party, and a group of complete strangers gather around their table for a meal.

I realise this sounds less like a social event and more like the opening chapter of a true crime podcast.

Yet supper clubs are booming. Being a research nerd, I went digging. Apparently, they’ve exploded since COVID, with people handing over actual money for the privilege of sitting next to strangers and making conversation over a shared meal.

It struck me that the same thing is happening at work.

For years, organisations have invested in bigger and bigger communication channels. Town halls. All-hands meetings. Leadership broadcasts. Those things have their place, sure.

Meanwhile, the small stuff keeps surprising people.

A friend recently started a book club at work. It’s become a roaring success. People from different teams show up and conversations wander everywhere. Directors, people whose diaries normally require a search party to find a free slot, somehow manage to make it and stay for the full hour.

The book is almost incidental.

Maybe that’s the lesson.

If you want more connection in your team, don’t default to reaching more people. Think about creating more opportunities for people to sit together and talk.

I know. You’re busy. We’re all busy. But here’s the thing, the best ideas rarely emerge from the calendar invite that says ‘strategic alignment session.’ They emerge from the unplanned conversation that spills out after.

Don’t leave that to chance. Create the conditions and let serendipity do the rest.

Human beings have been bonding over shared experiences for thousands of years.

The algorithm still hasn’t found a better system.

And oh, bonding, preferably with good food.