growth

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Joe from the Music City Giving podcast to share about the heart behind our Food for Thought foundation. Our goal with Food For Thought is to partner with and raise awareness for local nonprofits that are addressing the needs of hungry children in our community. Thanks again to Music City Giving for the opportunity! You can listen to the podcast below, or via Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or Google Podcasts .

Here at roux, food is at the heart of our culture. It’s in our name, of course, and it’s one of our favorite ways to connect as a team. We love preparing meals for one another and spending time together at some of our favorite local restaurants, but we also know that not everyone has enough food to go around. In Nashville alone, one of every six people is considered food-insecure. It’s a cause that’s heavy on our hearts, and that’s why we first gravitated toward The Nashville Food Project. NFP has a goal of alleviating hunger in the Nashville community, and we were eager to learn more about the work they’re doing. To get started, we attended their First Taste event, which we strongly recommend if you’re local to Nashville (they have another event coming up on January 8). Their team prepared a wonderful breakfast for us and shared some of the ways they’re working to empower the community and help those in need.

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, and here at roux, we have much to be thankful for. This year, and every year, we are blessed beyond measure by the projects we get to have a hand in and the relationships we get to build. From a talented, tight-knit team to an amazing group of clients and partners, one thing is certain—we couldn’t do it alone. We asked some of our team members to share a few things they’re grateful for, both at home and at work. And of course, as the food lovers we are, we couldn’t resist sharing our favorite Thanksgiving dishes, too. Keep reading to hear what everyone had to say.

Something I love to share with people is my crusade for fewer, better meetings. I truly believe that meetings are like amoebas–they’ll take up as much space as you give them. Of course, meetings are necessary, and they can be vessels for positive change in an organization. Still, valuable time and energy is wasted in meetings that are inefficient and uninspiring. At roux, we even like to call them sessions, because the word ‘meeting’ can initiate a paralyzing, negative reaction from people. Statistics show that 11 million meetings are held every day, in the United States alone. The average office worker spends 62 hours per month sitting in meetings, and unfortunately, 37 percent of these are considered unproductive. How can we work toward changing this unhealthy trend? Today’s leaders need to make a stronger effort to understand human behavior and psychology. Understanding the tactics that keep people engaged is key to a successful meeting. Still, no matter how engaging you make your meetings, if they take too much time, you’re in trouble. Scientific research shows that the average person can only pay attention to something for 10 to 18 minutes before losing focus. If run efficiently, a meeting will only take as much time, space, and energy as you allow it to, and your attendees will remain engaged. Could you streamline your meeting agendas to make them more efficient? Can you eliminate any of the meetings on your schedule right now? Your first step might be taking stock of how many meetings your organization is truly generating. The free tool, Meeting Stats , connects to your work calendar and generates a report that tells you how many hours you spent in meetings this year, how much money those meetings are costing you, and what percentage of your time is spent on meetings. The data updates weekly, and it also offers interesting stats on meeting attendance, how long your meetings run, and when most of your meetings are held. Whether you need to better analyze how your time is being spent or find a way to make the most of the meetings you do host, it’s a never-ending journey. We’re never going to be perfect, but we aim to get better every day. We’d love to hear your take on efficient meetings. Sound off in the comments below, and make sure to keep your eye out for new posts in the kitchen.

This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit in August.

This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit in August.

This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit in August.

This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit in August.

Thanks for visiting the blog! This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit earlier this month. Keep reading to hear from Stefan.