We have a few fundamental principles we like to endorse at Lithios. Being on the cutting edge of technology and constantly seeking and growing our knowledge base are core to the business we run. As a young startup in its primary development stages, it’s important for us to try and mold the culture in such a way that brings out these principles in what we do. One of the more recent initiatives we took in this direction is called Drinks & Thinks (working title).

Drinks & Thinks entails one of the Lithios crew to ‘claim’ this week’s session during our Monday morning stand up (another piece of Lithios culture, quick catch up of the entire team and any outstanding issues). They will then pick a topic that they are interested in learning more about and feel would benefit the team overall. On Friday afternoon, we all gather with a brew in hand and tune in to the presentation that the claimee has put together throughout the week. The presentations are interactive in the way of employees asking questions and usually a discussion to follow of how we can use this new information in our workflow. Some of the topics covered during our brand spankin’ new initiative include MVVM (a relatively new design pattern we will be implementing, in part due to the presentation itself), basics of the web and its deep infrastructure, and animations in iOS.

Through this initiative, we are actually accomplishing many things at once:

Innovation & Cutting Edge Tech – Holding such an event once per week allows us to make sure that we always have our ears peeled to the ground on the search for the next big thing. When we do come across it, we’re on top of it.

Flow of Information – Not only does the host have to research their chosen topic thoroughly, but by the end of the presentation everyone is better off because of it.

Employee Morale – While the Drinks & Thinks topic must be somewhat relevant to our field, the fact that the host chose the topic and wasn’t assigned one means that they’ll take the presentation seriously.

Feeling of Belonging – We each take turns creating a presentation (based on who has a topic they want to research) meaning no one gets left behind!

Team Activity – At the end of a long week (most of them are here at Lithios..) we all get to sit around together, sip from a cold beverage, learn while enjoying a great presentation, and have good discussions. Tell me that’s not team building.

Here at Lithios, we try and take pride in our forward thinking and agility. We believe this is a step in the right direction.