Your company might be a nest

So once I was on a balcony and couldn’t help but overhear a conversation of a few people discussing how similar birds are to people. Not sure how sober they were, but I loved it. So this gave me an idea.

The GIFs used in this article are from the Netflix show called “Tuca & Bertie,” which I realize now has also given me some of the ideas for this article.

Before I begin my well-disguised rant, I want you to really think about your team. Everybody has their perks and is in some or another way admirable, cute and talented. Let’s imagine them as birds though, why not?

A walk-three-floors-for-a-coffee-cup-lid-bird. Or for sugar cubes. Or for sticky notes. Just any excuse to take a stroll, really. A king of small talk and momentary presence. Everybody will notice they were in the office today. I really wonder what happens when they work from home.

A loud bird. Do you know this guy who walks around the office and talks frequencies? The louder — the better. Everybody should know he’s serious. There may be an attempt to talk on the balcony: so it’s either your office or the couriers on the street and a risk of a car accident.

A meeting bird. A pretty opposite of the loud bird. If the loud-bird spends 10 minutes on the phone, but an office of 56 people and security know about it,– this particular bird disappears into the shadows to enjoy an appointment ping-pong for a couple of hours. Of course, it may be productive. Tasks are scheduled, requirements updated, and designs approved, but the vitality the bird got (or lost) on those calls is inconceivable.

A click-clack bird. You don’t really notice them until they’re typing. The vast range of emotions they transmit by clicking on their keyboard is startling.

A whatabout bird. Sings usually in response to other birds, always bringing questions to the table. A good old #whatabout often brings valuable discussions, but sometimes it’s just a song to listen to.

A bird that has it in control. They might fly to a few meetings, get a delivery, run a brainstorm, get a coffee, and that was before you arrived at the office. Fantasyland.

A cookie bird. The most caring one, this bird often brings cookies and snacks for the others. And they LOVE her for that. Sometimes she also brings booze, but that’s for another story.

A bird that tried everything. She has done it all, jumped with a parachute, and fed penguins in Morocco (after she brought them there, of course). Nobody had seen her since she forgot to file her taxes and fled to Mexico two years ago.

A plan-it bird. You never really know when is the season to fly until she tells you. She might have a stash of encyclopedias to arrange everything for the big bird collective. But she probably knows better anyway.

A fun bird. She always knows how to make other birds laugh. She might have contagious laughter, so if the joke didn’t work out, the laughter will get you.

A just-do-it bird. Her motivation seems to always be in place. She knows how to support others but, more importantly, when to give a gentle kick in the furry ass of her bird colleagues.

An arrange-it-bird. The one that sorts the papers and stickers by color, puts markers back into place, turns off the extension cords, and aligns the boxes. Everybody just leaves the office, and the next day everything is in place. I thought those were freelancer elves, but seems that’s not magic.

A missing bird. Nobody really knows where they are. Occasionally they show up, but that might be a seasonal thing. Nobody knows their season either. Or even if they still work here. Somehow the work still gets done, so anyhoo.

A Friday bird. Hibernates for most of the week but sings the loudest on Fridays, reminding everyone to chill with their bird business.

A printer bird. The one that buys ebooks to later print them out (why wait for the delivery, right?). You might see her around the office, but right now, she is likely filing her bird business near the printer.

A Medium bird. While regular birds have a small-chirp near the water cooler, she reads medium articles and sorts all the “read later” lists. How many breaks does she need to get to the bottom of it? Nobody knows.

Have a good day, Medium birds!

And if you want something more serious to read, here’s an article about how different traits make a collective.