Looking back on my time at Five by Five
I’ve been preparing for a large transition for the past three or so months. I’ve spent the last three-and-a-half years in Paris; one year and a half has been spent at Five by Five. Now I’m gearing up to return to the U.S.
Naturally, I keep on thinking about the things that will change: home, city, job. And I can’t help but think how I experienced a big transition a year and a half ago, too. I was fresh out of grad school in Paris. I transitioned from student to professional in a foreign country and in a small company that works differently than most. Then, though not consciously, I spent my time at Five by Five changing as well.
I can’t quite synthesize my time as a member of Five by Five, but I’m going to try and share my key reflections.
TEAM > SELF A LOT OF THE TIME
I have a brother who’s 10 years older than I am. He’s been out of the house since I was in middle school, so it was just me and my parents for a long time. I developed an individualistic character, which I carried with me through college and graduate school.
Once I arrived at Five by Five, I realized it felt like I was back on a sports team. One of our values is #OnEstTousSurLeMêmeBateau, which translates to “we’re all in the same boat.” We don’t foster the kind of environment that prioritizes the self. We’re a team-first kind of people. No project or company is built alone after all.
But, concretely, what does this mean and how does it play out? It means being a member of a team and thinking beyond your needs and challenges. It means doing something below or above your scope of work because the job needs to get done anyway. It means accepting responsibility when your team falls short of success. It means lifting others’ spirits when you’re not feeling too uplifted yourself.
As a result, I can confidently say that we’re all autonomous yet collaborative. We can thrive on our own, but we prioritize the team and support those around us first.
CHANGE IS THE NATURE OF THE GAME
Though the process varies from client to client, driving change is at the core of our work for any project. And with change comes the need to adapt, whether that’s to new ways of working, new mentalities, new people, etc. We preach the test-and-learn approach in order to iterate and improve the product (or service or process). We’re realistic about the fact that real change takes time; we’d be hypocritical to ignore that.
This means that we, too, are constantly evolving. It takes time. We’re changing how we help our clients. No two clients and/or projects (and therefore their needs) are the same. We must adapt our methods and our way of working to suit each client and/or project. And we’re also changing internally, a lot, to become a better company.
It’s not always easy to work in an evolving company. Last summer, several months after I joined, we experienced an exciting summer of change. We were growing and moving in a new direction. In the past year and a half, we’ve redefined our values, formed a new company masterplan (thank you, Fly the Nest), welcomed new faces and seen old-timers go, nixed Dropbox, developed an advocate system, updated our rituals and perks, released our new manifesto and restructured the team. I may be forgetting a few other minor things. We were excited, but we also needed to be quick on our feet and stay alert to remain up-to-date. We’ve developed the ability to quickly adapt and juggle projects with masterly finesse.
I personally think that the ability to adapt is linked to the team environment and our raison d’être. It’s easy to adapt and accept changes when you feel your entire team is moving in one direction. You adapt for the person working next to you as well, so you’re better aligned and work together seamlessly.
I SPEAK YOUR LINGO, YOU SPEAK MINE
Picture it: a Nicaraguan-American who grew up in rowdy Miami among Cubans, Venezuelans and Colombians blending in with a French crowd (plus a Korean-American and a Brazilian). It’s not a question of “me” vs. “them,” it’s more about bridging any cultural gaps. It worked out very well, but I recognize it could’ve been a disaster.
I’m sorry to generalize but us Americans tend to look at the glass half full. The French? They’re either realistic or glass-half-empty kind of people. My pitch level is a few octaves higher than the average French person (this isn’t scientific) and I’m sometimes overly cheerful for no particular reason. That’s a lot to take in, I imagine. I also didn’t grow up with the same eating habits (like “goûter” at 16h30) or watching French cartoons. They weren’t used to my humor or my eccentric and sometimes colorful choice of clothes.
None of the above mattered because we were each willing to empathize with one another. Half of the time that comes in the form of a question: “So tell me about that experience,” or “What does that slang word mean?” The other half of the time you just have to roll with it. We also practice passive bilingualism. In the open space, we’re free to speak and respond in the language we feel most comfortable with so long as others understand you.
Pretty quickly, I grew accustomed to certain things and learned a lot in the process. My favorite example: not understanding what “JPP” meant on Slack. One senior program manager occasionally types “JPP” or says it aloud. After two or three times not understanding the entirety of her message, I asked and learned it’s an acronym for “j’en peux plus,” meaning “I can’t anymore, I’m over it.”
Curiosity and empathy drove us to better understand the quirks behind our cultures. I don’t know how much I changed, but I do know I can laugh at French humor now. The team didn’t become more American, but they appreciated and respected the small things that make me me because of where I come from. People even started to greet me with a high-pitched hello. (P.S. A few team members master American memes and old school rap way better than I do.)
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So, yeah, I’ll be transitioning into a new job in a new city soon, but in a way I never stopped transitioning. I’m grateful to have worked in a company that gave me a full team, one that allowed me to be myself and taught me many things about change and French culture along the way.
And as a sidenote: Thank you, team. You’ve provided many lessons at work and outside the office. You joined me for one too many beers. You indulged in my love of pizza and chocolate with me. I’ll miss you all!
