The Ritual of Fika: How Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls Can Fuel Innovation

Imagine clocking out of work for a one-week, long-awaited vacation. Bags are packed and the flight is booked, but instead of a cleared calendar, you see multiple meeting blocks throughout the week. This might sound like a nightmare… but what if I told you those meetings were actually opportunities for deep connections, hot coffee, and delicious pastries?

Ask any Swedish person about their time away from work and they will tell you about the countless number of people they met up with for a “Fika”. The Swedish word Fika means to have a coffee or tea break — usually with a small treat on the side. You can have a Fika in the morning, midday, or evening. And really, you can eat or drink whatever you’d like. “Meeting up for a Fika” is the one universal ritual that helps any Swede get out of the house (even when it’s freezing cold and the sun sets at 2PM) and connect with friends and family.

Fika is a short word with a big meaning, and this simple ritual can be used not just to connect with friends and family, but as a way to solve complex problems and generate new ideas.

Fika Highlights Connection and Disconnection

No matter how important our design challenge is, humans are more important. It’s by connecting on a human level that we’re able to establish empathy and trust. And when we are around people we care for and trust, we can get through tough times together (and tough times are inevitable when you’re trying to explore complex challenges).

Fikas, similar to coffee chats, help us create these moments of trust-building. As teams try to come together to solve complex challenges, we can use Fikas to give space for human connection, and through human connections, we build trust to explore different type of solutions together.

Fika Teaches Us to Embrace Different Perspectives

We know that human connection is central to our ability to innovate. But so is disconnection. Many articles have been written about the creative benefit of taking breaks. It’s in the white space, in those in-between-moments, that ideas form. It’s when we step away that we can really start to propel forward. I know what you’re thinking…I have deadlines to meet and Figma prototypes to wrap-up. I don’t have time to sit around and lollygag. It’s natural to think this way. The urgent things often get in front of the important things, as explained by Stephen R. Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. But I challenge you (and myself) to have the courage to step away whenever possible.

Fika gives you permission to disconnect, while also creating an excuse to eat another cinnamon roll. By interspersing strategy talks with conversations about “our favorite afternoon snacks” we can clear our minds before digging back into spreadsheets and workflows.

Fika teaches us to embrace different perspectives

I mentioned before that Fika often involves tea or coffee with a small treat. But really, a Fika can be anything. It can be a salad, a sandwich, or just water to drink. It doesn’t matter what you bring to the table. You come as you are and share what you want. It’s the differences that make the meet-up better. This is also true when we innovate. Diversity breeds innovation. And diversity flourishes when we create open spaces where everyone feels valued and welcome.

Often, innovation projects require us to collaborate with globally distributed teams. Often, there are people from different cultures and in different time zones. Understanding how different departments operated is crucial to innovation, but so is getting to know each other on a personal level. Because when we know each other on a personal level, we are more likely to embrace ideas that are different from our own. And that is where innovation happens.

Measuring Results

So now that we know the importance of rituals inspired by Fika, you might be thinking… that sounds great and all, but how do we measure success?

Well.. success is not measured in the number of Fikas we fit into our schedule, or the amount of cinnamon rolls we eat in a day. True success isn’t really measured in the problems we solve, either. Because while the work is important, even more important are the bonds we create with the people around us. The human connections will live on way beyond even the most sustainable and transformative solutions — and that is the result that matters.