Typewriters and airplanes. Who knew the two would meet. This week I was invited to the Canadian airline WestJet to host a Letter Writing Social. Yes, that’s right, the Letter Writing Social goes corporate.
Perhaps you have flown WestJet before or maybe you remember their amazing Christmas campaign in 2013 that went viral.
It’s no wonder then, with a corporate culture that fosters creativity, innovation and fun, that they would offer their staff a series of events that allow WestJetters to explore their creative side.
Parade of typewriters at Westjet
We were a parade of 15 typewriters as staff helped me lug the typewriters through the front doors at the WestJet campus. Heads turned as we marched through the lobby and food court area.
Special thanks go out to Art of Vintage and my friend Jen for allowing me to borrow some of their typewriters for this event.
“My personal brand is strong”
Not only were letters written to family members and friends, one person decided to take the suggestion of a WestJet leader to heart and write a letter to himself a year from now.
The purpose was to forecast goals that would be accomplished, set some dreams down and imagine what 12 months could look like in the workplace. I loved this idea.
Team building
Another life-time-ago, I worked in Human Resources and did a lot of leadership development, coaching and team building.
Hosting this Letter Writing Social at WestJet has made me think that typewriters could take the ho-hum, same-old-same-old team building event to another level. An idea worth pursuing, perhaps?
Slowing things down in a corporate setting isn’t a bad thing
Since the event I’ve heard back from a few who participated. People loved the opportunity to be more thoughtful as they typed.
Many remarked on the absence of a delete key and the fact that there was no spell check. But also that the chance to slow things down for an hour was really refreshing.
How do you think this type of event would go over at your workplace?
I love this idea! It’s an obvious choice for my place of work… AND for my book club. My book pick is being discussed on Nov 15th at my place. (“The Opposite of Loneliness” by Marina Keegan.) The book is a collection of short stories and personal essays. I can’t think of a more appropriate way to kick off our discussion… or wrap it up potentially. How much time is ideal for a letter writing social, roughly speaking?
Hi there Tracey, Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post. It was incredibly fun to host a LWS in a corporate setting. I would recommend at least 1 hour for such an event. Depending on how you structure it, especially if the tie-in is to this specific book, I would think you will need the time. Most often I allow for 1.5 for each LWS. Let me know how it goes. p.s. I must get my hands on this book as it is not the first time I’ve heard of it.
I LOVE this idea. I do some team building workshops and coaching and never thought about introducing the “letter writing social” concept to these workshops. I see how this could really be a fun way to engage the participants. Getting all the typewriters there seems like a challenge – but now I know who to call to make that happen! Thanks for sharing this.
Love this Barb. Congrats on gong a sessiin with them. And thanks for sharing the experience!
It was incredibly fun, Mary. Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you too will do something similar.