My firm’s London to Paris Velo+ ride, now in its second year, has provided several lessons on how to engender goodwill.
? Generating goodwill is difficult and you need to be willing to do the leg work. Treat it as a project that needs investment, resources, care and personal attention lavished on it.
? Pick an event that is a challenge. The more challenging the event, the more rewarding it is. During our three-day ride to Paris last week, people became focused on making the distance, or climbing that hill, and forgot about the e-mails, texts, Twitter, and office politics.
? Make it team-related. You want the journey to be part of the goal. A team atmosphere gets rid of the usual hierarchies and breeds social interaction. Those who are just starting out in their careers take part alongside those more established, and those more established don’t have to play their appointed role so rigidly.
? Involve all levels. Morrow + Lorraine had six riders on the Velo+ this year, representing a cross-section of the firm. This allows our clients to get a feel for the character of the business.
? Quality is key. Your invites, photography, hospitality and so on need to be top notch. This underpins the idealist ethos of the company and makes those taking part feel special.
JJ Lorraine is co-founder of architect Morrow + Lorraine
