Which Era is Your Corporate Culture From?

My wife and I just saw the new Woody Allen film “Midnight in Paris” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Not to spoil it for those who haven’t already seen, but basically the premise is a guy goes to Paris, and finds himself inexplicably transported at the stroke of midnight to different eras of Parisian past, meeting historical characters along the way. The not-so-disguised theme of the film is that every generation yearns for bygone “golden eras” of the past, regardless of how impressive, interesting or compelling the present is. Relaxophobic that I am, I soon found my mind drifting about the theatre, eventually landing on the subject of workplace and office dynamics.

Building upon a previous post about matching corporate culture with employee entertainment, when it comes to team building activities, which era best matches your company’s culture? If you’re like me, the very first thing you think of when you hear the words “team building” is trust falls, ropes courses and obstacle challenges: time-tested fun! If your company is conservative and traditional, perhaps these Ronald Reagan-esque “good old days” activities of the 50s describe your corporate “era” best.

How about scavenger hunts? As a former scavenger hunt writer and producer, I think that these are terrific activities for companies which are young and competitive – just like the 80s corporate raiders of the movie “Wall Street.” Food events have also jumped into the team building mix, with companies throwing competitive cooking parties at custom-designed loft spaces. An introduction to food and cooking- makes me think of Julia Child, Emeril, Martha Stewart…definitely the TV eras of the 70s-00s.

When I think of my own live trivia activities, I tend to think that the era is both the present and near-distant past, since so many of the questions are about current events, yet also feature a certain “nostalgia” aspect relative to the attendee’s age. The companies who enjoy these events live at least part of the time in the past, but not too distant into the past that people don’t have a firsthand experiential recollection.

There are more, for sure – can you think of any? Share your thoughts, ideas and era recommendations below. Let’s make Woody Allen proud!