31 May Ah-mazing Meeting
One of my favorite things about last week was the ReBel Ventures full crew meeting. We have one every Thursday from 3:30 to 6:30PM. This is where the entire crew, including mentors, gets together to discuss and work on things like future goals, pros and grows (things that are/were good and things that could use improvement), and any new ideas that we might have.
We also break off into our departments (accounting, design, marketing, operations, sales, and research & development) to work on different departmental tasks such as making social media posts, tracking benchmarks/goals, or designing labels.
The high school students were completely in charge of the meeting. That’s how it is, regardless of if Jarrett, the ReBel Elder, is there or not. Talk about empowerment and responsibility! ReBel Ventures is the first business of its kind where it’s a business run by kids, for kids!
The meeting was great! First, we went over roles. Almost everyone is assigned a role. There’s a notetaker, a timekeeper, stack (someone who keeps track of whose turn it is to talk), vibes (someone who makes sure there are no bad vibes/attitudes during the meeting), and a leader. Next, we go over norms. Norms govern our behavior in meetings. The norms are: Use I Statements, One Mic, Try It On, and Step Up, Step Back.
- Use I Statements: Only speak for yourself.
- One Mic: One person speaks at a time.
- Try It On: Don’t be afraid to try new things or propose an idea.
- Step Up, Step Back: If you’ve been doing a lot of talking, let someone else get a chance to talk. If you haven’t been talking, don’t be afraid to speak up!
After that, we went through our agenda which basically is set up to help us review the goals we set for ourselves the previous week, and our progress or achievement of those goals for the current week. Everyone did their part in making sure the every item on the agenda got checked off. No one had to be told what to do, and we finished our meeting on time.
A highlight from the meeting last week includes revamping the ReBel standards policy (expectations for behavior, attendance, etc). It needed to be updated! There were so many ideas thrown on the table, it was just a big creative discussion. Everyone had such good input. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something so collaborative. We ended the meeting with some really great ideas, and because of that, this week we succcessfully completed a new standards policy! It’s amazing to know that not only is ReBel run by kids who get to come up with, produce, and package their own products, but their they also get to come up with their own rules and standards.
At the end of our meeting, we ate snacks like carrots and spinach, dipped in our very own hummus!
I can’t wait for the next full crew meeting!
No Comments