How do we make GOALS the game of our dreams? We don’t know. No one does. There’s no blueprint or map for things that haven’t been done before. There’s only creativity. Creativity might be a word that’s thrown around a lot in the corporate world, but at GOALS it is the thing that everything else rests upon. It’s our sharpest sword in the battle against industry giants. Probably our only sword.

To us, creativity is not limited to, or a consequence of, what some still refer to as “creative jobs”. That whole distinction is just dumb. The world is filled with art directors, dancers and photographers who go about their days without using the slightest hint of creativity. Maybe they’re just imitating others, maybe they simply do what they’re told by their bosses. Maybe they just bought a cool hat to look the part. Movie directors are no different from plumbers in this sense. Some are creative in how they work, some are not. Whether they do work creatively or not, is usually linked to the environment they work in, rather than who they are. Where there is one creative plumber, there’s often more close by.

The most common way for a company to encourage creativity, is usually to do what we did at the end of the first paragraph. We solemnly declared that we are a creative company. Remember the metaphor with the sword? Powerful stuff. Sadly it doesn’t really do anything. Creativity can’t be forced. It’s something that happens naturally at companies when the people who work there feel safe and happy. Have we done that? Maybe. Hopefully. Probably not. But we’re working really hard on it.

The best thing about safe and happy people (apart from the general loveliness associated with feeling safe and happy) is that they make mistakes. Oh how we love a a great mistake. Great mistakes are made out of curiosity and almost no true success comes without it. Companies that don’t make mistakes rarely make it. They die. The bigger the mistake, the bigger the risk, the bigger the potential success. Please fail here. We need it.

But wait! There’s more. In a safe and happy place, people tend to work together. Not because someone told them to, but because it’s fun and benefits everybody. Safe and happy people ask questions without fear. They gladly admit that their own idea might have actually sucked. They spend a whole day giggling about something really silly they’re working on, that is probably a waste of time, but might also be just brilliant. Safe and happy people play, rather than work.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It’s not. There are a billion hidden nuances. Safe and happy means different things for different people. And we need different kinds of people. All kinds. So no matter what your job is going to be here, the most important part of it is to make people feel safe and happy in your presence. If that seems too big, start focusing on safe. Be kind. Be vulnerable. Be honest. Help and accept help. Creativity will happen.

Hampus Ericstam

Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer