“And the winner is, Elizabeth!”

“No wayyyyyyy.”

“Yup, come and grab your free coffee,” I said.

“I never win anything,” she added.

“Today’s your day.”

Everyone clapped. There were smiles and laughter, even a whistle or two.

Friday energy is unmatched. People love it. For many, it’s winding down a long work week. Camaraderie and hard work.

It’s why I decided to create a game and chose Friday. I wanted to ride the energy of weekend vibes. Plus, people love games.

This one was simple. A guessing game.

I set up a Slack channel and on Monday I’d announce the question. We put flyers up in the kitchen areas, too. We were in an office company. This happened weekly.

We asked things like:

We used procurement specific questions, but not always so obvious. Like that last question about hacking. We partnered with InfoSec to show how important it was that the technology we bought was secure and safe. You know, risk stuff.

And then on Friday we’d all gather during Beer Hour and announce the winner. We even went so far as pulling the name out of jar. We’d call someone out from the audience and have them pick. Interactive, you know.

We’d give away free coffee we got from vendors trying to win our business, gift cards we’d get from suppliers, and company swag that was laying around. No budget needed. All it took was a little creativity.

It was a massive hit. Huge.

Executives even showed up, entered, played along and sometimes won, too.

We were marketing and selling the procurement function. Educating and constantly communicating with the organization. Games were one of our outlets.

It was fun and people really enjoyed it.

The results it had on how the company interacted with procurement was priceless.

Money can’t buy that.

See you next week,

Mat

ps. Here’s a game for you to play, I can beat it on the hardest level, finally.

pps. And how about a little coffee giveaway, virtually. Just click yes below and you’re in. Winner announced next week. 😎