What would you do if you had $20 to give away to complete strangers in 60 minutes? That was the challenge our Brilliant Ink team faced as part of our most recent Test Kitchen project. This quarter, we’re working to bring our new values to life. Every other month, we’ll pick a new value to focus on, and plan a unique activity to put it into action. And while that concept on its own might sound like a bit of a snoozer, we are, of course, putting our own brilliant spin on it. We are taking turns planning “Super Secret Happy Hours” - the idea being that our activity will be kept secret until it’s revealed, AND will include some snacks, drinks and fun at the end. And best of all, it makes a great acronym: SSHH! It’s just SO US. Our first SSHH! was planned by our fearless leader, Liz, and was tied to our value of making meaningful contributions. Before revealing our challenge, Liz shared a quote from Margaret Mead:  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." The challenge? We were each handed an envelope of 20 one-dollar bills and instructed to use the cash to make some sort of meaningful contribution in the next 60 minutes, with a few simple parameters - it had to be given away in person (i.e., no online donations) and it had to be given to someone we didn’t already know. One of the hardest and most rewarding parts of this challenge was how UNCOMFORTABLE it made me. I consider myself a pretty charitable person, but giving or supporting in a more collective way (i.e., donations, participating in charity walks or even working with a group of volunteers) can sometimes feel a bit anonymous, and there’s safety in that anonymity. But buying something and handing it to a complete stranger? That’s a different story. We all chose to complete the challenge a bit differently. The team in California split up and fanned out across their Oakland neighborhood. Loriana chose a few random parking meters to boost up and bought a man a shirt he was admiring at the local Salvation Army, while Anna paid for coffee for people at various coffee shops. Sara bought and handed out flowers to strangers to help brighten their day, and Kate, determined to give back to her favorite local coffee shop, slipped a note and the cash under the door thanking them for their great service and a smile each day. And while Liz learned that police officers can’t accept edible gifts from well-meaning strangers, she also found that a simple “I appreciate you” goes a very long way. Here in New York, Patty and I traveled the short distance from our office to Port Authority Bus Terminal, where we handed out flowers, bought Metro Cards for people waiting to enter the subway, and gave away scratch-off lottery tickets to weary commuters. When our missions were complete, we all reconvened (using video conference to connect our NY office to the team with Oakland) to share our experiences over some cocktails. Even though we all approached our meaningful contributions a little differently, we all left with a similar feeling - we had done something far outside our comfort zone and felt uplifted and inspired by doing so. We gained a deeper connection to our values, while also strengthening our already strong bonds as a team. So, how are you bringing your values to life in your company? Would something like SSHH! enhance your culture? I, for one, can’t wait to see what our next SSHH! has in store!