So turkey-time is upon us again and it seems like a good time to start a new ritual: Blogging! And what comes to mind at this time of year?  Community…our community at work.  At HOK in San Francisco each year we celebrate coming together with a PotLuck Lunch before Thanksgiving.  This is a new tradition which began several years ago when two separate disciplines decided to deepen their connection by extending their personal friendships around a delicious meal.  What began as 20 or so people, now includes the entire office of around 200 people. Many things make this day special:  its all-inclusive from the most senior to the most junior; if people don’t want to cook or bring food they are welcome to contribute by via the set-up or clean-up committees, or by bringing beverages; we taste lots of regional fare from places far and wide (this year’s favorite: Portuguese rice pudding); our senior folk contribute a little extra – they roast the turkeys and bake the hams; and we get to linger for a few moments with people we don’t usually interact with when we’re in-line waiting for our food or when we sit to eat, tell stories and laugh!  And then afterwards we can relive it all through the photographs posted online and the cookbook we produce to share those recipes we just need to try for ourselves. 
We could put all this in business-speak: it’s a flat organization, where people contribute the talents they have.  Diversity is recognized [...]