Recently we’ve implemented a fun way to make sure everyone gets to work on time. We call it the SV Starbucks Challenge.

Here’s how we play it:

1. You get 15 minutes’ grace each day
2. If you’re late for 30 minutes, your name is written on a piece of paper and put into a lockbox
3. If you’re late for 45 minutes, your name is written on three pieces of paper instead
4. At the end of each month, we pick three names out of the box
5. Those three people (or it could be someone who gets picked twice, or thrice) have to treat the entire office to Starbucks the following Wednesday (yay, midweek pick-me-up!)

Today was the first time we picked the names, and our boss man Alvin went first. He picked Raff, our long-standing copywriter-slash-Doctor Doom incarnate, who then proceeded to pick Alvin. IT WAS SO FUNNY. Next was Kyle, one of our Marketing Maestros, who had only been late a couple times. You can imagine the amount of fuss he kicked up (all in good fun, of course).

Now everyone’s timing their arrivals even more carefully and often you’ll hear triumphant shouts of “Yes! I made it!” or desperate pleas of “It’s just one minute! Does that count??”

It’s really a great way to remind the staff of punctuality and to engage each other in a friendly game of probability and chance. The best moments are when the names are being picked—everyone is just standing up from their seats to see everyone’s reactions.

Can’t wait to see who else gets to foot the Starbucks bill next month! (It might be this writer. Better not get too excited.)

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