This year’s TTE Steps Challenge was built around our five core values: Care, Commitment, Vision, Unity, and Courage. Each value became an award, and each award asked a different question of how we work and move together.
The steps were the proof: 6,852,316 in total, roughly 5,200 kilometers, half marathons and marathons among them, alongside the small everyday choices: lunchtime strolls, calls on the move, stairs instead of the elevator. What made us especially happy was watching the values show up in those choices.
Why this matters to us
Consulting projects are intense. Long days at the desk, deep focus, often little movement. Anyone who knows that life knows this too: a walk clears your head. Sometimes the best ideas come exactly when you’re not sitting in front of a screen.
With the challenge, we wanted to put that effect to better use in our daily routines while also doing it in a way that reflected what we stand for. Not competition for competition’s sake, but a shared nudge to make movement a more natural part of the day, framed by the five values that guide how we work: Care, Commitment, Vision, Unity, and Courage.
“A 20-minute walk between two workshops changes more than I would have thought. My head is clearer, and the next conversation is better.”
Mariana, Consultant, TTE Strategy
From a (half-) marathon to meetings in the HafenCity or the English Garde
The range was wide. Some ran half marathons, others even a full marathon. Most reshaped their daily routine: calls on a walk, lunch breaks outdoors instead of indoors, longer outings with family and friends on the weekend.
”I got to talk with colleagues I’m not currently on a project with, whether it be about running routes, ways to rack up steps, or to debate the step counts of the ‘rival’ teams. That brings people together.”
Ruben, Senior Consultant, TTE Strategy
Five values, five awards
Our values are how we describe the work we want to do and the team we want to be. And this year we aimed at using the challenge to make each one even more tangible. Every value became an award, and every award asked teams to live the value in a specific, measurable way.
Care: We care for what matters and never let our clients or teammates down.
The Care Award went to the team whose lowest individual stepper had the highest step count. The lesson the metric carried: a team only wins when no one is left behind.
Commitment: We are passionate about value, excellence, and results that last. Half-hearted isn’t an option.
The Commitment Award went to the team with the highest average step of the team at the end of the challenge. Not a single big push, but sustained effort across every member, every day.
Vision: We go beyond. Bold in thought, bold in action.
The Vision Award went to the team whose actual total came closest to its own pre-challenge prediction. Ambition is only useful when you understand yourselves well enough to aim it.
Unity: Diverse perspectives, one direction. We act as one team, with our clients and with each other.
The Unity Award went to the team with the most days on which every single member crossed 8,000 steps. The point wasn’t the strongest individual; it was everyone moving together.
Courage: We have the courage to step up, practically and with purpose. We speak up, challenge the status quo, and lead by doing.
The Courage Award went to the single person with the most steps across all teams. One person showing the rest what is possible.
What stays with us
The challenge is over, but many of the new routines have stayed and so has a shared, lived sense of what each of our values asks of us. That, really, is the most important point.
At TTE, wellbeing is not only the foundation of good work, but we consider it a prerequisite, as we find that it’s also the best way to truly move our clients forward over the long term. To quote an old saying now most associated with a sports brand: Sound body, sound mind.
Want to walk with us?
Looking for a place where deep expertise, personal growth, and an energetic team come together?
Then we’d love to meet you.
