I wanted to take a second out of my busy day of Tweeting to introduce 15Five, a new member based in San Francisco. 15Five helps CEOs and managers get to know the pulse of their company by surfacing problems, celebrating wins, discovering great ideas and staying tuned in to morale.

The idea behind 15Five originated in the 1980s from the entrepreneur Paul Hawken, who realized that if he asked all of his employees to spend 15 minutes writing a report that took their manager no more than 5 minutes to read, his employees would feel heard and he would have better insight into the workings of his company. Paul shared it with his friend Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia (and 1% FTP!), who had built his company around his passion for climbing and spent ample time each year away from Patagonia pursuing his passion.

Yvon used this practice to keep his employees engaged and to stay informed even when he was out of the office climbing and surfing for up to 6 months a year, as covered in a 1988 Inc Magazine article. As the idea behind 15Five became popular because of 1%’s founder Yvon, the company has decided to join as a member to honor him, along with their commitment to both Integrated Philanthropy and their care for the planet. Building charitable giving into their business model was essential. Welcome 15Five!