The 5:01 Club shows up the moment work ends.

technique — attributed to Steven Clemons

Clemons named the format the 5:01 Club because at 5:01 the workday has just ended and the first moment of non-work time has begun. He would go to a restaurant for nachos and bring a mix the day-job structure would never put together: the Japanese consul general, the president of Toyota Motors, students, teachers, professionals from the Little Tokyo area. A regular, low-stakes after-work gathering anchored on time rather than topic produces durable cross-status networks that more elaborate event formats cannot.

For nonprofit leaders, urban convening designers, and corporate community builders.

after-work, cross-status-convening, informal-gatherings, regular-format