The Birth Of A Movement - The "i Factor"

Last week I wrote a post in a hurry late one night about something I could only think of calling the "i Factor" and it turned into something altogether different!

(Back round) At work I am a member of a whole new type of team. We specialize in Social Media and are carving out a brand new methodology in the contact center world. Where we're taking our insane amount of skill, knowledge, creativity, and drive for success is still a bit of a secret! (I mean seriously, I can't just give away all of our secrets!) But one thing's for sure, we will not let anything stand in our way.

(Now moving forward again) Enter Tim..... Tim is what I would call a lead by example power player. He dives straight into a pile of work and doesn't let up until all expectations have been blown out of the water. Tim's become a good friend of mine and he FLIPPED when he read the post I put up about what I just started calling The "i Factor" and what I thought it meant for Incept.

In that one post I managed to turn the tables in a sense and just put out there that not only did we (the Incept Social Media Team) know that we were on the right track, but much more, we weren't afraid to let it show. We found a winning combination and with all the creativity in our team we are going to change the face of our industry.

Now all of that might seem a little bit, well..... arrogant? But that wasn't how I had meant for it to come across. An interesting result is that people latched onto the idea of the "i Factor" and it now has the capacity to become a movement.

That's a completely different purpose than what I had intended my blog post to create. But sometimes you have to know when to go with the flow and play the hands you're dealt when the good cards come up!

So make sure you're staying tuned into the following.....

the Incept Blog

@InceptSaves on Twitter
@InceptResults on Twitter

and the Incept Page on Facebook

"Ready, Steady, Go" get out of our way or pay the price of being left in our dust. The Millennials are here, and we only know two speeds, stop and FAST FREAKING FORWARD!!!!

Where Did You Think You Would Be 5 Years Later?

A few years ago this month I walked across the stage at the Canton Memorial Civic Center as a part of the GlenOak High School 500+ student graduating class of 2005. At the time it seemed like an end to one story and the beginning of the rest of my life. Now I look back and see it as more of an end to the preface of my story......

If you would have asked me where I planned on being in 5 years my response would have been something like, "Graduating from The University of Akron with a degree in Music Education and looking for a teaching job at a local high school." Today I stumbled across my diploma in a box buried in the back of my closet. I thought to myself, "I wonder what that kid all those years ago was thinking?! Was he nuts?!" Because I have checked off none of the above yet.... and I won't be checking them off.... well, ever. I quickly realized that music education wasn't for me, that I wanted to add a high priority item to my goal (getting engaged) and found out what kind of person I really wanted to become.

Now I think to myself, where do I want to be in 5 years? And my answer is kind of complicated..... I want to be married to the love of my life. I want to have a house. I want to start back to school to get a degree in Organizational Communication. I want to continue working for Incept. (hopefully making a huge success of our social media team!) And I want to start a family.

It's strange how a few years can change ones priorities. Maybe, conditions willing I will still be writing on this blog (or some blog for that matter) in 5 years. And when that day comes, I'll make sure to revisit this list before I attend my 10 year class reunion and see just how much my priorities have changed again.

Who knows where a decade can lead you, but I'm right in the middle of that trip. And I don't really know where my "life's GPS unit" is taking me. "How do I get this darn thing to stop giving me directions in French!?!?" :P

Surreal Feeling Of Blogging On The Job

It's a really surreal feeling to get paid to do something you love, especially when that something really doesn't feel like work! The company I work for, Incept, recently launched a social media team that I'm one of the core members of. And we've taken off..... and quick! I've been blogging for them in combination with a whole team of our staff members. But it's really surreal reading my work on a blog that isn't my own. It's awesome!

But I have to admit.... it makes me feel kind of humbled... soooo much more exposure on the Incept blog then on mine. But hey, you take what you can get right?!

I love working in collaboration with the people on my team, Rebecca, Tim, Sam, Dave, Billie, & Julia. Everyone shares thoughts and the stuff we're cooking up at Incept is growing to pave the way for the Conversational Marketing industry.

And on the front lines of everything we do is our blog.... and there I am... being published and getting paid to do something I'm really passionate about! It's awesome!