Well Who Are You? I Really Wanna Know...

Just figured I'd throw in a last minute thought to close out the year...

As we come to the close of another year, we inevitably find ourselves in a state of reflection. We all aspire to do things in the future and it is not only fitting, but also important, that we give consideration to the preceding year of our lives. In order to go where we wish to go and become who we wish to become, it’s important to understand where we have been and who we are. As Roger Daltrey so eloquently screamed, “Who are you?”

I am an artist. My creations are made sometimes to convince, sometimes to inform, and sometimes for the sheer joy of engaging in creation. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an artist is defined as “one who is adept at something”. Bearing that in mind, I present a quote from Typographer Eric Gill that I feel is relevant.

“The Artist is not a different kind of person, but every person is a different kind of artist”

In this coming year that we are all about to begin, may we continue to develop our own crafts and get closer to our goals. I look forward to another year with my friends, co-workers, colleagues and family and wish you all the best of times ahead.

A MUCH Needed Blog Post

Alright, I am going to attempt to play catch up. Here we go…

Q #1) “What's been the biggest surprise of your first three months. Or, in the case of Ashley and Kari...what have you learned the most from the MA's.”

I think the thing that I have taken away from each of the MA’s this round is their enthusiasm to jump into projects. When we pitch a project that is totally out of the box seeing excitement and enthusiasm to get started is always refreshing.


Q #2) “If you could change one decision that you've made as part of your work here at SHM, what would it be? What have you learned as a result of not being able to go back and change that decision?”

I think it is safe to say that the experiences we have and the decisions we make shape who we all are as people. And now that I am older I finally grasp the concept that there really is no sense worrying about things you can’t change they are done and in the past – but it is better to focus on the things you can change and improve and that you do have control over.

I think this quote sums up my response for this question “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” I have learned something very different from each decision I have made here, and in life. Some of them have been successful and some of them haven’t and funny enough it is the ones that haven’t worked out so well that I have learned the most from.

We all want to change the world

"If you could change one decision that you've made as part of your work here at SHM, what would it be? What have you learned as a result of not being able to go back and change that decision?" -TVD

I suppose part of this answer would be to include admitting to a mistake that you've made that you wish you could change and that shows that you can own your work, etc etc. "If I had made x decision instead of y, we would have made z dollars instead of a dollars" Catch my drift?

Something like that is not going to be my answer to Todd's question. Growing up, I have learned that everyone has regrets, things they wish they could change and know that they can't. I go about my work and personal life keeping this thought in the back of my mind. I know that no matter what the outcome of any decision I make, there is no changing it, there is no going back, no matter how much we wish there was a way.

A few years ago, I questioned what fate meant, if we tamper with it or if making mistakes is all part of the path we're supposed to follow. I know that I can't go back and change decisions that I've made, so when I have to make decisions, I try my best to think of every possible thing that could go right or wrong (I'm a big fan of Pro/Con lists). I try my hardest to make the best possible decision and hope that it is the right choice. If it ends up not being the best decision, I learn from that and implement what I learned the next time a decision arises. Decisions have to be made every day (What should I wear? What time should I leave? What is my top priority in projects? Who should I ask?) and when we answer our own questions, we learn from there.

There is no decision in my 3 months of being here that I wish I could go back and change. Although, I can say with all honesty that choosing this co-op over any other one was the best decision I made and I wouldn't change that for anything.

(I don't know if this post really answered Todd's question, I kind of just went on a rant and said whatever came to mind. But hey, at least I posted).

Let It Be

I wouldn't change any decisions I’ve made here at SHM. Whether my decisions have resulted in positive or negative outcomes, they have played a part in getting me to where I am now. I try to think about the outcomes of my decisions before they happen so as to not find myself wishing I could change things. I also agree with what Jill said. I haven’t really been with SHM long enough to be in a position to make a decision big enough to warrant me wanting to change it.

I haven’t been keeping up with the blog too much, so I’ll make sure I pick up the pace. I’m off to go cook dinner for my family. Cooking is something I really love but I rarely get to cook the things I like in my house in Philly. So tonight it’s Scallops with Bacon in a Tarragon Cream Sauce, Saffron Basmati Rice with Portabella Mushrooms, and Roasted Asparagus. Watch out Top Chef.

The chance to change...

If you could change one decision that you've made as part of your work here at SHM, what would it be? What have you learned as a result of not being able to go back and change that decision?

This is a good question but honestly I don't think I would change any decisions I've made. I don't think I've been here long enough to want to change any decisions. I know this answer isn't all that great but it's the truth. However, this is a question that I would want to come back to in the future!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR! and remembers to post on this blog, lately it's just been me, Todd and Meredith. Where is everyone else!? So now I'm off to the airport, woohoo!

Question #2

Here you go...

If you could change one decision that you've made as part of your work here at SHM, what would it be? What have you learned as a result of not being able to go back and change that decision?

Thoughts by 12/31 at noon please...

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday break.

It will always continue, but it shouldn't surprise you at all

"What's been the biggest surprise of your first three months?" -TVD

Side note: I just made "TVD" part of my personal blogspot dictionary. This post will be in shades of blue out of respect for Todd (Alex B. too) and their fantastic Jewish Holiday ;-) (Happy day 2!)

I like this idea of different topics each week, maybe it will pull us away from our daily tasks and get us to update more often. I enjoy doing these posts because when I have thoughts, I like writing them down (this comes from having journals since 6th grade). I hope that everyone thinks of this task as fun and unusual, and not something that they have to put on their to-do list.

As far as my biggest surprise, I'm going to have to say it is the freedom we have and trust that others put into us, even though we are only here for six months. In our short time here, we make a huge impact on the company and our department. The four of us have implemented our core values more than they have ever been implemented before, we are continuing to expand our usage of Facebook, and we are coming up with new ideas weekly to improve all things, small and large. It is interesting that even though we won't be here in a few months, the things that we have worked on will be and will not be forgotten.

I love surprises, and being given this surprise was a great gift.

My Biggest Surprise

This isn't my first job experience but I would consider it my first [real] job experience. Working for a smaller company rather than a corporate company has it's benefits, especially for an MA. I guess the biggest surprise for me was that I never realized how much influence ONE person had on an entire organization. I mean, Heather is the only person doing PR for SHM and Christine and Vernita are the only two who make up the membership department. So, when I first came to SHM it really surprised me that membership was such a big part of the company, it contributes to most of the revenue and there weren't that many people in the department. PR is a big thing for a small company and it struck me as a bit odd that Heather was the one person dealing with most of it.

When I worked for Quest Diagnostics, I only really experienced things within my own department. So, working for SHM I can see how every department needs each other to help SHM as a whole operate smoothly. It helped me see more of the big picture and how everyone contributes.

Some Times It’s Just Not That Glamorous

I wish that marketing was always about creating cool ads, exciting designs, out of the box promotions or other things that you want to call home and brag to mom about. It’s just not the case and it’s important to have an appreciation of that early on in your career.

Instead, a lot of time is spent finding the best list to send a direct mail package to, reviewing reams market research studies and spending inordinate time in a database figuring out every bit of information you can about your members and prospects in hopes of finding one actionable nugget.

This week we’re entering into one of those periods that isn’t so glamorous and I think that’s a good thing for everyone. Our department is making individual calls to a long list of prospects to generate participation in a survey and to gather additional demographic information for our database.

I don’t relish for a minute asking folks to make a large number of calls, especially when they’re cold (in this case I would argue they’re at least luke-warm). But it needs to be done so we’re going to do it.

In the process, my hope is that everyone in the department is reminded that many times marketing is rooted in the basics and there is always something to learn when you’re talking directly to your customers and prospects. That’s an important reminder for all of us, so it won’t be just the marketing assistants making the calls.

I’m looking forward to upcoming posts…I suspect we’ll hear about some of the mundane aspects of having to call…but at the same time, I’m confident that we’ll hear about folks learning something in the process.

Ok...You Got It

So, here's the topic...everyone post between now and Friday PM

What's been the biggest surprise of your first three months. Or, in the case of Ashley and Kari...what have you learned the most from the MA's.

Stay tuned for my next post...I'd write it now, but I have to go to bed so that I can get up at 5am tomorrow, leave Chicago before the bad weather reappears and get to the bowling alley in time to kick all of your rears!

Jill - I liked your idea and will start throwing questions up for discussion.

Three months...

We're almost half way through co-op and it went by so fast not only because winter always does but because I'm actually enjoying work. Unlike my past jobs, this is something I do not dread. Anyway, I won't be there tomorrow when the green team beats Alex D and the blues. I'll be home for my Padre's 55th birthday party, which should be somewhat interesting.

But I also agree with Meredith that everyone has forgotten this wonderful blog. I remembered that I had to post on Monday but waited until now because I just wasn't sure what to write about. I think about every week somebody should be come up with a topic that we could all at least try to relate to and talk about. That way, the conversation is much more open and doesn't repeatedly mention the move or the cool new office.

Anyway, if anyone has any better ideas let them be known! Back to work...

I went from MA to MIA

Hi again world,

So I have to start off by admitting that I completely forgot about posting to this blog during the move and up until now. With that in mind I have to say this office has been everything I expected it to be plus some, although I still cant seem to get the morning travel down pat quite yet which is confusing to me.

I especially like the increase in open space that we have now. It allows me to get up stretch my legs and clear my mind every so often when I get stuck on something or a bit overwhelmed which is something that was harder to do in the old space. I also think the office design is great. It really does an awesome job of separating the departments while still keeping a feeling of a professional community since the cube walls are not to high and you can see other people working.

Thats all for today but before I go I would like to take this time to apologize to everyone for beating them so bad in bowling tomorrow, Im sorry. Go Blue Team!!

- Dettmer

I won't even wish for snow

You people are not holding up your end of the bargain here. I think us Marketing Assistants have posted more than Todd, Ashley, and definitely Kari! Anyway, I'm posting today and only today this week because I will be on vacation for the rest of the week. I'm headed to sunny (but not so hot) California with my mother, brother and boyfriend. Should be fun.

Any-hoo. Not too sure what to write about today except that I can't believe my second co-op is nearly halfway over. This one has definitely gone by a lot faster than the first, and that's because I actually enjoy this one. My first co-op experience seemed to drag on and I had a countdown ever since November as to how many more days until I went back to classes. This time around, as much as I will look forward to sleeping in and seeing friends more frequently, I can honestly say I will miss my job. Despite stressful days, rushing to complete things and sometimes snapping at a certain few, I will miss the laughter, the jokes, my minutes, the people, and the experience. Anyway, I know three more months will be a lot of fun and I know that I still have a lot more room to grow.

Happy Holidays!

No lyrics and no quotes

Meredith's post is kind of hard to follow so I'm going to try to do my best. The move has been a great experience. I always think of a move as being so hectic and crazy. And when I come to think of it now, a few days later, it really wasn't that bad. We all really helped each other out once we were done unpacking our own things. We are a strong department and no matter what small, mundane task we have to do to help each other out we have fun doing it (filing membership stuff, stuffing holiday cards, etc).

Also, like Meredith said this office is so amazing. After Larry's toast and speech thing yesterday I was really proud to not only be a part of the M&M department but also just SHM as a whole. Anyway, after Larry's toast I went home and found out that a few of my friends had been "let go" from their co-ops for financial reasons. I just thought about how much of a coincidence it was that Larry had assured all of us that there would be a growth in the number of employees and nobody would be laid off.

So, in the end I'm just happy that I chose SHM and have the chance to experience opportunities within a company that is doing really well in this crappy economy.

"Ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strain)"

Thank you, David Bowie, for that powerful lyric.

Well, we're here in the new place, and if I can quote Napoleon Dynamite, it's pretty "flippin sweet." The office is huge and I'm not going to lie, I love bragging to friends about the modern cafeteria and Wii set-up in our office.

Yesterday was not like I imagined it would be but somehow seemed right, if that makes sense. I arrived to work not really knowing what to expect. I walked through the glass doors and was amazed at everything I saw. It was like being a kid in a toy store; I had to touch everything, explore, get lost, and play with the newest toys. Everybody working together yesterday was something that was really great to be a part of. I thought it would be chaotic, dramatic and stressful but it was none of those things. In my opinion, everything went very smoothly and everybody is pleased (or seems to be) with the new space. Us co-ops even get our own "mini-lounge," how cool is that?

Each week, we have a meeting and each week, one of the co-ops reads a quote pertaining to one of our values. I was looking through quotes today and found a few that are suitable to what our entire office has been going through.

"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear...It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to." - Marilyn Ferguson

I like this quote a lot because it talks about the stage in between leaving the old and getting used to the new. Right now we are all adjusting and I am grateful that we have each other to hold on to.

This is Family Business

This is kind of a spur of the moment entry, so it isn’t the result of whatever I was thinking about this morning. It’s based on what I’m observing right now from my new desk.

Right now I’m watching everyone in M&M work together doing some kind of letter sorting. Everyone is laughing, talking and helping each other out. This is the first time I’ve seen the entire department doing something together other than the week-in-review meeting. It’s our first day in the new office and I think we’re off to a great start. Even though everyone is somewhat flustered and confused, we’re all flustered and confused together. This has really been a uniting experience for everyone here. I’m proud to be a part of this department and this company.

Monday will be Interesting

It seems as though the topic du-jour has been our organization's impending move to a new office so I figured that I would jump in on the theme.

The move is now in full swing with signs of it all around us, from my empty office to our visiting the new digs earlier today to have our pictures taken for new ID badges. Come Monday, my wife will be dropping me off at a new building and we won't be riding to work together...it will be day 1 in the new home.

From a management perspective, I'm curious to see how our new space will play out. As a group, our department has gotten into its routines and patterns. Folks have figured out a cadence to working together and for the most part it works.

As a manager, I value these "riutals" as that's part of a group coming together and I've for the most part figured out how to work within these parameters to keep our ship moving in the right direction. I'm happy for the change as I think it's good to shake things up and resist the temptations towards complacency but at the same time I wonder how all the change will effect all that we've worked towards in the last 2.5 years.

Dynamics will inevitably change and new rituals will be born...will we keep the good of what we built? Will we seize opportunity in places where we could benefit? I don't know...but I'm sure it will be an interesting ride.

Ticking Away the Moments...

Most mornings I listen to my iPod as I walk to work. Occasionally, certain songs come on that end up being pretty thought provoking. A section from a song by who I consider to be the greatest band of all time, Pink Floyd, proved to be so earlier today.

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you,
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun”

If you aren't familiar with the song, it's Time off of Dark Side of the Moon. The song is mostly about how people wait for life to happen and that time passes quickly and people miss out. Which leads me to my thought...

I don’t like it when people use the phrase “The Real World”. I guess most people consider “The Real World” to be when you either reap the rewards or suffer the consequences of everything that has been your life so far. It promotes the idea that life starts at a certain point in the future and creates a feeling that childhood and adolescence and everything before that point are about preparing for a life that’s going to start later. If you wait for “The Real World” to come, there’s a good chance you’re going to miss it and probably be pretty unhappy with yourself. I think life is happening all the time and at any point you can grab the reins and start guiding your own destiny.

Every moment of your life has a direct impact on the things that will happen to you in both the immediate and distant future. Some moments, if not most, are small and inconsequential. There are also of course moments and decisions in everyone’s lives that potentially determine the course they will take. I try not to obsess over decisions I have made, whether they be good or bad at the time. Inevitably, they have led me to where I am in this exact moment right now, which I’m quite pleased with.

Life is a delicate balance between examining the past, taking the present moment-by-moment, and planning ahead but I think the right combination is a formula for success, and more importantly, contentment.

1500 Spring Garden Here We Come!

I can’t believe this big move is finally upon us and that Thursday will be the last day that we report to work at 6th and Race (tear). One of the worst things (well in my opinion anyway) of a new job or a new environment is learning of the little things… I mean those basic, basic things that at this point we all just take for granted and just know. It’s the stuff that you almost feel too dumb to actually ask out loud when you are the new kid in the office. This consists of pretty simple basic and non-life threatening question like:

How do I change my voicemail?
How do I send something FedEx?
What is the code to enter the restroom (o you heard me right)?

Well not knowing and not having a routine is definitely one of my least favorite things – think your first day of college classes where pretty much every person walks into the wrong building and better yet the wrong classroom at least once. Awkward!

But, in our office move situation these exact questions and uncertainties are the thing I like the most about the move. I mean this is probably the first and last time in my life that I won’t be the only person that is completely clueless about what is going on on my first day in a new building/ brand new environment. O no, there will be an entire office full of people all in the same boat learning it together! The move is going to be a great change and learning experience for us all and I am sure together we can figure out all of the how to’s.

Hello again world,

So this is blog post number two and I must admit now that I can not write about it being blog post number one anymore I'm not quite sure what to write about. I saw the previous posts were about the move so I guess I'll start there.

I too am very excited to get my move on. I think the new office sounds really great and believe just the experience of moving as a group can offer some positive results in building our family. I am especially excited to see the new furniture and features that we will have going forward. While I was on my first co-op we had the same style office set up, I believe through the same company, and if anyone is worried they need not be.

Anyway back to the list of other things I need to do.

I'm sitting here waiting for a co-worker to get out of a meeting so that we can go to lunch, so I decided to write my entry for the week to get my mind off of my grumbling stomach.

Like Jill said, it's move week! I think that this process is going to be a great experience for me because I get to see how a small environment works together through chaos to make everything run as smoothly as possible. I read a book my freshman year of college about change. I forget what it was called but I often think about it while I'm here. It talked about how change isn't always good but no matter what, you should try to adjust to it. (The characters in the book were mice, looking for cheese). Two years later, I still remember that short story and apply it wherever I can.

Personally, I'm a fan of change. If change didn't exist, this world would be so boring. If you didn't change and adjust to certain things in life, you wouldn't be successful or achieve your goals (unless your goal was to never change?). In my opinion, going through change helps me grow mentally, emotionally and personally. I've been through so many changes this past year and experiencing this move during a six month job experience, only makes me grow more and gives me a good story to tell some day.

She's finished her meeting! Off to lunch...

The Move

This week seems like it's going to be a bit hectic but it's definitely something I'm looking forward to. Since SHM is a small company there's a lot of things I wouldn't get to experience if I was with a large, national corporation. The move will be a great experience because we get to see how the company manages things, how everything is organized and what obstacles we face or are going to face. Sitting through the Move Day Meeting was pretty cool since everyone had the chance to ask questions, make suggestions or express their concerns. So it's kind of cool that we get to see how much SHM is changing and growing with this move. I really think that the move is something that we can learn a lot from.

Busiest Travel Day of the Year

Like others have already mentioned in this blog this is my first attempt at this whole “blogging” thing. I am totally on board and I think it is going to be a great project for us in the Membership & Marketing Department. I think one of the coolest things is going to be reading back through these months from now. There is definitely a lot we can all learn about ourselves, each other and our jobs from actively contributing to Collective Reality.

So, that is pretty much all I have… Now I am going to go ahead and brave the traffic on 76 to head home for the weekend on what experts claim to be the busiest travel day of the year. I can only hope that the 30 mile drive doesn’t take 4 hours like it did this time last year. But now isn’t that why we all love 76 so much?

Bring on the Turkey!

Even as a "grown-up" (I use that term very loosely) there is an unavoidable energy that takes over the day....or days...leading up to the holidays. Being that Thanksgiving is a week later than usual this year, I feel like that energy this year has been multiplied by 50! You've noticed it...People are, for the most part, extremely light-hearted, overly silly, and antsy beyond belief. (Has anyone seen the beach ball lately? No really....where has it been?)

So....just to add an extra dose of cheesiness to this weeks blog:

"This year, I am thankful for my coworkers...You make it fun to come to work everyday!"

We're off to a good start...

Welcome to Collective Reality - our attempt to share with you a little bit about life inside a non-profit membership and marketing department.

I've been meaning to write a "welcome to our blog" message (seems that's how they all start) for about a week now, but my sense of urgency picked up when I went online yesterday and found my fellow contributors have already hit the ground running. I think that speaks well for their being fresh content from a wide variety of perspectives over the coming year and beyond.

Our core blogging team are our marketing assistants (co-op students from Drexel University), along with the full time staff who regularly work with them (me included). We've put this blog together for a couple of reasons including the opportunity to chronicle our collective reality in hopes of learning from it, but also to expand our knowledge of web 2.0 technologies by living within them. I also hope that by sharing a little bit of our world, we can increase the collective knowledge and learning within the association community...after all, sometimes it's just good to know that you're not the only own going through a particular issue or that others use the same approach a problem you're facing.

Welcome to our online experiment...I have no clue where this will take us and have put no restrictions (other than good taste and writing only things you would want your parents to read in print) on all of the contributors...I supsect that over time, you'll find this blog filled with posts on not only the business side of what we do (campaigns, direct mail, press releases, etc) but also on the human side of a non profit work place (conflict, self-doubt, confidence, collaboration).

When it's all said and done, I hope that we've helped to expand the conversation (define as you'd like) in some small way.

Enjoy the ride

My Life Story

I’m pretty excited for this new blogging project. I think that it will get people thinking about a lot of new topics and ideas. For me personally, I think that this blog might help me filter through my own thoughts and be a factor in helping me decide my major and whatnot.

Unlike Dettmer, I’m definitely not new to blogging, one of my high school teachers made us make a blog in the beginning of our freshman year. We had to write down our thoughts like it was a journal and in a few years come back to it. I continued writing until the end of my freshman year and looked at it again at the end of my senior year. The journal was filled with entries on what I wanted to do in the future, what life I would want to have and so on.

Even though some of the entries were really stupid, it kind of helped me to look back on it and see how much my goals had changed. So I think just writing and reflecting along with the experiences and opportunities I get might just help me figure out everything I’m so unsure of.

Look Who's Blogging Now

This is the first blog I have ever contributed to and I have to say I am pretty excited to see what it can do. I have often thought about starting a blog, or becoming one of those readers who comments so much on a blog you would think they were getting paid to do it, but in the end did not know what to write about or who for. Hopefully this blog can give me a jump start or some ideas.

Thats all for today... More coming soon

Just another manic Monday

It's Monday, but it feels more like Wednesday to me because we have off for the holidays on Thursday & Friday this week.

Monday's are always a little hectic here. I get to work around 9:30 in the morning and catch up on e-mails, do a few things to prepare for our meeting and off I go at 10:30. I sit in an unusually cold room for nearly two hours listening to updates from the past week and anything up and coming for the week ahead. It's not a boring meeting, I get to record updates and send them out to everybody afterwards. I decided to include a little bit of humor in the minutes so that it is something for the department to look forward to and so people can laugh a little bit. After the meeting is over, I go to lunch and the rest of the day usually flies by. I have more e-mails to catch up on, the minutes to write and post online, and a few other odds and ends that I don't mind doing.

When I say that Mondays are hectic, I don't mean it in a bad way. I like this type of busy because the day goes by faster (although I think the next day and 1/2 will drag on because I'm excited for a short vacation). I'm not really sure what else to say here but how awesome are my Thanksgiving themed colors?!

The First Post

Well, looks like I'm christening this blog with the first post.

During my 30 minute walk to and from work each day, my thoughts tend to drift off and, I reflect on the state of things going on around me. A few days ago I had an interesting thought that I wanted to expand upon but never really went back to. I guess now that I contribute to this blog, I have a spot to do that.

The scene before me; busy professionals make their daily commute via subway. They shuffle through the turnstiles in silence, appearing to be somewhat displeased at the start of a new work day. I can’t say I’m not on the same boat. Up ahead, a womanunknowingly drops one of her gloves. People pass but either didn’t notice or didn’t care. I like to think my mother raised me right, so I pick up the glove and catch up to the woman outside the subway. She seemed very pleased, and fairly surprised, that I went out of my way to give her the glove back. Even though it was such a small act, I felt like it was a good way to start the day. Which leads me to my thought;

We tend to like not the people who do things for us but the ones we do things for. Though there will always be those who feel the contrary, I think humanity intrinsically finds satisfaction in selfless service. It can come from helping to build affordable houses, donating money to a charity, or even just returning someone’s glove.

I feel as though this relates closely to things going on in my own life. As a graphic designer, nearly all of my profession involves doing things for other people. It makes sense then that I am the most excited and fulfilled when I can show someone a quality piece of design. My motivation is rooted in my desire to create people’s visions to the best of my abilities; I’m not in it for the money (but please don’t stop paying me)