In two short weeks, our own Amber Stidham will officially join a team of professionals to help launch one of the most highly anticipated, cutting-edge performing arts center in the United States, The Smith Center. As our team prepares to say good-bye to our resident “long timer,” I can’t help but take a few moments and share with you all my thoughts on her contributions to our organization over the last 10 years and her early days here at Imagine.
Amber and I share a close, professional relationship. The closeness naturally happens when you share a desk and phone while working your butt off to build a business. (Ahh … How I miss the simpler times. My cell phone today holds more memory then my computer did in those days. )
That relationship allowed us to build a growing organization and, more importantly, a meaningful friendship over the years. Although many things have changed during the last decade, what has never changed is Amber’s relentless spirit and professionalism.
As she too often likes to remind me, I told Amber once that she was the “heart” of Imagine, just not the “sweetheart.” (I’ve spent eight years trying to live that one down. Perhaps that will be the one thing I won’t miss about her leaving our group.) Of course, the statement was meant as a joke to tease her about her aggressive “do what you have to do to get it done” work style. It’s a style of work that requires a person to carry themselves with dignity and pride, like Amber does, a result of her high expectation of self. This style became a core element and how we still do business at Imagine today.
I am proud and excited to watch her career expand into new adventures. She will always be part of my life but I will miss the regularity of our discussions on business, parenting, creativity and life in general. That being said, I know I speak for everyone here at Imagine in saying with the fullest of heart that we wish all the success and good fortune in the world to the “sweetheart” of Imagine.
Amber, we love you and will miss you terribly. Now … GO GET ‘EM!
Alex Raffi is the creative director and a partner at Imagine Marketing. Contact Alex at araffi@imnv.com
If you haven’t heard the news by now, here it is: April 26 will be my last day at Imagine.
If you know me, you know I’m not one to dwell on what could have been, but what could be. I’m a person who is focused on exploring new opportunities and once focused, I’m the person who nails down the strategy and attacks the situation from all angles. That’s me. The dreamer to many, the pain in the butt “doesn’t she ever let up?” professional to a few.
Regardless, the point is that the act of exploring life, in all ways, is the most important act we all engage in day-to-day. If it weren’t for the dreamers, the go-getters, the people willing to put it all on-the-line, dreams would never be achieved. We would never progress.
This blog, which I’ve specifically entitled “Any Last Requests,” is not about me and my new adventure. Instead, it’s about recognizing those little nuances in life that are important to ensuring we continue to embody that explorer within ourselves.
While I have a prime opportunity (and support of those at Imagine) to plug my new adventure, I wish to share with you a few of those nuances as to why Imagine is a place of exploration and an organization that captured my heart for nearly a decade. These are my “last requests” to the wonderful team at Imagine whom I care for very deeply.
I never intended to work at Imagine. In fact, my support was intended to be a temporary fix to fulfill the needs of a burgeoning new business ten years ago. Why did I stick around? The people. Surrounding yourself with dreamers, those who find a way to say “yes” to opportunities (which is more challenging than saying “no,” by far), professionals with ambition, energy and the willingness to be a real team moving forward is what attracted me. Alex Raffi (Imagine’s creative director and partner) and D.J. Allen (the firm’s founding partner) have an incredible appetite for creativity, new ideas and forging their own paths to get to their desired destinations. I love that. Being a part of such a team is addictive. You want to be around it 24/7. Even better, it’s healthy for you to do so. My request – Never lose sight of that creativity; the courage to share it is at the root of why people want to be around you (work with you, do business with you and so on). Alex Raffi (my “bro”) embodies this spirit. He is an incredible wealth of knowledge, inspiration and creativity. Simply put: More people should strive to be like him.
Imagine is known as one of the most professional, honest, results-driven, and fair communications firms in the state. This is attractive to employees, prospective employees, clientele and community contacts. Focus on the people has always remained top priority at Imagine. Perhaps it has made our road throughout the years a bit more difficult. (Imagine is not the “hire and fire” communications firm our profession is wildly known for.) The firm strongly believes in investing in people, not projects. Imagine doesn’t take the easy road, but it’s the correct road nonetheless. I’ve spent a good deal of my time helping fellow professionals at Imagine grow over the years, while I grew as well. Helping each other grow requires patience, the ability to set your ego aside and moreover, give everything a shot with everything you’ve got.
My request – Caring is important. People are important. Invest in people and everything else in life gets easier. It doesn’t matter how tech-savvy we get, what new Internet sites are developed … at the end of the day, we’re all still working with people. Care first. I will very much miss the people at Imagine and my daily interactions with clientele – all of whom are the most wonderful people I’ve come to know throughout my career.
I know … every communications firm is “quirky” and “fun.” In Imagine’s case, it’s true. Some of it is spontaneous. Most of it is, as I call it, “planned spontaneity.” No matter. The most critical piece of Imagine’s success is its ability to create fun and engaging opportunities for staffers, clients and friends. The best part? Fun is productive. (Imagine is hosting a workshop on just this subject in June.) It doesn’t matter what your profession is. Inserting “fun” here and there is a critical part of ensuring you have a cohesive team, and people who do business with you simply because they enjoy being around you.
My request – MAKE time to have fun. When you think back on why you do what you do in life, it likely started because you thought “this could be a good way to have fun.” Make it a business ritual.
As an addendum to this blog, I’ve included a list of random thoughts and musings I will miss most at Imagine.
To my Imagine Family: I am forever grateful to all you have given to me and to my own family.
[Beginning May 2, Amber Stidham will be joining a team of professionals to help launch one of the most highly anticipated, cutting-edge performing arts centers in the Southwestern United States, The Smith Center.]
THE 10-YEAR HIGHLIGHT REEL [For the “peeps”]
• We create. • How do you feel about monkeys? • Two hard hats, sticky darts and an incubator office with three people don’t mix. • Remember: Always roll your windows up on rainy days. • Card tables still make for a productive work space. Chair building competitions make for good times. • First “holiday party” for Imagine – One booth at Carrabbas. • Surprisingly, people really do love watching office dance videos. (I hope Imagine continues the tradition.) • Where is the lawn gnome? • Any day is a good day to pull an “emergency client needs” prank on a coworker. This reminds me that I still “owe” someone a prank. • Carpeted hallways and Megan don’t get along well. • Always offer to help one another … listen, be there, offer to do what you can. • I still have my portable karaoke machine. I am a rock star (in my own mind). Thank you for entertaining me over the years – all of you. • Inspiration comes to you at all hours of the day … in Alex’s case this is true on Friday afternoons and weekdays at 3 a.m. • Club Saturn. Woot, woot. • If you give someone the title of “Company Mom” – they will live up to it (like it or not). Sue, you’ll be greatly missed, but your grandchildren will be overjoyed to have you. • Brian – I will always “have a minute.” P.S. You will love this – Hotkeys for Word. (My secret is out.) • Alex – Please remember to … • I still wonder what Jeff’s entire wardrobe looks like. 100% polos? • Hand written “thank you” notes, phone calls and “face time” are still important in business. • A link to the Rocky movie theme song just one last time. • Always find time to help your community. • Love not only your coworkers, but their families as well. Together, we are all one big family.
Much of our lives are spent analyzing things like the environment, politics, society, economics, art, parenting, crime, war, religion, etc. The list could go on forever. But one vital thing we tend to forget to do is to acknowledge our own ego amidst our day-to-day lives. It is our ego that motivates most of our decisions and drives us into any given direction.
Working in business, we are inundated with problems daily, whether it be operational issues, human resource challenges, customer concerns and more. To succeed in business, one must be a problem solver. However, one of the main obstacles in developing your own ability to be that problem solver is oftentimes our inability to set our own perspective and needs aside. That's because, more often than not, many professionals have the need to be perceived as a problem solver, but that desire overrides actually being a problem solver.
There are solutions.
We must always understand that the choices we make require analytical thinking with emotional tempering. Not the other way around. Ego is a good motivator but a terrible problem solver. Simply put, learning to manage your own ego is what separates the professionals from the wannabes. Creative confidence is shown not by those professionals who say they have the best ideas, but by those who showcase their ability to be flexible, responsive and nurturing of any good idea regardless of its origin or where that idea is headed at any given moment.
It takes a talented professional to set their ego aside and immediately listen to, discuss, address and solve problems on the spot, all the while knowing they may not have all of the right answers just then. Addressing challenges or opportunities in this manner can be difficult for some to do, impossible for others. But, as I mentioned, this ability separates the pros from the amateurs.
Compromise requires sacrifice. Sacrifice requires humility. Humility requires confidence. Confidence comes from creative maturity.
Creative maturity may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it is an absolute must when the goal is to produce the best solution possible for any situation. The dichotomy of exploring your options and ideas with a free and open mind while limiting your ego analytically isn't always easy, but it is possible.
For those looking to further their own development in this area, the first step is to set aside the egotistical need to be “right” and instead learn how to trust others – and yourself. This means allowing yourself to be open to impromptu discussions, to step outside of your area of expertise and provide your thoughts (they do matter), to feel confident in the fact that you do have something to contribute and that your opinion is valuable. I encourage you to put yourself and your ideas on the line, especially during those instances where there is no time to prepare. You'll be surprised at what you're already capable of doing. For the no-holds-bar always idea making, problem solving machines of the world, who typically already have a highly developed sense of troubleshooting needs, I say it's okay to take a backseat at times when you're around others who are new to this creative maturation process. Allow them to venture out, learn and come to trust more in their own abilities and the concept that there is always more than one solution to any given problem. In doing so, it will help build their confidence.
Managing your ego is difficult to do and, as a business owner myself, it's absolutely critical that everyone on my team is able to creatively mature. Without a proper balance of overall maturation, business doesn't work. The environment naturally segments itself into "control freaks" (who become resentful and frustrated) and "wannabes" (who begin to create their own self-imposed walls the hinder their own progress and growth).
An efficient and effective way to reach the best solution in the shortest amount of time is to commit to muting our emotional needs to be right and realize that this sacrifice is required for the best solution. One does not feed the other.
Alex Raffi serves as partner and creative director for Imagine Marketing. E-mail Alex at araffi@imnv.com.
In 2000, we at Imagine set out to become the leading conventional PR/advertising agency in the market. Then something strange happened – we realized being the best agency of that kind wouldn't be good enough to serve our clients the way we wanted to serve them. We had to be something more. We had to be business experts. Today, we are just that, and our clients are benefiting from it.
Speaking of our clients, they’re awesome. We work with companies locally and nationally in industries across the board. Every client is unique and so are the services we provide to them. We create marketing plans based on the needs of our clients and can include any number of services such as strategic planning, media relations, social media, advertising, graphic design, public/government affairs, video creation, animation and so much more.
In two short weeks, our own Amber Stidham will officially join a team of professionals to help launch one of the most highly anticipated, cutting-edge performing arts center in the United States, The Smith Center. As our team prepares to say good-bye to our resident “long timer,” I can’t help but take a few moments and share with you all my thoughts on her contributions to our organization over the last 10 years and her early days here at Imagine.
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