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  • This one’s from Sam

    Posted on February 26th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 2 commenting.


    Photo via Megan via Sam’s Facebook

    The other day I asked Sam — our super cool intern — if she’d help me out and write a post for Friday. Well… she did. And here it is. Enjoy. We heart Sam. She has a big shiny future in front of her. We just get lucky that way.

    Internships…we’ve all been there and done that. You remember the photocopying and the post office trips. Many of you may have learned the exclusive art of being able to carry 6 vanilla lattes at one time.

    Well at any other place this might be the case, but as the Brains on Fire intern for 2010, I have learned what it is like to walk with other team members down to the closest coffee shop and talk about the day, or life, or whatever.

    And yes, many of you may role your eyes at the thought of having to answer the company phone, but what if you could answer it in just about any way you want. “Brains on Fire World Domination Headquarters”…yeah, try to have a bad day if that is the first thing you hear when you call a company. And for that matter, try to have a bad day when that is how you get to answer the phone.

    I have only been here since the beginning of January, but there are some major things that have stood out about this place, making it different than anywhere else. Brains on Fire is about support and encouragement. It is so rewarding to be a part of a team of people who go out of their way to make sure that every single person gets recognized for their efforts.

    I have never felt so welcomed and trusted by a place right from the beginning. This is truly a special place and I am lucky to have stumbled upon this opportunity.

    When Robbin suggested that I write today’s blog, I figured that I would write about something that has impacted my life in a very special way. This internship has already given me new insight into the kind of work and working environment I want to be in. As corny as it sounds…I thank every single member of the Brains on Fire team for sharing all of these new experiences and helping me learn.

    So, moral of the story (because there always has to be a moral of the story), I have grown to realize that it is not only important to be passionate about work that you do, but to love the people that you do it all with.

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  • Real takes courage.

    Posted on February 25th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 10 commenting.

    Eric Dodds getting real with a tequila shot…

    “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy up the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

    Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL.”

    Real takes courage.

    I love that set of words. Being real as company or a person flat out takes courage. I met someone the other day and much to my surprise, I realized the online version of this person (on facebook and twitter and blogs) was much, much different than the reality. I walked away saying – to myself of course — “Oh, you must be one those people that just plays a character on Twitter.” There’s a lot of personal branding going on these day. And like corporate branding sometimes there is a dis-connect between image and reality. Bugs me a bit. But enough of that. That is not my main point.

    We have this saying, be famous for the people who love you.

    The people who love you know what’s absolutely real. They can spot a dis-connect in a second. This is true for companies and for people. The word branding has always bugged us. We use “identity” for a reason. We look for the soul of a company or the community they support.

    We are looking for what’s real.

    I read somewhere lately that it takes a lot of energy to be someone you are not. And that is really true. One of the things I love about this age of word of mouth marketing and social media, is this: Companies and organizations are understanding that their brand is walking around on two feet. That’s what is real. Several companies we are currently working with and talking to are looking to create an internal movement to help everyone in the organization present one voice, one reality.

    I am lucky, I get to talk to people within organizations all day long who are looking for our help. It’s fun. I spoke with someone at an large Fortune 500 company the other night. And as we chatted one of the things I realized about that organization is this. The people there, all the way to the top are real. They are approachable and honest and direct. From the frontline customer service reps to the corporate team, they understand on some level that they are part of something bigger. Something important. Got to love that.

    So one more parting quote… don’t know who said this but I love it:

    “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”

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  • The truth is the easy way out

    Posted on February 24th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 11 commenting.

    Geno and were having an in person chat the other day. (The one day he was in town last week, geez that guy is raking in some Frequent Flier miles).

    Anyway we were talking about integrity.

    We talk a lot about authenticity at Brains on Fire. Being who you are. Knowing what you stand for. Supporting your customer’s genuine passion conversations, not product conversations. But lately Geno and I have been rolling this notion of integrity around.

    I like Mack Collier, even thought I have never shaken his hand. He’s a smart guy. And he’s also the founder – don’t you love that – of #blogchat. I read his blog daily. He adds a lot of value. And yesterday I read this post. Spot on, Mack.

    I followed the link to IBM’s social media policy. And it dawned on me that most of those principles/policies are the principles of integrity.

    Be who you are.
    Be thoughtful about how you present yourself.
    Respect your audience and your coworkers.
    Add value.
    Use your best judgement.
    And my favotire…Don’t pick fights.

    Those are just a few I connected with…

    Mack makes this point: “Companies (especially larger ones) should invest the time to educate their employees on social media tools, what they can and cannot do, and how their customers are using these tools to communicate with each other, and to create content about their company.”

    Hmmmm.

    You aren’t born with integetriy. You learn integrity.

    You learn through mistakes. And missteps. Role models and teachers.

    So Mack’s remark that we need to train people how to behave in social situations on line, is cool. Yes. As leaders we need to set expectations for how we want to uphold our company’s integrity.

    Yes. Indeed.

    Our expectations are right here. I carry this little book with me where ever I go. Okay, not to the bathroom and I don’t sleep with it. But I refer to it often. We talk about this in our meetings a lot. Guess you could call it training…

    Do you know a company that teaches their employees integrity and it’s working? Come on. Share your stories.

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  • Guest post from Alexis

    Posted on February 23rd, 2010 by Robbin and currently 6 commenting.

    Yesterday morning I walked in and gave a great big hug to our newest hire. Alexis Bass. And I said (sort of half joking), “So glad you are here. Want to blog today?”

    Well about twenty minutes later. This was in my email. Read it and you’ll see why we said, “same tribe” the first time we met her…

    Hi world, today is my first day at Brains on Fire. In newbie fashion, I have already sent an email to the wrong Eric (Whitlock rather than Dodds) and been locked out of the upstairs entrance. But, I can’t stop smiling and honestly, I think I am downright giddy. I am so excited to be a fellow brain at Brains on Fire and work with amazingly talented people who create meaningful movements.

    So, why Brains on Fire?
    To me, Brains on Fire embodies the philosophy of being Ubuntu. A philosophy I keep close to my heart as a way to work, live and play.

    Ubuntu is a shorter way of saying that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. At least not effectively. It speaks about our interconnectedness. It speaks about the fact that because we are connected, what we do affects the whole world.

    Brains on Fire has this interconnected approach to create movements that are relevant to people, relevant to society and relevant to establishing change that affects the entire world. They understand that at the core of being human, we must be connected to survive and that this is also true for brands. In short, I see my restlessness for wanting to cause, direct and establish change reflected in this company.

    So, I guess my giddiness is justified. Because who wouldn’t want to a part of that?

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  • TEDx Greenville March 5th

    Posted on February 22nd, 2010 by Robbin and currently 3 commenting.

    “Cross Section of the Mainstream” via Lynn Greer

    Sometime last year a group of people came together with the single-minded purpose of bringing a little piece of TED magic to Greenville.

    Been under a rock? Haven’t heard of TED? You’re gonna thank me.

    The TEDx Greenville team is an eclectic and interesting group. And like a lot of volunteer groups it was made up of really busy people. There were some hiccups and starts and stops early on, but I am so impressed with what this small team has put together in such a short period of time. Many, many people played a part in pulling this off including a great list of sponsors, but I have to give a lot to credit to these super bright and shiny folks, who took an idea and super sized it:

    Marc Bolick, Brenda Laakso, Susan Sebotnick, Aaron Von Frank, Peter Waldschmidt, and Philip Whitley.

    You, know…it’s easy to get discouraged when working with a large committee and these folks never did.

    Check out all the details here. From what I hear, there are only about 45 seats or so left. So if you are in the neighborhood, come on. We’ll have some fun. Believe it!

    BTW, here are a few of the TEDx Greenville Team’s favorite TED videos:

    It is our humanity and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful.

    Instead of trying to exterminate a problem, why not use the momentum of that problem to your advantage?

    Often times we make decisions, assumptions, and even statements that we want to believe are based in a “hard fact” or a tangible reality when in fact we are being influenced in ways that we are completely unaware.

    Now take a minute and share your favorite TED video with me and why. Come on. Spread some remarkable ideas on this Monday morning.

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