My eyes are wide open now
One training, two days, lifelong benefits
My name is Jeff. Hi. Hello. Nice to meet you.
After decades of creative roles at in-house groups and advertising agencies, I recently joined ADVISA to help with marketing.
But first, ADVISA was a client of mine.
During our first collaborative project, I fell in love with this team. I mean, they were nice. They were smart. They were easy to work with. For someone whose entire career has been built around very subjective (creative) work, this team felt like heaven.
Fast forward, I joined the team. I don’t like to use words like “giddy” lightly, but…
Also, I digress.
3 things I noticed right away about ADVISA
Through my lens of a career marketer:
- The work these people do is amazing. It’s something literally every organization needs, and it’s noble work. Something, as a marketer, I can feel really good about.
- There is a TON of thought-leadership within these walls. These people are straight-up brilliant. As a marketer, I need to better share with the world what’s already here.
- These people are fluent in a language I don’t understand yet. It flows and it’s easy for them. They seem to have an immediate frame of reference that gives them super-fast clarity into how people are wired, and they know exactly what to do with that information.
I asked to take a session
I wanted in! Like, yesterday. Specifically, to #3. (Turns out, I’m a “low C” and that’s so low-C of me.) And I was fortunate to have my direct manager enthusiastically approve my training session.
I’m not going to say which session I attended, but I’ll give you these parameters:
- It was an introductory/survey approach.
- It only took two days.
- It wrapped up yesterday, and today I feel like I’m viewing people through a completely new lens of clarity.
Putting on 3D glasses for the first time
Before my training was done, I had already sent my wife a link to take an assessment. She did it within the hour. And the night after my training, we were already laughing about how spot-on the insights were.
The next morning (today), as my wife and I chatted about our toddler’s latest antics and our plans for the weekend, I could see her profile come to life. And mine.
Before I had finished my first coffee* of the day, I had already joked twice, “Where’s that 1:1 report? I need the 1:1 report before we have this conversation.”
Is our marriage already better because of my new training? Honestly, probably so. With newfound clarity around our (very different) styles, how could it not be? And to continue with this fairly intimate and candid story, it’s pretty darn funny to unpack.
*actual coffee shown, left
We all know people are different
Knowing isn’t the issue, it’s this: What do you do about it?
Our differences can make our relationships stronger. Or, without the right frame of reference, our differences can cause a lot of problems. I don’t need to waste your time with examples, we see them every day.
BUT, imagine if you had a way to understand people WAY better. How would that feel?
I’m feeling it today.
I’m also feeling a little guilty.
I feel like I cheated a little bit
I got my employer to foot the bill for something that makes me a better person. I mean, it’s totally relevant to my role here, but still… I kinda feel like I got way more out of this than I should have.
I just have to keep reminding myself that this will benefit our team and our workplace too.
But, selfishly, this feels pretty darn good. And if this were to be the only positive outcome from joining this team, I’d take it. Spoiler alert: It’s not the only positive outcome, and there’s already an abundance, but if it were…
BONUS: I met some pretty wonderful people in my cohort who, by the end of the session, already felt like friends. We’ve all been connecting on LinkedIn, and I’m excited for us all to “root each other on” as we accomplish great things for our respective organizations.
I’m not saying everyone should do this
But I’m not saying you shouldn’t.
Winky icon.