I try to keep my personal blog and my business life fairly separate. I only mention my workplace, usually in general terms, just to let you know that I do hold a “real job” and I don’t spend my days looking for the nuttiness of the Internet (unless it’s part of a client request). I rarely mention my company by name because I don’t ever want to lead people to think the strangeness of my blog is tied to my company’s beliefs or scare anyone away from them because I’m a bit…eccentric (to say the least). But, this time I have to let my straight-flag fly and tell y’all just how awesome my workplace can be!

We’ve won awards in the past for being the “Best Place to Work” and “Fastest Growing Company”. We win awards annually for our designs and our sites and we’re national partners for some pretty big names. But I think the newest recognition we’ve received from Inc. Magazine is pretty amazing and therefore I can’t keep quiet.

“25 Companies That Are Changing the World”

http://www.inc.com/audacious-companies/25-small-companies-changing-world-2014.html

This list has some pretty powerful names on it that you might have heard recently:

1. Skybox Imaging – Technology: The bold startup aiming to index every inch of planet Earth–and change how you do business

6. Thinkmodo – Marketing: The company behind some of the world’s craziest–and most successful–viral video campaigns

9. Goldieblox – Marketing: Exploding gender stereotypes, one toy–and savvy marketing move–at a time

12. GiveDirectly – Social Impact: The nonprofit giving free money directly to the poor, with no strings attached

21. Eventbrite – Culture: Who needs a happy work force? This works much better for motivating employees to perform

And…down under the CULTURE headline, there’s #24 on the list:

24. DEG –You pitch it, you build it. Welcome to the company where anyone can be an entrepreneur

That’s right – I work for a company that not only inspires entrepreneurship, they ENCOURAGE it. The five officers like nothing better than when one of us comes up with a kick-ass idea, puts real thought behind how to run it within the framework of the company and then does all they can to make it work. Tim Gunn would love it here!

In one part of the DEG article it mentions that “Half of employees who have worked at DEG a year or more hold different positions from when they started.” This is definitely applicable to yours truly.

I started at DEG almost 11 years ago (my work anniversary is on May 5!) and I’ve worn five different titles in those years. I started as a part-time Admin Assistant, progressed to full-time Office Manager, was the first Technical Coordinator (meaning: work scheduler), became the first Implementation & Support Manager and I’m now a Special Projects Manager.

My current position provides me a good bit of latitude since no one is really sure what constitutes a “special project” – it sort of covers everything from being a resident Microsoft Office goddess to the pro bono manager to leading other non-profit projects, occasionally training and helping out wherever my skills and talents fit in. Sometimes I contribute to the big ideas, but I feel like I’m usually a stagehand who helps the divas get the props and find their marks. And I’m perfectly okay with that…usually. I wouldn’t mind having that “big idea” once – to really be able to find a business-changing idea to implement and run with. And maybe someday I will. If I could just focus the eccentricity inherent in my bones. 🙂

What makes a DEGenius?

One of the things that I truly love about DEG is the opportunity to make mistakes…and learn from them. I’ve often wondered what some of the younger hires think when I tell them not to stress too much if they messed something up. I’m usually speaking from my own personal experience when I say that.

Assuming you don’t mess up by telling off a client or losing a million dollar account or some such catastrophic event, you’re probably going to be just fine here (and sometimes even if you make those mistakes…). Because the guys in charge know one thing above all else – people are people.

Every single one of us…even those in charge…are going to make mistakes now and then. The important thing is that we LEARN from those less-than-right experiences and don’t make the same ones over and over again. If you are always striving to improve – to make the office, your work, your coworkers and yourself BETTER – you will indeed be a DEG-Genius. And trust me…we don’t take that title lightly. You earn it every day you walk in the doors.

The best part…

For some quick historical reference, when I was brought on 11 years ago there were the five officers, a network guy, an off-site engineer, a graphic artist and the woman I job-shared with. I was #10 on the roster. Now, I’m #6 (not counting the five officers, I’ve been here the longest) and we’re sitting at 134 active associates. Short version, in 11 years we’ve gone from 10 to 134 active employees – in six locations! That’s a huge leap for me to wrap my head around.

All of this is really awesome about who DEG is and what we do here, right? But, want to know what’s truly great about us? We’re not done yet!

DEG is always growing, expanding and widening.

Creating marketing websites is where we started and we still excel at those. Personally, I live for the event & non-profit websites we make. If you read the article above, you know we have a thriving email/digital marketing division. And a social media team that kicks virtual ass. E-commerce is a no-brainer around here – of COURSE we have a killer team on that! We have blooming mobile & video teams, too. And I just took a look at our job postings – there are 17 out there right now. Yep, you read that right…seventeen. And some for positions I’ve never heard of until the last year or so, such as Marketing Cloud Specialist, Digital Copywriter, and Email Business Analyst. If you’re in the KC area, definitely come take a look at us!

For someone like me, one who excels with variety, I love that we expand into so many markets and touch so many different types of services & products. When I see the work my coworkers produce, I’m inspired to do better, learn more, and work harder. Because being a DEGenius is hard work but it’s also pretty damn awesome.

XO – T.

BTW…

In case I wasn’t clear at the top of this post…

The thoughts, comments and beliefs expressed in this post and this entire blog are mine…ALL MINE! They do not reflect on the company I work for or the clients we serve except in the most positive, heart-warming and wonderful ways. Anything negative, saddening, or less-than-fulfilling you might take from the world of Eccentric Randomness is all on me. Or, really, it’s your issue. Because I strive to be pretty damn fun, funny and even uplifting when I write (except maybe when I write reviews).