Intern hazing. Lots of red. Lots of orange. Name that event. OLSONdenali Rally in the Alley! OLSON hosted an event last Thursday for the official tour and bonding time of OLSON and its new loyalty division OLSONdenali (formerly Denali Marketing). Young and old alike (young being 20, old being not too much older than that—it is the world of advertising, after all) came together to rally in the alley behind OLSON.
Intern hazing. The 10 OLSON O-terns formed three teams, with the three OLSONdenali interns, for a fantastic round of events. You have to see the pictures (LINK TO http://www.facebook.com/OLSONagency?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=190178&id=10662217756) to give the sporting event justice! As best as I can describe it, here is one of the events: teams of four, arrayed in conga lines, with their leader being blindfolded, in a helmet, and holding a steering wheel, zig-zagged their way through a maze of cones. Name of the game? “Backseat Driver.”
I was hiding in the back. Not “hiding.” More like conveniently finding conversation at a safe distance from the rest of the interns and the intimate workings of the event. Well, that proved to be unsuccessful as it was graciously pointed out (and you know who you are) by a lovely fellow OLSONite, “Hey, isn’t this an intern? I found one!” Needless to say, I was pushed to the front, conveniently, just as my team was about to race. “I am in heels!” I said. “Perfect,” was the response I received. Ha. Classic. Well, my team earned extra points because their red-headed, blindfolded, helmet-adorned leader completed the course in heels. Ah, I could not have done it without my team. “No, Kelli, around the cone.” “Oh, right, that cone, sorry, I missed it the first time because I was blindfolded.” Ha. I love OLSON.
Tip of the week: Work hard, play hard. Sweet and simple, yes, but in following this simple four-worded phrase, you will keep your sanity, and have fun doing it. OLSON is the king of the hill at following this tip, as I am sure you have been able to tell from the rest of my blogs. Even if your “play hard” does not happen where you work, make sure to make time for it on your own. Whether that be sitting and watching the sun set, playing a quick game of kickball with your friends (you’d be surprised how many people would actually be game for this—I hear there is a kickball league here in town), or nerding out to your favorite thing that you’d be embarrassed to tell half your friends about (I know you have something in mind), you have to take time to enjoy the small things in life. It’s not long enough to spend it all working. Go have some fun!
7.28.2010
7.16.2010
OLSON--Week 7
So, here's to week seven as an O-tern at OLSON! This week went by very quickly, to say the least. It went by so fast that I am trying to think back on everything that happened, so that I can share it with you, and I feel like I am trying to review a day in my mind as opposed to an entire week!
Last week, I was asked if I wanted to help recruit people to get their photo taken for a new internal OLSON directory we have coming. I said sure, because who doesn't love getting to take people from their work for a moment of sheer joy and excitement while they get to pose in a corner and get their picture taken? That may have come across highly sarcastic. I assure you, that was not the intent. The way I saw it, I was going to get a chance to get to know people around the office better. So, this week came and I got ready to go help get people for their pictures. I found out that I was going to get to work with the Brand Lab interns on this project.
Are you familiar with the Brand Lab? Well, if you are not, you certainly should be! When I found out about it, I was rather impressed! The mission of the Brand Lab is to create opportunities in the marketing industry for students with diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Check out how they do it at http://www.thebrandlab.org/. This is not just another one of those millions of organizations. It is impacting communities and how people look at advertising.
Together with the inters, we called numerous OLSONites and asked them to come up to get their picture taken. Some people were serious, some people were embarrassed, some people smiled like you would have in the 4th grade, and others, well, others had their own ideas all together. My favorite one was the guy that asked me if he could take one picture with his helmet on, and another with his helmet off. Get this: it was so that he could merge the two together and have a picture with half a head wearing a helmet and half a head without. Ha. I love people who work in advertising. Never a dull moment!
The tip of the week comes from something that happened to me this week. Huh, shocker. :) The role I currently have is that of an intern, as you well know. In this current state, it has been pretty safe to say that the majority of things I have participated in within the last month and a half have been things that have been new to me. I have gotten used to not being the expert, to say the least. I ran into a situation this week, however, where I was able to be the mentor, in a sense. In what I was training other to do, I encouraged and coached them in a manner that would lead them on a pathway of success, rather than on a pathway of failure. Everyone learns better that way. The tip of the week is: Whenever you are in a position of leadership, find a way to train others in a way that encourages them to acknowledge the things they know, and makes them excited to learn the things they do not.
I have found that this tip has been executed by the people that I work with time and time again. Because of that, I have greatly enjoyed the learning process here at OLSON. What a joy it is when you are set up for success, rather than failure.
Last week, I was asked if I wanted to help recruit people to get their photo taken for a new internal OLSON directory we have coming. I said sure, because who doesn't love getting to take people from their work for a moment of sheer joy and excitement while they get to pose in a corner and get their picture taken? That may have come across highly sarcastic. I assure you, that was not the intent. The way I saw it, I was going to get a chance to get to know people around the office better. So, this week came and I got ready to go help get people for their pictures. I found out that I was going to get to work with the Brand Lab interns on this project.
Are you familiar with the Brand Lab? Well, if you are not, you certainly should be! When I found out about it, I was rather impressed! The mission of the Brand Lab is to create opportunities in the marketing industry for students with diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Check out how they do it at http://www.thebrandlab.org/. This is not just another one of those millions of organizations. It is impacting communities and how people look at advertising.
Together with the inters, we called numerous OLSONites and asked them to come up to get their picture taken. Some people were serious, some people were embarrassed, some people smiled like you would have in the 4th grade, and others, well, others had their own ideas all together. My favorite one was the guy that asked me if he could take one picture with his helmet on, and another with his helmet off. Get this: it was so that he could merge the two together and have a picture with half a head wearing a helmet and half a head without. Ha. I love people who work in advertising. Never a dull moment!
The tip of the week comes from something that happened to me this week. Huh, shocker. :) The role I currently have is that of an intern, as you well know. In this current state, it has been pretty safe to say that the majority of things I have participated in within the last month and a half have been things that have been new to me. I have gotten used to not being the expert, to say the least. I ran into a situation this week, however, where I was able to be the mentor, in a sense. In what I was training other to do, I encouraged and coached them in a manner that would lead them on a pathway of success, rather than on a pathway of failure. Everyone learns better that way. The tip of the week is: Whenever you are in a position of leadership, find a way to train others in a way that encourages them to acknowledge the things they know, and makes them excited to learn the things they do not.
I have found that this tip has been executed by the people that I work with time and time again. Because of that, I have greatly enjoyed the learning process here at OLSON. What a joy it is when you are set up for success, rather than failure.
7.11.2010
OLSON--Week 6
Week six. The half point is upon us. To my fellow O-terns, I hope you have learned as much as I have! However, through my conversations with all of you, I certainly know that that is the case. It never ceases to amaze me how ten O-terns can have such vastly different experiences, while all being taught under the same roof!
We are going to start out our pool club, you know. They don't know that yet. Don't worry, I'll whip up t-shirts. Everyone wants in when there are t-shirts. You know, if I could pick one thing to spend time getting better at (inside), it would be pool. Have you ever heard that if you were to spend half an hour each day doing the same thing, you would become an expert at it over time? Even five minutes a day of practicing at something would be impressive as time progressed. What would you do? Ok, just to clarify, that was not a rhetorical question, just in case you were wondering. :) Go ahead, scroll down to the bottom of the blog, and let me know, fill me in. I'm interested to see what you will say. If we were getting to know each other and I asked you that question, what would you tell me? I promise it won't take more than a few seconds to respond. Winner gets a prize...
So, there were a few neat things that happened at work during the past week. For example, I was in the cafe getting my food one day, minding my own business, when one of the gals I work with let me know that I had something waiting for me up at the front desk. She said the people that brought it must have been my friends because they asked for me by name. So, together, we walked up to the front. I swear, I probably asked her, "and you're sure they asked for Kelli FARNAM, right?" five times before we hit the front desk. I anticipated seeing someone I knew, but did not see anyone waiting there for me. Not a thing. Well, except for a giant 12-pack of "Muscle Milk!" Talk about random. I hadn't even heard of it before that day. Found out that it's kind of like a mix between a protein drink and a milk shake. Not bad. Heading back into the cafe with that thing was pretty amusing. I felt like I was the cool kid with the new toy that everyone wants to play with. Ha. Everyone wanted to try it! Well anyway, that was the first cool thing. The second cool thing? Well, during our infamous Friday BBQ, we played another "Minute To Win It" game. This time, the contestant had to stack 36 cups into a pyramid and then take them all down and put them into a stack, all in under a minute. The team to do it in the fasted time would win! Ready, set, go. Right? You know what I like about the people at OLSON? I like the fact that they cheered louder for the people who didn't quite do it the fastest (but, might I add, were quite entertaining in their execution), than those who did. Well, I decided to try, and ended up winning. I have to say, it was pretty fun. :) But MAN was my heart racing when I was done. Ha!
Tip of the week? Gosh, this week was full of them. Lots of learning experiences. Lots of fun times. But, I suppose I have to pick one, right? Ok, here we go. Tip of the week: Go out of your way to meet someone new! Awww, cheesy. Now wait, hear me out. Now, I realize that every person is different, and there are more personalities in this world than there are seasons in Minnesota (and yes, Minnesota has MANY more than four seasons). However, no matter your life story or personality, you can go out of your way to make a new friend. You may think that introducing yourself to someone new will not gain you anything. And so may you think to yourself, why do it? Well, you know what I have discovered? I have discovered that there is more to life than doing things simply to gain something for yourself. Have you ever had someone who did not need to, do something nice for you, or go out of their way to meet you? Just makes you feel good, doesn't it? So, you know what I think? I think you should do just that. Go meet someone. Go do something nice even if you don't get recognized for it. Why not, right? The other day, I introduced myself to a lady who cleans OLSON after most people have headed home for the night, and, although I don't know her very well, I do know that she is really sweet. It makes me smile to think that I have made a new friend. It brings back the joys of childhood to befriend someone just for the sake of befriending them. You should try it. (And don't forget to answer my question in the second paragraph.)
We are going to start out our pool club, you know. They don't know that yet. Don't worry, I'll whip up t-shirts. Everyone wants in when there are t-shirts. You know, if I could pick one thing to spend time getting better at (inside), it would be pool. Have you ever heard that if you were to spend half an hour each day doing the same thing, you would become an expert at it over time? Even five minutes a day of practicing at something would be impressive as time progressed. What would you do? Ok, just to clarify, that was not a rhetorical question, just in case you were wondering. :) Go ahead, scroll down to the bottom of the blog, and let me know, fill me in. I'm interested to see what you will say. If we were getting to know each other and I asked you that question, what would you tell me? I promise it won't take more than a few seconds to respond. Winner gets a prize...
So, there were a few neat things that happened at work during the past week. For example, I was in the cafe getting my food one day, minding my own business, when one of the gals I work with let me know that I had something waiting for me up at the front desk. She said the people that brought it must have been my friends because they asked for me by name. So, together, we walked up to the front. I swear, I probably asked her, "and you're sure they asked for Kelli FARNAM, right?" five times before we hit the front desk. I anticipated seeing someone I knew, but did not see anyone waiting there for me. Not a thing. Well, except for a giant 12-pack of "Muscle Milk!" Talk about random. I hadn't even heard of it before that day. Found out that it's kind of like a mix between a protein drink and a milk shake. Not bad. Heading back into the cafe with that thing was pretty amusing. I felt like I was the cool kid with the new toy that everyone wants to play with. Ha. Everyone wanted to try it! Well anyway, that was the first cool thing. The second cool thing? Well, during our infamous Friday BBQ, we played another "Minute To Win It" game. This time, the contestant had to stack 36 cups into a pyramid and then take them all down and put them into a stack, all in under a minute. The team to do it in the fasted time would win! Ready, set, go. Right? You know what I like about the people at OLSON? I like the fact that they cheered louder for the people who didn't quite do it the fastest (but, might I add, were quite entertaining in their execution), than those who did. Well, I decided to try, and ended up winning. I have to say, it was pretty fun. :) But MAN was my heart racing when I was done. Ha!
Tip of the week? Gosh, this week was full of them. Lots of learning experiences. Lots of fun times. But, I suppose I have to pick one, right? Ok, here we go. Tip of the week: Go out of your way to meet someone new! Awww, cheesy. Now wait, hear me out. Now, I realize that every person is different, and there are more personalities in this world than there are seasons in Minnesota (and yes, Minnesota has MANY more than four seasons). However, no matter your life story or personality, you can go out of your way to make a new friend. You may think that introducing yourself to someone new will not gain you anything. And so may you think to yourself, why do it? Well, you know what I have discovered? I have discovered that there is more to life than doing things simply to gain something for yourself. Have you ever had someone who did not need to, do something nice for you, or go out of their way to meet you? Just makes you feel good, doesn't it? So, you know what I think? I think you should do just that. Go meet someone. Go do something nice even if you don't get recognized for it. Why not, right? The other day, I introduced myself to a lady who cleans OLSON after most people have headed home for the night, and, although I don't know her very well, I do know that she is really sweet. It makes me smile to think that I have made a new friend. It brings back the joys of childhood to befriend someone just for the sake of befriending them. You should try it. (And don't forget to answer my question in the second paragraph.)
7.06.2010
OLSON--Week 5
Dear OLSONites, friends, family, various website wanderers, hello and welcome to the fifth weekly blog posting of "Journey of an O-tern." In this posting, you will see drama, excitement, and the perspective of an enthusiastic redhead. Get ready, get set...CUT!
Cut? Yes, cut! Where did that come from? Well, I got to be a part of a TV shoot last week. It was such a neat experience! One of our clients was shooting an excitable little number on a street in Downtown St. Paul. I got to tag along and see what things look like from an account services perspective. What do things look like? Well, things looked quite movie-like, getting to see everything that was being filmed through a little TV that was set up in front of a few small rows of directors chairs. The clients, our creative and producer gentlemen, an account services gal, and myself all got to camp out in these chairs and watch what was going on. My job? Take it all in. Their job? Make sure the shoot was looking like it was supposed to. Everyone else's job, all 30+ of them? I am still trying to figure that out. I can tell you, however, that they all had a role vital to the production of this little number. How do I know? You should have seen them all bustling around; it was quite the site!
Getting back to the "cut." Every time the director yelled "cut," so did about three other people, one right after another. "CUT!" "CUT." "CUT!" "Cut." It took about all I had not to want to yell "CUT" myself! I, however, did not. One of the folks with me, however, told me it would be funny if I did. And I quote, "Now is your time to shine. Today, you just have to go all out and prove to them what your made of. Jump in whenever you want!" Ha. Made me smile.
Let's see, what else went on this week. Well, it was a short one because of the lovely Fourth of July this past weekend, which was wonderful, by the way! In the office people seemed to be pretty giddy with excitement of getting to go camping, roasting marshmallows, getting sunburned (which I did), or whatever Fourth of July-related activity they were looking forward to. Either that or they had already left. Going from pocket to pocket in the office, it was either filled with people talking and joking (and of course working all at the same time - hey, we are all multi-taskers here at OLSON), or completely silent because people had already headed out.
Now, I know there is at least one person out there reading this thinking, "yeah, yeah, yeah, funny times, but where is the tip of the week?!" Well, here you have it, to that one person (and don't feel bad, I learn from these things more than anyone), the tip of the week: Don't be afraid to jump into a situation even if you do not have one hundred years of prior experience in it. There will be times in life, yours and everyone else's, that the situation at hand requires more than what you think you've got - whether that be knowledge, time, or resources. And sometimes you'll be right in assuming that. Other times you'll be wrong. Hopefully it will usually be the later. Sometimes you'll hit a home run (because you rocked), sometimes you'll walk (because someone took care of it for you), and sometimes you'll strike out (because things just didn't go your way). And if the aftermath of the situation requires it, be willing to admit defeat and take helpful, guiding correction when you goof it up.
You and I are not the only ones to ever make a mistake. I think it's a side-effect of being human. I think it has something to do with how we are not perfect. But hey, your call is as good as mine.
I think the more important piece, rather than focusing on what you have done wrong, is focusing on how you can do better next time around. If every baseball player gave up his sport after striking out, we would not have our all-American game. You may not agree with that, but go easy on me, I do not watch baseball enough to know if there is a person who has never stuck out. This is an analogy people. Work with me. :) Point being: it takes stronger character to admit defeat and try harder next time than it does to run away pouting and never come back.
I may not be perfect. In fact, I may be an intern that just graduated in the Spring. I may even be significantly less knowledgable and experienced than the bright people I work with, but that does not give me an excuse or a desire to give up. On the contrary, I think I'll try harder. Good idea? Well, I hope you're thinking "yes," because that's what I'm going with.
Cut? Yes, cut! Where did that come from? Well, I got to be a part of a TV shoot last week. It was such a neat experience! One of our clients was shooting an excitable little number on a street in Downtown St. Paul. I got to tag along and see what things look like from an account services perspective. What do things look like? Well, things looked quite movie-like, getting to see everything that was being filmed through a little TV that was set up in front of a few small rows of directors chairs. The clients, our creative and producer gentlemen, an account services gal, and myself all got to camp out in these chairs and watch what was going on. My job? Take it all in. Their job? Make sure the shoot was looking like it was supposed to. Everyone else's job, all 30+ of them? I am still trying to figure that out. I can tell you, however, that they all had a role vital to the production of this little number. How do I know? You should have seen them all bustling around; it was quite the site!
Getting back to the "cut." Every time the director yelled "cut," so did about three other people, one right after another. "CUT!" "CUT." "CUT!" "Cut." It took about all I had not to want to yell "CUT" myself! I, however, did not. One of the folks with me, however, told me it would be funny if I did. And I quote, "Now is your time to shine. Today, you just have to go all out and prove to them what your made of. Jump in whenever you want!" Ha. Made me smile.
Let's see, what else went on this week. Well, it was a short one because of the lovely Fourth of July this past weekend, which was wonderful, by the way! In the office people seemed to be pretty giddy with excitement of getting to go camping, roasting marshmallows, getting sunburned (which I did), or whatever Fourth of July-related activity they were looking forward to. Either that or they had already left. Going from pocket to pocket in the office, it was either filled with people talking and joking (and of course working all at the same time - hey, we are all multi-taskers here at OLSON), or completely silent because people had already headed out.
Now, I know there is at least one person out there reading this thinking, "yeah, yeah, yeah, funny times, but where is the tip of the week?!" Well, here you have it, to that one person (and don't feel bad, I learn from these things more than anyone), the tip of the week: Don't be afraid to jump into a situation even if you do not have one hundred years of prior experience in it. There will be times in life, yours and everyone else's, that the situation at hand requires more than what you think you've got - whether that be knowledge, time, or resources. And sometimes you'll be right in assuming that. Other times you'll be wrong. Hopefully it will usually be the later. Sometimes you'll hit a home run (because you rocked), sometimes you'll walk (because someone took care of it for you), and sometimes you'll strike out (because things just didn't go your way). And if the aftermath of the situation requires it, be willing to admit defeat and take helpful, guiding correction when you goof it up.
You and I are not the only ones to ever make a mistake. I think it's a side-effect of being human. I think it has something to do with how we are not perfect. But hey, your call is as good as mine.
I think the more important piece, rather than focusing on what you have done wrong, is focusing on how you can do better next time around. If every baseball player gave up his sport after striking out, we would not have our all-American game. You may not agree with that, but go easy on me, I do not watch baseball enough to know if there is a person who has never stuck out. This is an analogy people. Work with me. :) Point being: it takes stronger character to admit defeat and try harder next time than it does to run away pouting and never come back.
I may not be perfect. In fact, I may be an intern that just graduated in the Spring. I may even be significantly less knowledgable and experienced than the bright people I work with, but that does not give me an excuse or a desire to give up. On the contrary, I think I'll try harder. Good idea? Well, I hope you're thinking "yes," because that's what I'm going with.
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