Category Archives: Let’s Be Adults

What is your why?

16th May 2011

A little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend Chick-fil-A Leadercast, an all-day event in downtown Atlanta that brings together some of the best and brightest in leadership thanks to my amazing coworker, Lindsay Reene and her friends at the UGA ILA.

One of the best questions of the day for me was “What is you why?” Not your what, your why. Why do you do what you do? Not what do you do. It’s tough question, a year out of college, my answer should probably be, to pay the bills, but it’s not.

Dave Ramsey shared a few thoughts on finding your passion in your daily workplace that I feel we can all challenge ourselves with, and hopefully find our why in the process.

1. Dreams matter: Remember when you were little and there was no doubt in your mind that you were going to be a ballerina despite having no dancing capabilities (maybe that was just me). Think like a kid again, set lofty goals and stick to them, things don’t have to happen tomorrow.

2. An excellent team matters: Luckily, I have an amazing team who teaches me every, single day. Take the time to learn about those around you, learn how you can grow from them and how you can help them grow in return, you never know where a small gesture will take you.

3. Slow and steady wins: It’s not always about big numbers, big clients, or being the boss, sometimes just sitting back and taking your time is all that you need to move forward.

4. Be generous: You never know when going the 2nd mile will make the world of difference. Go the extra mile on to touch up that powerpoint document, or put the extra thought into the brainstorm and don’t forget about the people who need your help along the way.

5. A higher calling matters: Take the steps to ask the way, to find where you want to be, because that’s how you will get through the tough days.

Finding why you have made it to where you are and where you see yourself going in the future is no easy task. It’s not a sudden realization but a series of baby steps, and I hope I can continue to apply some of these types of leadership to my own professional journey and live that way everyday.

365 Days In

9th May 2011

It’s been exactly one year since I became a University of Georgia alumna, yet it certainly doesn’t feel like 365 days. A lot has happened in the past year and I could not be happier with path I have started down.

Graduation always seemed like a terrifying step, and indeed it was, but as with everything else in life, it always works out just the way it’s meant to. To the class of 2011, (or any other class for that matter) here’s a little about what I’ve learned so far during my first year of the real world:

  1. Follow your gut: I know, cheesy right?  It’s true. Don’t settle for the first job offer, or the tenth, if it doesn’t feel right. The job market is tough, I’m sure everyone has heard that a time or two, but the right fit is out there for everyone.
  2. Be patient: Following your gut may take a while, but in the end, it will be worth it, promised.
  3. Make life a priority: If working in the non-stop agency world has taught me anything, it’s that I could literally work 20 hours a day and not run out of things to do. Sometimes it’s hard to leave the office at six or resist emails on a Saturday, but do it. Your body, your mind and your boss will thank you when you are rested and can work at your fullest potential.
  4. Step out of your comfort zone: If anyone had told me a year ago I would be attending new business pitches to talk to total strangers, I would have told you you had two heads. Sometimes trying something totally terrifying can lead you to discover a passion you never knew had.
  5. Build relationships not connections: Business cards are great. Getting 20 at an event and not remembering a single conversation isn’t. Make connections by building relationships with others, it’s harder, but it will pay dividends in the future.
  6. Keep learning: For me, sometimes this is as simple (or difficult depending on the day) as checking Twitter. Find out with other people are up to and learn from them.
  7. Have fun: If you’re going to be at work for at least 40 hours per week, have a little fun while you’re there, even if this means YouTube video breaks in between meetings with the DIG team.
  8. Learn what other people do: Sure, I’ll probably never know how to build an iPad app, but learning what other people bring to the table helps to understand the company and constantly be amazed by how much smarter everyone I work with is.

I’m 365 days in and I know I certainly have a long way to go to really make the list above a reality for my professional life each and everyday, but the excitement is in the pursuit. I cannot wait to see what the next year, or 40 bring for my career and all of the amazing people around me that I have been blessed to have along share it with.

How Marriott failed at customer service and gave me a family member

8th May 2011

Preface: This is one LONG post, so apologies in advance. But I promise there are two stories involved, and I think at least one is pretty awesome. Hopefully you will too.

I’m a digital native to nearly every sense of the phrase. For example, I don’t think I have visited a real bank location since I opened by account at age 16 and my answer to anything and everything seems to be Google. So last week when I had to opt to book a hotel for an upcoming wedding over the phone, I was out of my comfort zone to say the least.

I was using a group code that would not work online and opted to quickly call and make the reservation. As soon as I hung up the phone I joked with my roommate on how uncomfortable I felt sharing my information with a stranger, when in reality that stranger is likely a 1000x safer than any untraceable Internet form.

Here’s where the story splits and adds in a little irony.

Later that night I received a forwarded email from [email protected] vs my [email protected] email address.  J had forwarded along my Marriott hotel itinerary that had been sent to her email instead.

A small mistake, but one that would certainly not have been made online.

The first thought that came to mind was that conversation about security with my roommate. The foreseeable “safe” route had now potentially compromised my personal information to a complete stranger (maybe not complete, we will get to that later in the story).

Naturally, I contacted Marriott to alert them of the situation. I asked to have A. my confirmation number changed so my information would not be public and B. the correct email address put on my account so J wouldn’t have to continue to receive my bothersome hotel emails.

After a quick response from Marriott, I learned that A. the information wasn’t personal, only my hotel dates and location were shared and B. the only way I could change this would be to cancel my reservation and try again or sign up for their rewards program, where they may be able to help.

Now, I’m not the type to gripe about little errors, after all, I really just wanted my email changed, but poor customer service led me down a rabbit hole of discontent, so let’s back up.

I can cancel my reservation and make a new one (and risk this happening again? I know a pebble of a chance, but really? No thanks) or join the Marriott Rewards program (because the help has been stellar so far and I’d really like to book again in the future, say five minutes from now? I’d rather not). I opted for neither and haven’t received any further communication from Marriott.

Now every story has a silver lining. And I know this post is getting quite lengthy, but believe me, after that rant, you’re safe to know the rest of the post will be worth it.

My last name isn’t common. In fact, I have never met someone outside of my own relatives to spell Dennihy the same way. After receiving my hotel confirmation from J, I quickly emailed her back first thanking her for not being a crazy person, since you never know who’s hands information could fall into these days, and second to share my thoughts on the namesake.

After back and forth emails, J finally suggested we look each other up on Facebook to see if we had any family member in common. Surely that would settle things. Low and behold it did. Two of my close cousins turned out to be mutual friends even though J had never met them and they simply friended every Facebook user with the name “Dennihy” about a year ago. J and I exchanged family names trying to find the connection.

I made a quick call to my Dad sharing the information to learn that J’s Grandfather was my Grandfather’s only brother. Even more interesting, our family had since lost touch with her father and since my Dad was a kid. Wow. J and I exchanged information, which confirmed the connection, and suddenly I learned of a whole new set of family members of which I had never known.

I shared the news with my Grandmother, who was ecstatic to say the least. So there you have it, again digital wins. Thanks to an email chain and social networks, I have uncovered an entire side of my family I never knew existed. Even if Marriott fails at customer service, at least I can find comfort in the fact that they shared my information with a rather interesting stranger (better yet, a newly discovered third cousin).