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EMPLOYEE GUIDEATLANTA

We know it takes a little while to get into our culture, so we thought we’d help you out. We asked a brand-new writer to put down his thoughts during his fi rst 22 days. Okay, that writer is me, actually, and this is the last section I wrote. The rest is part handbook, part journal, and hopefully really relevant since I was probably feeling what you’re feeling now. So check it out and enjoy your fi rst 22.

HEY. WELCOME TO 22.

Ok, you feel like an idiot. Temporarily, of course, but for now, you can’t remember if it was Jim or Joe or Jed or Moe you just met or why your password won’t work or where you’re supposed to be next or where the bathroom/co� ee/elevator/stairwell/printer/anything is but you’re smiling all the time because hey it’s your fi rst day and you don’t want anybody else to know you’re an idiot and okay you’ve got the computer working and it was Jim, not Moe, and you fi lled out most of the forms and they took you to lunch and everybody’s cool and you’ve got your pass thingy so you feel less visitor-ish and you actually remembered that the big door is a push instead of a pull and by the time you leave you realize you just started a really great part of your life because this place is pretty cool. And you’re not an idiot at all. Now where did you park?

DAY 1

NOTES

THINGS I DON’T GET: Everything.

Client Leadership (transl. Account Management). Campaign Management (transl. Tra� c/Project Management). Performance Solutions (transl. UX, Analytics and Search). Yeah, it’s like going to Mexico. You can still speak English, but you’ll need to memorize a few key words to order a taco. Of course there are reasons why they speak di� erently here, most of them tied to the fact that they think di� erently here. You will too. Be patient. Oh, and if people start wondering out loud if you’re an E or an I, that’s part of a personality test they may have you do to help you and others to interact better. Does that sound cool to you? Yeah? You’re probably an E.

DAY 2

22 ACRONYM I HAD TO ASK ABOUT: SET: Southeast Toyota.

NOTES

So, you’re over the new employee blur and now it’s time to do stu� . But everything seems kind of clunky. It’s going to. Relax, nobody expects you to know everything all at once or, actually ever. Because everyone here is learning, all the time. That’s one of the things that make this place so great. It’s never perfect because perfect isn’t perfect. Perfect means stopping. And stopping sucks. So, relax. You won’t be judged for trying too hard. And you’re good at what you do. That’s why they hired you. And they’re really picky. Did we mention that you need to relax?

DAY 3

CLUNKY THINGS I DID TODAY: Spilled soda on my pants because the bathroom

door handle required less pressure than I realized.

NOTES

Warning. When you innocently ask somebody “Hey, what’s there to eat around here?” you think you are asking a simple question with the usual fi ve option answer. Oh, no. You’re about to get a passionate discourse on the culinary merits of every eatery known to modern man. And the food trucks. Whoa. It could take a lunch hour just to hear about the food trucks. So just cut in and say, “That sounds good.” And go try it. Then, in a couple months, when a new person asks you what there is to eat around here, sweet revenge.

DAY 4

BEST PLACE TO EAT: Yes.

NOTES

We’re in the most vibrant, exciting part of the largest, most cosmopolitan city in the Southeast. An area where accountants rub elbows, accidentally, with hipsters, where fancy restaurants compete with street food, where even the homeless people are enterprising. It is a food, bar, theatre, shopping mecca. So go. Leave. Explore. Have lunch, after-work drinks, take a walk, get out, breathe. Then come back, feeling like you’re part of something bigger. Because you are.

DAY 5

FAVORITE PLACE TO BE: Outside.

NOTES

This place is alive. Alive as in busy and alive as in constantly rethinking how things are done. There’s an energy that you’ve never felt before, as if everybody is really connected to everybody else, not just digitally, but in spirit, too. And constantly moving.

DAY 6

FUN THING TO DO: Sit at the 15th fl oor cafe couches in the afternoon

and just watch people come and go. Better than reality TV.

NOTES

That’s the biggest di� erence you’ll fi nd here. In most places, you’ve got your poseurs, your squeaky wheels, your worker bees and your coasters, the people who just sort of do the minimum and let everyone else carry the load. Here, there’s a di� erent attitude. An energy. People are excited. And the place is always moving forward. That’s because nobody’s just riding. Everybody’s always pushing. Pushing yourself, pushing ideas, pushing limits. It’s refreshing and a bit of a kick in the pants.

DAY 7

COOL VIEW: The lights of the city from anywhere in the o� ce.

NOTES

It doesn’t take long to feel like you’re part of this place. To start saying “we” when you tell your friends what’s happening here, instead of “they.” Because what’s happening here is pretty cool and you’re starting to be a part of it.

DAY 8

FUN CHALLENGE: Memorize a few names on your map of the agency,

then take a walk around and see what they look like.

NOTES

No, really. What’s next? They never rest here. I mean, they sleep at night, sure, but they’re always building, never repeating. After every meeting, they ask what worked, what didn’t and what can be done better and then, move on. They think of feedback, any feedback, as a gift, a way to go forward.

DAY 9

CLEVER-SOUNDING THING I JUST THOUGHT OF: Mistakes are the fuel for success.

NOTES

Why is it such a great place to work? Because the people who work here think it’s a great place to work. And being surrounded by people who want to be here makes it a great place to work. Does that make sense?

DAY 10

PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION: If a doughnut is left in the kitchen and

nobody sees it, does it exist?

NOTES

This is big. A lot of agencies say they want to be the leaders, but they aren’t set up to allow that to happen. We’re independent in ownership and in attitude. We make our own rules. We don’t have to “check with corporate.” We are corporate. And our corporate is anything but corporate. So we don’t have to compete with ourselves to be the biggest mouthpiece in a meeting. We’re making our way in the world, pushing what’s possible. It’s a little scary. But the rewards are much, much bigger.

DAY 11

“WHAT IF” IS THE REASON YOU’RE READING THIS.

NOTES

Finally, you can stop feeling the need to introduce yourself. You can also stop wondering if they’re all whispering about you. They’re not. And maybe it’s time you started showing o� some of those quirky habits. Wear the funky shirt. Bring in the toilet-shaped co� ee mug. Unveil that tattoo you never remembered getting. Take a phone call from your honey without running to the restroom. You’re one of us. It’s what makes us all interesting. What’s that smell? Is it new person? No, you stepped in something this morning. Good, you’re real. Stay that way.

DAY 12

Today I made a bad pun out loud and everyone groaned.

It was so liberating.

NOTES

You’ll soon find out that the people you don’t work with, you do work with. Because there are no walls between departments, just doorways, made of glass. And we all have the same goals. So Social has to be really creative and Creative has to be really social and just about every project involves just about every department from the get-go.

DAY 13

DEFINITION OF INTEGRATED: All hands on deck.

NOTES

So you’re three drinks in and your team just won the latest round of ping-pong/Pictionary/whatever game was available and you’re talking to somebody from another department about that movie you both love and saying things like “I know, right?” and your new work buddies are giving you head nods and fi st pumps and a group is forming to keep the party going and you’re thinking, “I actually like these idiots.”

DAY 14

FRIDAY BEV BAR:When our media partners invade our o� ce with alcohol.

NOTES

We’re all moving this place forward. So spend a little time each day figuring out where the future’s going and how you can help us to shape it. Go online, see what’s new. Download the apps the teens are into, try ’em out, keep the ones you like. Make a cool avatar. Sign up for everything social. Get connected to what’s happening out there. ’Cause that’s what’s happening in here.

DAY 15

TIP OF THE DAY: Go online. Find out something that nobody else knows yet.

Rub everyone’s face in it.

NOTES

It’s more of a movement than a company. And you’re a supporter as well as a mover. Feel free to join whatever function, group, sport, event or even hallway gathering you fi nd interesting and fun. We’re a social company. So go socialize.

DAY 16

CHALLENGE:Take a picture of your new space and post it.

NOTES

The big glass doors open away from the kitchen. That way, when you’re bringing food or hot co� ee somewhere you can just push. Or just look up to see if there’s a little metal bar in front of the metal plate on top. That means push, too. There, now the world can continue to revolve.

DAY 17

22 CUSTOM:Holding the door for people. It’s appreciated

and increases core strength.

NOTES

They love friction here. The good kind of friction. The kind that doesn’t slow things down, but makes things better. That doesn’t make enemies, but lifelong friends. The kind that can stir a roomful of ideas into a sum that’s so much greater than the parts.

DAY 18

PHILOSOPHICAL NUGGET:Two gently butting heads are better than one.

NOTES

It’s an agency meeting where people share what’s happening. And don’t worry. They aren’t going to call out your name and start clapping like a T.G.I. Friday’s birthday party. Just go and listen and enjoy being part of something bigger.

DAY 19

TOWN HALL:“Hear ye, hear ye.”

NOTES

You want to prove yourself. You want to show you know what you’re doing. That you can hit the ground running. And yet, there are a lot of little things you don’t know yet. Like where’s the cream for the co� ee? So, ask for help. People like to help. And they like people who aren’t perfect. So you’re actually helping them by asking them to help you. Does that help?

DAY 20

ME: Where are the phones?ANSWER: Your laptop is a phone.

ME: I knew that.

NOTES

This place was designed for interaction. Creativity. Sharing. But there are times when you just need to escape to the privacy of your own thoughts. Good, it was designed for that, too. You’ll see people camped out in corners, booths, cafe tables, conference rooms, other people’s desks. Still connected but less distracted. And that’s cool. You won’t look like a tool for checking out every once in a while. It’s expected.

DAY 21

NOT A LIE:Tell your friends you have a corner o� ce with

an amazing view of the city.

NOTES

So you’re on your way in to work. And you’re thinking about that deadline you’ve got to meet and that email from _______ that’s actually gonna help you meet it. And you’re already planning lunch in your mind. And trying to fi gure out if you can go to that thing somebody from 22 invited you to next Saturday. And even in your thoughts, you’re using 22 lingo and when you stop and think where you were 22 days ago, it’s like you’ve become a whole di� erent you. A quicker-witted, more progressive, more energetic, more in-the-know you. And you like this you a lot better. 22 days at 22. Yeah.

DAY 22

THE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT MY FIRST 22 DAYS:How fast they went by.

NOTES