
Not Just Words
I’m new here. My name is Laurie Tolboom, and I am the new Marketing Coordinator for Slate Group. The fact that I’m new here is mostly insignificant. The only reason I’m telling you that is so that you’ll realize that things I’m writing about in this post are truly my first impressions. (If you want to read a little bit more about me, read this blog.)
I’ve worked here for about a month, which is enough time to start truly getting a feel for a company. I feel like starting to work for a company is kind of like dating. Everyone puts their best foot forward at first, but eventually the curtain starts slipping and true personalities are shown, for better or worse.
When I first walked in for my interview, I saw wall graphics with motivational sayings like:
The huge “Inspire” on the wall was what initially caught my attention, but the view from the conference room into the production area with the wall graphic “Let’s Do This” was what cheered me on during my interview.
Coming from a company that wasn’t the most motivationally orientated, I questioned whether or not these graphics truly represented Slate Group or if they were just things put up on the wall so there would be something there. From when I sat down for the interview to now, several weeks into the job, it has been consistently clear to me that those aren’t just words on the wall, but they truly represent how this company operates. The previous marketing coordinator did a truly amazing job coming up with ways to demonstrate the core values of Slate Group through several methods, including interior decorating.

During my interview, Trey Laverty explained how Slate Group believes in creativity and developing personal relationships between their sales team members and clients. He pointed to this wall graphic in the conference room and said this was a project for the sales team. They received pieces to the puzzle over the course of several weeks and had to work together to puzzle this wall graphic together.
As mentioned in a previous blog, changing the Fish Wall was not a decision they made lightly. (You can read about it here.) But the end result of “Inspire” written on the wall creates an impact that I remembered from when I walked in for my interview, to when I started my first day, to now. When I walk past it, I remember that my ideas won’t be shut down. They will be taken as valuable thoughts. They will probably change and evolve, but the end result won’t be “just something to do,” but instead it will truly be a product of inspiration, from start to finish.