Celebrating (And Honoring) 2018 Goals

There are seven core values which drive everything we do at SHIFT. These values encourage us to be connected, honorable, creative, smart, positive, dedicated and fearless. Even before an employee is hired, we ask a series of questions to ensure their cultural fit, as finding the right person to join our family is more important than just filling empty seats. We hire based on values; we fire based on values.

We also like to honor and celebrate the pursuit of new goals – both personal and professional – that help strengthen those core values. We recently asked our Boston office what actionable goals they have for 2018 and the responses did not disappoint.

Some responses really stood out to our Cultural Committee (CC), whose purpose is to facilitate everything from happy hours to holiday celebrations in each of our four offices. After reviewing the list of 2018 goals, our Boston-based CC decided to play Oprah and help make a few goals become reality. Here are the highlights!

Goal 1: Learn Spanish

Pete Buhler, Creative Director, let us know he hopes to learn Spanish AND go to Spain, sell all of his Bitcoin before it crashes, and help his daughter sell the most Girl Scout Cookies. While the majority of our office is already helping Pete and his daughter make good on his Girl Scout Goal (any Samoa fans out there??) SHIFT awarded Pete with a one-year Rosetta Stone subscription so he can be one step closer to Spain. ¡Hurra!

Goal 2: Learn to cook

Not going to lie – we feel a bit bad for the better half of newly-wed Dave Heffernan, Account Director. Dave let us know he was interested in learning how to cook, given he can only handle “hot dogs and bowls of cereal” right now. His (and his wife’s) wishes were granted in the form of a cooking lesson at Sur La Table – go, Dave, go!

Goal 3: Learn to knit

This next goal might have something to do with the current weather in Boston (read: cold, dark, windy; your face hurts as soon as you go outside, etc.) but Senior Account Executive Kit Rodophele let us know she’s eager to learn how to knit this year. Who doesn’t love handmade hats and scarfs? We sure do, so we hooked Kit up with a local knitting class. Can’t wait to see what you knit, Kit!

Goal 4: Focus on personal artwork

We’re a firm believer that anything you do outside the office to strengthen values and skills will have an intrinsic impact on everything you do inside the office. When our talented Senior Graphic Designer, Sarah Muscarella, let us know her goal for 2018 is to, “Work on [her] personal artwork and build up enough of an inventory to participate in a local art fair of some kind,” we said, “Get ittttt.” We also gave Sarah a gift card to Blick Art supplies so she could stock up on art supplies. Can’t wait to see your work at a local show, Sarah!

Goal 5: Learn to play guitar

When two SHIFTers expressed similar 2018 goals, we decided to honor both and cannot WAIT for the 2019 Grammy’s. Both Nick Patterson (Marketing Analyst) and Erica Conover (Account Executive) let us know they’d like to learn how to play guitar, so we gave them both private guitar lessons. How could we not when Erica told us she, “…asked Santa for a guitar, in the hopes that it will push [her] to learn a new instrument and continue doing something that at one point in [her] life was such a part of [her].” Go forth and conquer, both!

What are your 2018 goals? If one is to find a new career, you’re in luck – we’re hiring in Boston, Austin and San Francisco!

Emily Mong
Senior Marketing Analyst

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