What makes Personify stand out is the culture of encouragement and responsiveness; we foster a culture where we support each other’s ideas and welcome the innovation of individuals.

Can you describe your career progression at Personify over the last 13 years?

I was originally part of A2Z Events, and then, we were acquired by Personify. In that time, I’ve held roles as a business analyst, product manager and project manager. I’ve led teams and started business units. I was always on the lookout for something new, keeping up with changes and challenges and identifying potential benefits to the business. My focus area was to look into what I could do to make an impact on a broader organizational level; moving in and out of different areas and learning as I went. In addition, I was continuously building relationships and expanding my network to ensure I was connecting with senior leadership and colleagues outside of my team, which greatly benefited me in growing my reach and securing my future.

I bring a solution-oriented approach, a deeper understanding of business issues, the ability to create traction through data, and the determination to do whatever it takes to get things done. That ability to overcome obstacles and go above and beyond is critical to accelerating your career here or anywhere. What makes Personify stand out is the culture of encouragement and responsiveness; we foster a culture where we support each other’s ideas and welcome the innovation of individuals.

What’s your elevator pitch for why someone in sales should join your team?

It’s always fun to be in the forefront, see where the business is growing, and pinpoint how I can contribute to our broader success. One thing that excites us as a team is understanding the client, not just from one department’s view, but looking into the data and processes to gain an enterprise-level perspective of an organization. I enjoy working with different teams across the organization, from go-to-market to finance, to client success, customer success, professional services, and strategy. I see our role as a Sales team as one that leverages information and insights to make a difference for the people at an organization.

How would you describe yourself as a leader?

I like to focus on two aspects of team leadership: individual development and team impact. I work with team members on how they want to grow personally and professionally. I want to empower them with the skills and knowledge they require to go out in the world and not just be competent but to thrive. As a team, we contribute to the success of the company; so I want to nurture a culture of collaboration, where together we are better than we are as individuals. The three principles that tie to Personify values, which drive my approach to my own career and leadership, are curiosity, accountability and forgiveness. If you are motivated to figure things out, inspired to get things done, and open to learning from mistakes, you will find deep professional satisfaction here. 

What do you like to do for fun outside work?  

I listen to the podcast Hidden Brain about how our brain functions and how we perceive things. It’s one of the four podcasts I always try to listen to. 

For fun, this summer, we have been very active as a family. I have two boys, and this was the first time we tried camping. They enjoyed it, so we went on a few overnight trips this summer.

Are there any insights or words of advice you would like to share?

As a people manager, I want to know: how can I alleviate the problems you are facing? What barriers can I remove, relationships can I leverage, and deliverables can I take on for you to do your best work? As a leader, if I can free up their time, I will because I know it helps them perform better on deals they nurture. It may not always be possible, but I do what I can. 

As an individual performer, I want to encourage others to get in front their leaders and the people their managers report to. Increasing your visibility and demonstrating how you contribute is the most straightforward path to career advancement. At the same time, a profound understanding of the culture and values, with a focus on the team goals, is also essential.

People of Personify

The “People of Personify” is a multi-part series featuring profiles and interviews with leaders and talented team members at Personify who are driving innovation for professional associations and event management partners.

The post People of Personify: Get to Know Ashish Jain appeared first on Personify.

One of Personify’s eight company values is service. It’s hard to find a colleague who embodies service more than John Rosa, a Principal Business Analyst at Personify and a Staff Sergeant for the National Guard. In honor of Veterans Day 2022, we salute John for his service to our country and our clients.

Why did you choose Personify?

Eight years ago, I was seeking an organization where I could grow my career. I didn’t have a technology or business analyst background but as a family-focused individual, a former elementary school band teacher and coach, and as an active Reservist –  I’m a member of the US Army and have been for 14 years – I had a broad range of skills. Personify was able to see my potential and chose to bring me on, train and mentor me. It’s a very unglamorous story; but at the same time, also one of the reasons I think Personify is an incredible place to work. This is a company that saw my ability to work hard, solve problems, achieve goals and take calculated risks. 

What do you get to do in your role that is unique?

I’ve been working exclusively with the Alzheimer’s Association for six years as a dedicated Business Analyst. I’ve been helping them build out a piece of software, gathering requirements and interacting with the entire Alzheimer’s Association, from Marketing and Finance to Business and Technology. My role is to ensure that what we’re customizing is going to work across the entire board. It’s a huge project, and I spend more time with the Alzheimer’s Association than I do with other Personify colleagues. They’re a massive client of about 1,500 employees who all have a stake in what they’re doing as an organization – it’s inspiring to be a very small part of that. 

How is the impact of the project you’re working on at Personify motivating? 

Alzheimer’s is a terrible, debilitating disease. I love that I get to work with an association that is making such a profound impact. 

Two years ago, I lost my dad to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). If you’re familiar with the disease, one of the leading thoughts is that these proteins called amyloids build up in the brain. While my father didn’t have full-blown dementia or Alzheimer’s when he passed, these proteins caused little micro tears. So, one day he was fine and then passed the next very unexpectedly. It’s a very real reminder to pause and remember that the work I’m doing is helping further the Alzheimer’s Project which is so much bigger than the little things that might throw off my day.

What’s something you or your team have accomplished this year that you’re proud of?

I really consider my team to be the Alzheimer’s Project team. We have a few offshore developers, two technical consultants, a project manager and two analysts, including myself. We’ve built this product out for Alzheimer’s over the last six years, and we are on the cusp of going live in February. Everyone is incredibly excited to have accomplished such an amazing feat, having put so much effort, energy and time into this for so long. It’s a little terrifying at the same time.

If you had to pick a book that related to your experience at Personify, what would it be?

Make Your Bed by four star Admiral William McRaven. He gave a speech at the University of Texas that went viral. The whole premise of Make Your Bed is to get up every morning and make your bed and know that you’ve accomplished your first task of the day. From there, you build on that small but significant accomplishment, getting things done. And, even if some of these tasks are unpleasant or go terribly wrong, you have the comfort of coming home and climbing into your bed that is made and ready for you. 

What I draw from this book is the importance of focusing on the fundamentals to work through this six-year long project that I’ve been a part of. It’s about one deliverable at a time and the impact each one can make.

People of Personify

The “People of Personify” is a multi-part series featuring profiles and interviews with leaders and talented team members at Personify who are driving innovation for professional associations and event management partners.

The post People of Personify: Get to Know John Rosa appeared first on Personify.

What was it like, transitioning from a small company to Personify? 

Small World Labs operated like a small bootstrap team, so we were all excited and cautiously optimistic about the potential more stability and money would bring. And when everything finally came together, the progress on the platform’s functionality and infrastructure was evident.  

What are projects or initiatives you get to work on that you find rewarding Personify?

I’ve had several different roles here; the opportunity to work on multiple aspects of the client experience and be involved in the evolution of the product from different angles is one of the reasons I stay.

When I first started, one of the areas that I enjoyed being a part of was the client success team on the CommUnity platform. The chance to work directly with clients and help them think strategically about how to leverage our tools was fun. I was able to draw on my background in nonprofit work when having conversations with Community Managers looking for innovative ways to support volunteers. 

In my new role, I’m the Manager of Product Marketing. It’s a fantastic opportunity to apply all of my direct and indirect knowledge from pre-sales market analysis, solutions consulting, and post-sales customer experience. It’s a very customer-centric role and, at the same time, product-centric; with the challenge of creating effective and meaningful messaging that helps people understand what our products can do for them in relatable, practical language. I’m really excited, because it’s allowing me to open up a better communication track between product and customers; create visibility into where we’re going in terms of new initiatives that can further their success – and ours.

What was it like being one of the first to work remotely at Personify? 

I had been in a consultative position for two and a half years, working closely with clients everywhere. There wasn’t an actual need for my having to go into the Austin office. So, I wrote a case demonstrating how my commitment and productivity wouldn’t be affected by transitioning to a remote role – and it was approved. Not only that, it didn’t hold me back from the next move here, which was as a team manager for an onsite group.

When we became a company of remote workers due to Covid, I had an advantage in several years of finding work balance, learning how to focus and turning off the screens. So, I leaned into onboarding people to the remote work world, encouraging them to maintain open communications, know their limits and be aware of their family’s needs and mental health during such a stressful, unknown time. Personify was a great company to be part of during this time, with a fantastic paid-time-off policy and newly implemented wellness days.

What are your passions in life, and do you get to bring any of your influences to your role?

I am deeply committed to helping people, particularly those in the nonprofit world, solve everyday problems or growth challenges. For example, I was in the Peace Corps in West Africa, building communities and relationships for further development and serving on the board of directors, as well as other leadership roles for several nonprofits. 

I want to have influence, to see the difference I’m making and Personify has allowed me to do so. We are absolutely a fast-moving technology company; but we are also a services company. I can draw on my consulting abilities, my love of connecting with people and channel my empathy and curiosity to innovate solutions. It’s a very rewarding position to be in, where I can learn about different initiatives, the challenges our clients are running into and be able to offer solutions that I’ve seen work in the past. Right now, I’m able to connect the dots between past use cases and new technical features, and carve these clear paths to success for not just one client at a time but whole sectors. 

If you had to pick a song, book, or movie title that represented your experience here, what would it be?

There’s a historical drama called, A Little Bit of Chaos. It’s about building the gardens at Versailles. To me, working here, while we have clear direction and strategy from our leadership, there’s always a little bit of excitement, a small dose of the unknown, that fosters our creativity. Not everything is always perfectly in place. The kind of people who thrive here are the ones that enjoy the opportunity to shift a little one way or the other, to come up with something fun or something structured depending on the need. We have the stability of this bigger company, but we’re still able to retain the best parts of being a responsive smaller product company. 

Why should someone join Personify?

It’s truly an exciting time right now, at Personify, with a new leadership team fostering an energetic, highly collaborative space. As people who work directly with our clients – with the communities, having your voice heard, and your opinions taken into consideration, that just furthers the level of professional satisfaction you feel here. Knowing that we continue to innovate new products and scale our services, creates a career path of opportunities for anyone who joins us – and I’m excited to see what we are going to do next, how we are going to help and empower our clients further.

People of Personify

The “People of Personify” is a multi-part series featuring profiles and interviews with leaders and talented team members at Personify who are driving innovation for professional associations and event management partners.

The post People of Personify: Get to Know Benjamin Morton appeared first on Personify.