Once upon a time when I was a child, I harbored grand ambitions of one day becoming a Great Writer. Oh, that’s right. Not just merely a piddling, published writer or even a good writer. Oh no. A Great Writer. Producing a work of staggering genius that bedazzled and one day having the Pulitzer, Booker*, and Nobel on my mantle. Legions of fans at every book signing who’d clamor for my autograph and queues would wind around the block. Maybe even host the Hugo Awards.
Well, while that particular life path never quite came to fruition, I did continue to nurture a love for reading.
Growing up, I read everything I could. Staples of childhood included the incomparable Calvin and Hobbes, as well as Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Redwall. As a kid, my folks always made a point of having a magazine (Time) or the newspaper (The Bozeman Daily Chronicle) lying around. And so it was a hobby that’s followed me through my adolescence (an Ayn Rand stretch—some high fantasy, right there), college years (Stephen King! Lev Grossman!), twenties (The New Yorker years; Andy Borowitz!), and now even married and working life (The WSJ and non-fiction, most recently). In summary, my story is like every avid reader’s: Through thick and thin, good books have been at my side through and through, in even a way my friends and family have not; at this point, my favorite books have outlasted jobs I’ve held and relationships I’ve been in.
In fact, funny but true: One of the only reasons I’d even initially submitted my resume and application to InfoTrust was because I’d learned that cofounders, Michael Loban and Alex Yastrebenetsky, had in fact authored a book. Now mind you, it was a book about analytics and digital transformation, a space I at the time knew near-nothing about. But it didn’t matter. I bought their book regardless and read it cover-to-cover. It simply mattered to me to know that I was joining a company whose leadership could string together a compelling tale about something they considered important to the laity. Who could spell the word, “coffee”, correctly. Co-founders who’d conduct a Google Partner interview in the OB waiting room of a hospital while waiting for Alex’s son to be born.
The love of reading and writing transcends profession, socioeconomic class, and geographic boundary. No matter who you are or what you do, picking up a book and diving into its world is humanity at its finest. Plenty of people have waxed poetic about reading and writing so I’ll leave the revelry here. But as the old Jim Rohn saw goes:
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
So it mattered to me that whatever outfit I signed up with next possessed a love for the written word and a passion for pursuing curiosity equal to my own. Did they know all four Houses at Hogwarts? Were they fellow Tim Ferriss fans? Who’d they subscribe to on Substack? I knew I’d spend more of my waking hours at the InfoTrust office and with fellow InfoTrusters than I would with my own family. Thus, I considered it critical that I’d join a place with people who loved reading, the pursuit of knowledge, and curiosity as much as I did. Nothing less would suffice!
Happily, I’m glad to report, InfoTrust fit the bill!
When people write about “company culture”, they often spill a ton of ink on extolling the wonders of the ping pong table, comfy sofas, and unlimited beer in the fridge. (And yes, at the InfoTrust office, similar to the Room of Requirement, there is indeed a magical fridge in which beer simply does materialize when you require it most.) But while these creature comforts certainly help, at the day’s end, it’s people who make up your culture. And even more importantly: It’s what your people do.
Here’s what InfoTrusters do:
We have a dedicated #culture-harry_potter_superfans Slack channel, such is our love for the Wizarding World.
We have a monthly book club led by our intrepid VP of Client Success, Stacey Shiring, and every month, on company time, we gather for an hour to share what we’ve read (or listened to or watched). Additionally, on the company dollar, there’s an approved book list all InfoTrusters can request personal book procurements from. Digital or hardcopy!
Also, for folks who are keen on saving the planet and more into borrowing books (or Marie Kondo’ing), InfoTrust has its own small lending library nook! Simply borrow any book you please and then just return once you’re finished.
At the end of Book Club each month, Stacey then spins The Wheel of Destiny and the winner receives loot in the form of a gift card to … you guessed it … purchase more books!
Finally: We not only have a dedicated #culture-wordle Slack channel but have also built a custom InfoTrust Wordlebot to record all of our daily Wordle scores and keep track of streaks!
So when you set off on your next adventure if you’re job-hunting, ask yourself: Who do I want to be around? Do I enjoy learning about the wonderful and the wacky? Is my curiosity about the vast world around me being sated on a daily basis?
If this seems like your crowd, then InfoTrust may be the place for you! As the author Seth Godin puts it:
*In my fantasy world, this was even before the Man Booker had expanded its criteria to include American writers. Dreams are too big for reality!
