Atlantic Business Technologies, Inc.

Category: ABT Culture

  • How to Convince Clients to Like Your Creative Ideas

    [pull_quote]Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. -Michael Scott [/pull_quote]

    Creativity in the tech world is an interesting beast. Everyone wants to use it and claims to love it. But it also causes a great deal of fear, leaving creative employees struggling to be heard. If you are that person, this post, by an experienced marketing writer, will speak to you. 

    When I first decided I wanted to be a writer, I imagined the hardest part would be coming up with good ideas. Back then, creating a new idea meant summoning elegant words, phrases, and story out of nothing more than my daydreams and boredom. Where did the really great creative writers get their ideas? It all seemed like an impossible mystery—which didn’t stop me from wanting to try.

    Times are different now. For one, I’m a marketing writer by profession, so I mostly write for hire. Two, finding ideas worth writing about is easy. There is a tsunami of shared information on social media to mine from. Plus, I’m lucky enough to have knowledgeable colleagues and clients. They always have something interesting to discuss. Then there is the remarkable surplus of quality marketing websites available. And three, I no longer imagine great ideas simply appear out of nowhere. They show up from making connections between people’s wants, fears, and every sticking point between.

    Then there’s the fourth thing that I know now. The hardest thing about being a successful writer for hire is not coming up with a good idea. It’s not even executing on that good idea to make a quality product (though that does take time, effort, and practice). No, if I had to name the hardest thing about writing for hire, it’s getting your client to like your idea and pay you to produce it.

    The Trouble with Good Ideas: Risk

    You know how the pitch process goes. You enter the room with the perfect concept for a client’s new project or campaign—it’s inventive, compelling, and will drive lots of sales. All you need to do is convince the client this idea is worth their investment—which can be really, really hard.

    Why? If you like the idea enough to champion it, shouldn’t that alone speak to its quality? If it inspires you enough, then it’s likely creative, different, and promises to actually be fun to carry out. The trouble is, words like “new”, “creative”, and “different” are all dangerous trigger words to most clients. These words all suggest that the idea lacks a proven track record. Clients may also not immediately recognize the idea. This is most likely intentional on your part. You designed the idea to not be like what the client or their competitors did in the past.

    Here’s the dilemma: you’re proposing something risky, and your client has been trained for years to avoid risk unless it’s proven to be minimal. If you want to sell a client on your idea, you need to prove your potentially risky idea is not that risky after all.

    So, how do you do that? Here are my favorite strategies for how to present your good idea and win your client’s approval so you can actually execute on it.

    How to Pitch Your Ideas So Clients Will Actually Listen

    1. Connect your idea to your client’s brand

    It’s amazing how often creative workers come up with imaginative, unique ideas without thinking about the client’s brand. They present the work with little regard for how well it actually matches the client’s style and voice. The simple truth is that not all great ideas are great fits for any client. Consider a cybersecurity company that prides itself on being no-nonsense, cover-all-the-bases, serious experts. They won’t be happy with a snarky campaign that uses a lot of funny one-liners. On the flip side, a slick 3D animation that never shows a person’s face is not going to work for a brand that focuses on personality.

    As any good writer knows, it’s vital you consider your audience when pitching an idea. Show them how your idea honors their work. Make it clear that it captures their company’s tone, history, and style. This helps your bold new plan seem less like a departure. It now looks like a natural extension of what your client is already saying and doing. In fact, bonus points if you can point to a past campaign of your client’s that links to your idea.

    2. Support your idea by linking it to good ideas that have come before

    This point can seem like compromising your creative vision. After all, what’s less imaginative than pushing an idea based on something another company is already doing? My advice is not to copy someone else’s approach but rather support your idea by showing how it might perform. To mitigate risk in the mind of your client, you need to show how your idea not only will work, but that it has already worked in other situations.

    Before you present your idea, look for examples you want to use from similar brands or industries. While you’re unlikely to find a campaign or ad exactly like your brilliant idea (if you do, your idea might not be as original as you thought), it’s not too hard to show examples that match the tone or style of your big idea. If your client likes your examples, they’re that much closer to agreeing to your creative pitch of a related idea.

    3. Show how you will verify this idea is successful

    If the first two points are about mitigating risk, this tactic is about proving your idea works. In the age of big data, it’s essential you can describe how you will analyze and measure the success of your approach. Provide details about the assets you propose to make, the way you will monitor user engagement, and how you will adjust or alter your approach based on how your client’s customers respond.

    Volumes of blogs and guides have chimed in about how to digitally measure success. However, as you decide between click-through-rates or downloads or new sessions to verify success, keep this in mind: the metrics that most matter to your client are how many leads and sales your campaign generates. You might not be able to directly prove your big idea drove sales without an actual consumer survey about your campaign, but you need to be confident your idea will improve the client’s bottom line.

    4. Emphasize how your idea will stand out—positively

    Consider this a counterpoint to linking your big idea to past successes. If your idea begins to feel too similar to other campaigns, you will need to describe details that set your idea apart. The best way to do this is by doubling down on how you link the client’s brand to your approach. Your client will want to feel like you’ve crafted a custom campaign that’s tailored to their company, so be specific about how your idea will represent their brand well.

    5. Demonstrate enthusiasm and commitment to your idea

    As the creator of your big idea, it is up to you to be passionate about your vision and make that passion infectious. Tell the story of how you came up with the idea. Share the reactions from your teammates. Paint a picture of what this successful campaign will look like. This is the kind of enthusiasm that’s essential to creating truly memorable and effective campaigns—and the same kind of enthusiasm you should present in your pitch and elicit in your client.

    More importantly, you need to communicate to your client that you are invested in this idea’s success. No one wants to partner with “an ideas guy” who proposes grandiose schemes then becomes suspiciously absent when tough challenges arise or the idea needs rework. After all your research, data, and imagination, you must show your client they can count on you to own your big idea and put in the work to help it succeed.

    It’s not risky, it’s just new

    Let this be your underlying mantra as you present your ideas. While these tactics aren’t guaranteed to win your client over, each one represents a different tool to show your client that your potentially risky idea isn’t that risky after all.

    If you want to hear more about the power of creative ideas and how they can best serve you, we have plenty to share. If you have a plethora of creative content you’re struggling to get out into the world, we’ve got your back.

  • The Best Way to Save Your Company is by Phishing Your Coworkers

    It’s easy to think that an email phishing attack wouldn’t fool us. Or that our friends and coworkers know how to identify a suspicious email.

    But like a lot of our work at Atlantic BT, we don’t really know how well we’re prepared until we run some tests. So, how do you test the human side of IT security? You run your own phishing scam on your coworkers and record the results.

    How I Ran My Phishing Test

    Before you call the police, no, this blog post is not a confession that I’ve turned to a life of crime. I used a free tool from PhishMe. Then, I was able to conduct a convincing phishing test. My targets? Every one of my coworkers at ABT, including the CEO and President.

    PhishMe Free allows you to send a fake phishing email to as many as 500 users by importing a list of emails. You can design your phishing email using 18 different templates. Afterwards, you can then schedule when you want to send it. The app will measure how many recipients open the mail and how many click the phishing link inside it. For my test, I sent two different emails more than a month apart. The results were very different.

    The first test sent an email in the middle of the workday. It notified the recipient that their inbox was “over the limit”. The phishing link inside the email was threatening. “Click here to increase your mailbox size or you will lose your account within 24 hours.” Results of this test were encouraging. 65% of my colleagues opened the email, but no one clicked the phishing link. This particular phishing attack wasn’t fooling anyone.

    The second test delivered less positive results. This email arrived at the start of the workday. It referenced a suspicious credit card charge. The email also offered to let the recipient trace the progress of a package, as it made its way to its destination. 67% of my coworkers opened this email, and 21% actually clicked the phishing link. Had this been a real attack, our company could have been in trouble.

    What I Learned from Phishing

    Our main lesson here was that even a tech-savvy company, like ABT, is vulnerable to phishing. Without testing, you won’t know how susceptible you are to a phishing attack until it already happens.

    Here are some other observations from this test:

    • Timing could matter: The first test took place in the middle of the day. But, the second test began before people were arriving for the day and checking their email. The more successful test was a part of all the other morning emails employees deal with first. The lesson here is about timing. It’s especially important to watch our for suspicious emails at peak communication times. Then you can judge each email’s impact and risk on an individual basis.
    • Content matters: This means that the content of the phishing email is a critical clue. It can determine how susceptible your employees are to the scam. The worry over an unauthorized credit card charge struck a deeper nerve. The lesson? Teach your coworkers how phishers target their victims. Manipulating emotions, curiosities, and worries are all part of their attack strategy.
    • Response plans are important: A few users notified IT when they suspected an email attack was underway. But, they were unsure how to proceed after. It’s important to be able to find weak spots in training and policies. Education and regular testing helps us to find those vulnerable points. It also helps to remind employees to be vigilant. It’s a good idea to have protocols for how to respond to this kind of suspicious activity.

    Cybersecurity is necessary in our hacker dwelling world. Being prepared and aware makes all the difference. Our team of experts are ready to help you with the knowledge and experience they’ve gained in the real world and with phishing tricksters, like me.

  • How to Ask Better User Research Questions

    Research is an invaluable tool in any area. It can give you insights and unexpected inspirations, identify problems and potential solutions, and guide you through your development and design process. However, when research isn’t focused, it can also lead you astray.  This is because research by itself doesn’t solve problems—it provides more information about a problem.

    This in mind, the key aspect of any research you conduct is the question you ask. If the question your research tries to answer is precise, clear, and something that can be tested, perfect! You have a solid foundation for a great research study. But if your question is broad and vague, you’ll get a broad and vague answer. This is not useful when trying to solve a problem or design a product.

    Since the underlying question is such an important aspect of research, how do you make sure you ask the right one? What things do you need to keep in mind when designing a study to make sure you get the answer you need? In the spirit of asking good questions, here are five pivotal ones you should consider when developing your main research question.

    1. Why are you doing research?

    Deciding what you want to know is the first step to designing any study. Why are you doing this research in the first place? What information do you need to move forward with your project? Write this research goal down, phrasing it as a question if possible.

    For example, say you’re starting a research project to evaluate the navigation of a new website. You want to make sure the navigation makes sense to your users and they can find what they need on your site. In this case, your starting question could be as simple as, “Does my website navigation work?”

    2. Can you make your research question more specific?

    You have your original idea written down. Now, see if you can make it more specific.

    Take our example question: “Does my website navigation work?” What do you really want to know about your website’s navigation? What does the navigation need to do in order to work? How will you know if your navigation doesn’t work?

    When considering all these supporting queries, you’ll be forced to focus on the most important aspects of your research. Perhaps your more specific question is: “Are my navigational terms clear to new users?” or “Is my visual design clear and navigable for new users?” or “Can new users attempting to complete a specific task navigate to the correct page quickly and efficiently?” The new question could even be a combination of all three.

    The goal here is to give yourself a research question that includes details about how you are going to answer it.

    3. How will you find your answer?

    Now you have a question describing the true purpose of your research. How are you going to answer it? The specific question you developed in the last step forces you to consider what you need to know. This is important when creating a quality study design.

    Your specific question should already tell you some of the research aspects your answer needs to address. The question “Are my navigational terms clear to new users?” tells you your study will include participants who are new to your website. You will be assessing how easily they can navigate your site. Therefore, your research focus is on the navigational terms.

    In this case, a tree test could be a good testing method. Tree tests allow users to focus on the navigation outside the context of the website’s design and functionality. It shows you where users are interpreting navigational terms differently than anticipated.

    However, a tree test would not be a good way to answer the question “Is my visual design clear and navigable for new users?” In that case, usability testing could be a better option as it allows users to experience the navigation design in the context of the entire website.

    Before deciding on a testing method, consider the kind of information each one provides, and whether it will answer your core research question.

    4. What will you do with the answer?

    You have a question and a plan to answer it. But what will you do with the answer once you have it? Knowing how you will use the answer can inform how you design your research. Maybe one piece of information would be really interesting to know. However, it couldn’t actually be implemented into any design changes or solutions. Therefore, any method design probably shouldn’t prioritize collecting that information.

    For example, in our navigation study, you know you will use any information gained to improve the website navigation. During testing, it may be tempting to ask users about other aspects of the website, such as features or solutions that would be helpful for them when they’re attempting to complete a task. But because this study is focused on navigation, make sure anything you ask your participants will help answer questions about that topic and that topic alone.

    If those feature questions are really important to ask, start back at the beginning with the new focus in mind. You don’t have to try to answer every question with one research study.

    When dealing with surveys as a method of research, you will face the challenge of analyzing open responses. You may consider tapping into tools to assist with NLP survey analysis.

    5. Does your plan need revising?

    Sometimes when reviewing your question, testing method, or how the results will be used, you realize your original research plan wasn’t quite right.

    Maybe the best testing method isn’t possible due to resource constraints. Perhaps the results wouldn’t have been useful anymore based on new changes to the project. These things happen even to the best-planned projects. Before you go ahead with your testing, you need to pause to make sure all your planning still applies.

    If you find that your plan needs to be adjusted, try starting again at the previous step. For example, say you realized that using a tree test to assess your navigation wouldn’t tell you what you need to know. Instead of rushing to pick another method, take a step back and look at the specific question again. What is it that you’re really looking for? Does the question mention that information?

    If the question needs revision, fix it before you fix your method. Make sure you’re always grounding your research by knowing what you’re asking and what the answer will tell you.

    Test Your Research Question

    You’ve got your question, you know how to test it, and how you’ll use the answer. The first part of your study is complete. You’re ready to test!

    If you’d like to learn more about the testing process or are ready to take the next step in architecting your project, contact our team of research analysts. We’re ready to help you get started.   

  • Gain Blog Freedom and Peace When You Show Non-Writers How to Write

    When you have a small team working to do big things, individual goals can become overwhelming. One writer, trying to keep the company blog current and consistent, found a way. He brought non-writers into the fold. Here’s how he managed it.

    For two years, I was the only writer at my company. If you want a web app developed, a homepage designed, or any kind of user data analyzed, we have a team for that. If you wanted to actually write about any of these things, my company came to me.

    On my best days, this was the greatest of power trips. I decided how we described every part of our organization. Our philosophy and ideal way of working, all worded by me. I’d craft content about the kinds of customers we looked for. Or, I’d wax on about how we bend the internet to the will of all sorts of forward-thinking companies. I was able to create a voice for the company.

    On my worst days, I felt like an alien. Here I was, trying to make my way around this planet where the dominant language was javascript. And storytelling? It only mattered if it convinced someone to give us more money. Like when I arrived at the office one day and found an 87-page sales proposal in my inbox. It came with only one comment: “Use your writer magic to edit this!”

    Is Good Writing Magic?

    don draper screaming internally in frustration
    After you get done screaming about editing a huge proposal, you realize your sales guys have a point about writing.

    And after I got done screaming on the inside, I realized they have a point. Writing is magic. If I put together the right combination of words on a blog post or sales doc, I can convince someone to do something. For example, hire us. Writing, that is compelling, is not something that anyone can measure or quantify. Good writing is more art than science. I usually feel my way through my writing rather than calculating each word or phrase.

    But how can you teach magic? I’m not Dumbledore, in that regard. But if I’m the only wizard capable of casting word magic in my company, I’m going to burn out and fast. It would be impossible to not get overwhelmed by how much my colleagues need my help. So what’s the answer?

    Pull back the curtain on the magic and show how you do the trick. If writing is magic, then magic is actually the product of proven techniques which can be shared, repeated, and relied on. Now all I needed to do was coach my non-writers to write. Here are four tactics I found that made this teaching and coaching process work.

    1. Break Down the Writing Process

    If there’s one thing technical workers love, it’s a reliable process. As a writing coach, the more I can illustrate the individual steps to writing something clear and compelling, the easier it will be for my colleagues to follow it.

    At Atlantic BT, the writing process I teach involves four steps:

    • Come up with ideas and narrow them down to your core topic.
    • Outline a blog post about the idea.
    • Draft this idea.
    • Revise the idea until it’s ready to publish.

    I drew these steps from the writing process I learned in high school—begin with a thesis, outline 3 to 5 points which prove your argument, then draft and revise. Each point in your outline should include additional information to explain why they matter. It isn’t necessary to go into a ton of detail, but the more you write down in an outline, the easier the first draft will be.

    Naturally, outlining isn’t the only way to write. But if you’re at all nervous about writing a blog post (and most programmers are), outlining your ideas in advance is the best way to prevent the frustration that often makes aspiring writers quit. Why? Because every time you feel unsure of what to write next, you can go back to your outline—it’s your map into the wilderness of unwritten ideas.

    Once my colleagues have an outline, I encourage them to write a first draft as quickly as possible. The most important qualities in a first draft are speed and honesty. Speed prevents you from making excuses for not finishing what you started. Honesty ensures this first draft reflects all the ideas and feelings that led you to write this idea in the first place. Those things in mind, an aspiring writer’s main goal with a first draft is to finish it; her secondary goal is to make it the best reflection of her idea as possible.

    2. Make Writing an Incentive for Everyone

    Writing, even at its best, is hard work. It takes dedicated time, concentration, and the willingness to open yourself up to criticism from the entire internet. Even highly successful authors struggle with the self-confidence and discipline to write; acclaimed fantasy writer George R.R. Martin admitted that he sometimes wondered if he should quit writing and become a plumber—and this after writing numerous bestsellers and inspiring one of the most popular shows on TV.

    If writing is a tough challenge for veteran authors like Martin, how daunting do you think writing a blog post will be to the average PHP developer? He’s got to overcome this fear before he even gets started. So how do you motivate him to try?

    The most direct tactic is providing some kind of incentive. You could have a weekly writing contest in which anyone who works to get a post published on your blog receives a small cash reward. You could even take it a step farther. Every two months, the most popular post on your company blog (as measured by page views) could win a cash prize. By awarding the prize publicly, you can give each aspiring writer a little more motivation.

    Another important incentive is to publicly recognize every single writer who carries a blog draft to publication. The simplest way to do this is by emailing or messaging the company to congratulate the new writer on his/her work getting published. However, I also like to tell my colleagues in our weekly company stand-up about our latest blogs so everyone can applaud the new writer to his face. The more you communicate that each person’s voice matters, the more likely you will recruit more writers for the blog.

    3. Provide Time for Writing in the Workday

    However, a little cash motivation won’t cut it if you’re asking a programmer to spend his or her own time with the difficult work of writing on top of regular tasks. If you want your employees to contribute to your company blog or other writing areas, make time on your employees’ schedules for writing blog posts.

    This isn’t as simple as having a “free-writing hour” every day in the style of 8th grade homeroom. After all, you still need your programmers and technical types to keep up with existing projects, and losing an hour every day can hinder progress.

    Instead, check in with your employees regularly to see if they have ideas for a blog post. If someone wants to write, the best thing you can possibly do is make time for them to do so on the schedule. This is especially true if their idea will help promote the expertise and value of your organization. By showing how your programmers not only have big ideas but also know how to write and communicate about them, you’re showing off the value of your company in a way that puts your people first.

    4. Coach Your Colleagues 1:1, Especially on Revisions

    If you ask anyone who has never taught how a teacher passes along knowledge, they’ll probably say something about giving a lesson in front of a class. If you ask an actual teacher, they’ll tell you the best learning happens in one-on-one conversations.

    I learned this lesson the hard way. Atlantic BT gave me the opportunity to run my own writing class at lunchtimes once a week (free food included). I prepared fun presentations, came up with great GIFs, and offered the group all kinds of ways to generate ideas and blog posts. My colleagues had fun, took notes, and seemed eager to give blog writing a try. The only problem was they weren’t actually writing—weeks later, new drafts barely trickled in.

    I had given my coworkers a good pep talk and some tips to get started, but my enthusiasm and advice weren’t enough to motivate my friends to do the hard work of finishing a draft. Instead, I began to approach my friends one-on-one, asking them about their ideas and how the writing was going. I then scheduled a meeting between me and each writer who was working on a draft.

    The difference was remarkable. Once I began to meet and talk through a draft with an aspiring writer, we could quickly put together an outline on a shared Google doc. From there, it was easy to help them craft an introduction, string together paragraphs, and end on an action-oriented conclusion.

    Democratize Your Blog Today

    I now have another content writer on my team (“Hello, everyone!” -Other Content Writer). However, we could not have gotten our company’s blog content to this point had it not been for the Account Executives, Developers, and other technologists who helped write blogs for the ABT site. Their voices are a crucial part of what makes my company unique, and it’s one of the best parts of my job to help them share their ideas on our site.

  • How Propper Went From Better to Best

    Propper is a company used to leading.

    In the last 50 years, Propper had perfected their product. As a result, they were now a worldwide leader of tactical gear. The high quality of their work spoke for itself. They had earned impressive government contracts. Also, a robust civilian market had grown as a result of Propper’s dedication to their vision. They didn’t need any help with what they were selling.

    Yet, their eCommerce site hadn’t kept up with their business. It felt outdated.  Its interface confused shoppers, making it hard to navigate. Also its infrastructure frustrated its back-end managers.

    If Propper’s website was a soldier in the field, it was facing heavy fire.

    Something had to change. Propper needed backup. That’s when they called Atlantic BT.

    “Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a Prussian tactician who adapted war theory for bigger armies and better firepower. In many ways, the work our user experience departments did for Propper’s customer workflow and server load balancing, is what Moltke did for the battlefields of the Victorian age.”  —Stewart Arthur Pelto, Atlantic BT Senior Business Development Manager

    Any military aim requires two things: strategy and tactics.

    The Strategy – The Plan

    Before we could give Propper’s website an overhaul, we needed to gather some intel. We engaged in our reliable discovery process and we learned a lot. We figured out their long-term goals and the nature of their site traffic. Especially relevant was discovering customer habits and buying patterns. We needed to know why so many customers were abandoning their shopping carts. Rather than completing their sale, users were leaving their desired products behind. They wanted to buy from Propper but they weren’t making it to the finish line.

    Propper’s store wasn’t connecting with its customers the way it could. The UX was difficult. The B2B and B2C websites were not communicating, and there were too many top-level domains. Also, there was little room for growth. This wouldn’t work for a company that was, without a doubt, on the up and up. 

    We weaponized this information and developed a multi-phased plan of attack:

    • Develop a user-friendly website that would grow with the company
    • Determine a domain strategy
    • Streamline the checkout process
    • Move to a stronger eCommerce platform such as Magento and Amazon Web Services. Such an update would support the increased traffic.

    The Tactics – The Execution

    Prepared to the max, we strapped on our bulletproof vests and jumped into the trenches. We:

    • Rebuilt the site’s interface, creating a beautiful, modern, and simplified user experience. This included improved mobile capabilities.
    • Moved Propper’s online store to a Magento 1 platform. This provided customized plug-ins and themes to fit their needs.
    • Found a partner vendor skilled in M3 technology and with Magento experience. It was now easier for Propper to manage the inner workings of their new platform.
    • Combined their ERP systems with their eCommerce store, syncing store and online inventory.
    • Created an ongoing marketing plan, using display ads and Google’s shopping listings. We also incorporated coordinating email marketing campaigns.
    • Developed stronger site analytics and security. Room for company growth was provided through Amazon Web Services.

    We stayed in constant contact with Propper’s team to offer insight, as well as fix any technical issues.

    The Results

    We saw results almost immediately after rolling out Propper’s slick new website. Within a year, we had proof that Propper’s customers were measurably happier:

    • An 80% increase in monthly site revenue
    • A nearly doubled conversion rate
    • A strengthened partnership between Propper and ABT. We continue to track the site’s upward progress. We also assist with marketing, analytics, security, and complete site improvement

    By designing a strong and flexible solution to a very common problem, we gave Propper a leg-up. We couldn’t be happier with the revamped Propper.com, and we know that they agree.   

    We are proud to announce that ABT’s Magento developers have succeeded with a new update. Propper’s eCommerce store is now running on the Magento 2 platform. This provides Propper’s store with even more power and flexibility. With increased stability, functionality, and data-gathering, this is an eCommerce win. This new technology will reinforce Propper’s eCommerce campaigns for years to come. With team coordination and development ownership, ABT has empowered Propper. They can continue to focus on their strategic goals and grow their business with the right tools to do the job.

    Learn more about Atlantic BT’s ability to build custom eCommerce sites.

  • True Service, Seen and Shared by a Veteran

    Service. Think about that word, what it means. There is a reason we use the word “service” so often in connection with the armed forces. In honor of Memorial Day, I wanted to take some time to unpack the idea of service and what it means to me as a veteran and as a person.

    The Meaning of Service

    “Service”, by definition, means doing something for others. People thank us for that. Military service is so honored because it can extract such a high price from those who serve. However, outside the armed forces are many people currently serving others in many, many ways. These people also make sacrifices, large and small. The military taught me much about this. Thinking about it can help us all to have a better understanding of the service mentality – what it means to serve others.

    When people thank me for my service, I say “I’m grateful to have served.” I learned and gained a lot from my time in the military. But, as I’ve gotten older, the one lesson that has stayed with me is a deeper understanding of service to others. For this lesson, I am most grateful. I serve now in other ways, as a manager for ABT’s User Research team, as a Zen chaplain at NCSU, and as a dad. The roles are vastly different, from protection to nurturing. However, the principles that go along with service—focus on needs of others, teamwork, dedication, and even some sacrifice—remain the same.

    Find Your Path to Service

    In all cases where I have served, then and now, I’m honored and grateful to have spent my time doing something important for others. Service to others brings additional depth and meaning to life. Therefore, a life without service is a diminished one. That in mind, I urge you and everyone else to meditate on this idea: as you grow and find your path, find some way to serve others.

    Finding your path to service doesn’t necessarily mean enlisting. In my career at ABT, I’ve been gratified to work alongside our partners in government and education. I find their dedication to improving the lives of everyday citizens and promoting knowledge among students, to be deeply inspiring. Choosing a career that works in these critical areas of the community is a noble way to serve others with your professional energy.

    Perhaps you have already found the career you want. Your path to service might involve volunteering for a cause that matters to you. At ABT, my colleagues volunteer their time and energy to raise money for cancer research, local theatre and performance companies, children with special needs, and even animals who need care or loving homes.

    Ask yourself what cause lights you up and inspires you to want to help. That will start you on the path to truly understanding the meaning of service for your own life. I hope you will continue your journey towards helping others on Memorial Day and every day thereafter.