It’s Valentine’s Day and who can resist the chance to wax poetic about well….love. Our team has spent a lot of time (definitely not surfing the internet) on market research (definitely not looking at your Facebook pictures) to figure out how to capture your attention in today’s culturally sanctioned sea of squishy, kissy, chocolate-covered digital affection.
Just because we’re a business shouldn’t stop us from getting in on the action and having some professionally appropriate fun right?! Don’t worry, this message is approved for a general audience and was composed after I personally combed the HR manual for a quick refresher on the line dividing bedroom and boardroom conversation. Note: walking the line is NOT crossing the line. Or, so saith Johnny Cash. (I may be paraphrasing).
Deep breath….what the heck – WE LOVE YOU! ::gasp::
Consider this our collective jumping out of the closet (definitely recommend it), professionally appropriate, crowd-sourced, crush-confessional. We’ve tapped into the shared wisdom of our entire team to find out what it is about you that is so irresistible. After all, any one of us could have chosen a career in animal activism, shoe manufacturing, or circus arts. Instead, we hone our craft in the world of business, helping startups make a mark on the world. You entrepreneurs must be pretty cool to have us all so smitten.
We wanted to express our sentiments with interpretive dance, but we’re not very coordinated. We thought of sky writing, but couldn’t get approval on an all-office around the world trip. So, we did what you would do. Put on our, “there must be a way” hats and started with a simple email we circulated around our office. Like you, our team members each get about 26,782 emails a day so we kept it simple and chose a “fill in the blank” survey method. Sometimes (but, not often) we have to sacrifice “statistically valid” for “100% participation.” Each employee was asked to complete the following sentence:
“Dear entrepreneur, I think you are great. There are a lot of things to like about you. But, since I have to pick one, the quality that most impresses, inspires and endears me to you is your: _________________.”
And, then a little magic happened. And now, we present the 1st ever, in almost 20 years, Palo Alto Software public display of affection. (#bizcrush2013)
I really hope you are blushing because the positive vibes were flowing in our office all day thinking of you. And, just when I thought being likened to, “a dream chasing gazelle” could not be topped, a true poet emerged from the realm of unknown colleague talents. A spoken word magician if you will – posing by day as our LivePlan head of sales. The man is Jason Gallic and he represents all of us – in his words and his rhymes on this day – Valentines!
Let’s keep the love going. We invite and welcome your comments, tweets, dances, poems and love notes right here. Or, you can start your own valentine shout out to entrepreneurs using the hashtag #bizcrush2013
Happy Happy Love Love
– from all of us at Palo Alto Software
