Meetings and more Passion

Yikes. A busy week of meetings this…Four yesterday, four today, four tomorrow, five on Thursday (including a dinner) and one very long meeting on Friday.  Whew.  But it’s all part of learning.

Passion rules.  Yes. In every meeting this week, the week before, and the weeks before that, the passion for NC State is  palpable which is great for me.  As I like to tell people, my job is pretty simple; I’m helping create disciples for NC State.  And to create disciples, you start with the believers…that would be alumni, faculty, staff, students.  You know, those who have experienced the Wolfpack up close and personal.  It may not always be beautiful, but it’s our pack.  Our family.  We are the true believers.

Hunt Library groundbreaking

The owner of my old agency at Florida said it was pretty simple.  You want to convince people to love you…to love what you do.  Why, because when people love you they think about you first…and last.  Everyday.  They are also willing to forgive your mistakes; overlook your shortcomings.  And lord knows we all make mistakes.  They also want you to succeed.  They cheer you on, provide advice and counsel.  All that good stuff.

So when the agency asked me today what I thought we should be doing with the NC State branding campaign, I said it was pretty simple.  We should be creating disciples for the university.

We start with — no, we focus on — the true believers until we’ve got them in a position where they can go out and advocate on our behalf, right alongside those of us who do it at work.  Actually, we want them to do it at work too.  We want them to do it over the fence with their neighbors. We want them to think about NC State in the morning, at noon and at night.  It might just be a grin when we see the Wolfpack bumper sticker on the car ahead of us, or the NC State polo on the guy or girl the next table over.

We’re not asking for much, here.  We’re not selling life insurance, canned fruit or automobiles.  Just reminding people of the passion that a place like NC State creates in people.  Passion around the work we do.  Passion around the lives we influence.  Passion around…well, passion around everything NC State.

Passion Rules!

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