So we’re heading toward the office of a client for a meeting. We were in the historic Halle building in Cleveland. It was a beautiful fall day, and Jeff Mamula, our Director of Business Development and I had just walked up to the third floor on the open sweeping staircase when he asked me, “George, what are we doing?”

And this is what I said….

“Funny you should ask that, Jeff. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and I think it’s pretty simple. I think we are helping companies and non-profit organizations to meet their potential.

“What we are doing is trying to show a plastics manufacturer that marketing is as important to its business as the arc welder at the end of the production line.

“What we are doing is building Five Star Websites* that really rock, connecting the consumer and business
with streaming video, animation and social media, and making it a virtual experience that moves them to buy.

“What we are doing is raising awareness of the value of our non-profit clients’ work in the community.

“What we are doing is creating affordable marketing for libraries and community health centers and social service agencies that help enable that single mom to go back to school, get a degree and become self-sufficient.

“What we are doing is shooting videos that demonstrate the magnificent way our client’s solar energy product works 10 times better than their competitors’.

“What we are doing is creating brand identities like BikeTown and Green Team and Solar FlexRack.

“What we are doing is watching our clients hire more people because orders increased due to the search engine marketing campaign we created.

“What we are doing is connecting fans of the Canfield Fair as far away as California through Facebook and other social media. I tell you, Jeff — when I saw those fans come back to town so their kids could taste the fair food and see the animals and ride the rides, it really hit me what a difference we’re making.

“What we are doing is research and online surveys that help businesses to better understand their customers.

“We’re creating animations that show how a Baird Brothers door is built or how a solar array opens up — animations that a few years ago you’d only see come out of places like Pixar and Dreamworks. Now we create 3-D sales tools with animation.

“Jeff, I think the bottom line is this: What we’re doing is helping Americans achieve the American Dream.

“Does that answer your question, Jeff?”

And Jeff said, “Not really, George.” And I said, “No?”

And he said, “No, what I meant is, what are we doing climbing three flights of stairs when we could have taken the elevator?”

Stay tuned and stay smart.