When Hewlett-Packard asked me to join them in 1979, I was an eager writer, editor, and photographer with a couple of years of experience under my belt. I'd been working under contract for HP to produce a bimonthly newsletter for the 1500 employees who volunteered as college recruiters. The high-tech revolution was underway and the big players were competing fiercely to hire freshly- graduated engineers and MBAs.
Accepting the offer seemed like a great way to expand my experience by working for a reputable, resume-enhancing company. Being asked to set up and manage a small department was a bonus. Twenty years and tens of millions of "marketing impressions" later, I was ready to move on.
Looking back, I recall that many of my colleagues who moved on to new ventures spoke of having graduated from the "University of HP". So it was for me. The HP Way, a key competitive advantage at the time, encouraged professional development and employee practices based on trust. In addition to receiving extensive schooling in project management and direct marketing, I was trained in all aspects of managing, and then asked to run a 15-person Marketing Communications and database department. Challenging new assignments kept things interesting. Then the Internet blossomed and I found another fascinating learning curve to climb.
When an opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance to join the brand-new HP spinoff, Agilent Technologies. This presented the opportunity to work with a new audience - employees. At Agilent I became convinced of two things. First, my true professional love and inspiration is outbound marketing communication. Second, I found myself ready to work outside the corporate structure to help business owners and business communicators create communication vehicles that get results. Scott Anderson + Associates was born. |
