Congruent

The Ides of October, not oft opined on, but still consequential. A fresh-faced Brian Payne was hired on October 15, 2018. Since then, his efficient pen has gotten right to the heart of our clients. They feel seen and sometimes even see themselves just a little bit clearer after hearing their value proposition in his words. Additionally, he excises bloated phrases like “not oft opined on” from our company’s copy, keeping communications intelligible and preventing our sentences from running on too longly. Thanks for all you do, Brian! Happy workiversary!

I unsubscribed to the work/life balance mentality years ago. It isn't that I don't believe in balance, just the opposite. I just saw it being abused as an excuse too much. For me, I've adopted the mindset that taking time off with the right mindset and being intentional about why (family, personal renewal etc) is the best thing I can do to be my favorite version of me in every area. I've been the leader of my companies for the last 20 years. I still feel that little cringe when I take a day off...not because I'm scared, but because my work is meaningful and the people I work with everyday see it that way too. I've never been in the military, but it seems like the same reason soldiers feel bad about letting their fellow brothers and sisters in arms carry the load for a minute so they can take a breath. I see that feeling as a blessing, not something to try and eliminate. For me, it's an indicator of meaningful work and purpose. Even still, I'm taking Monday off, am super excited to be in the mountains w my family...and still feel a little bit of missing out on being in the fight w my people at Congruent and ASOTU | More Than Cars The best things in life should have healthy tension. If there is no tension, there is no story. If there is no story, what are we even doing?! I hope Nathan Southwick has the best days off ever! We're cheering you on and have your six. #pto #hardwork #purposedriven #asotu #morethancars

It's official! I'm retiring my green banner. 🎉 👋 I've hit the ground running as Congruent's first Social Media Strategist. It's been quite the week getting my feet under me. Even so, I've felt nothing but warm welcomes and eager support from my new teammates. My sincerest thanks to Robin Moore, Paul J Daly, and Peter Schultz, SHRM-CP for seeing my worth and trusting my vision! I can't wait for what's to come. 🕺 🪩

What should we get James for his fourth anniversary here at Congruent? We’ve got traditional gift theme suggestions of fruit and/or flowers. Google further informs us that electrical appliances would be an acceptible modern theme. Does anyone know where I can pick up a guitar pedal with a botanical theme? Maybe the Sunflower Deluxe Tremolo? Hopefully, a social post expressing how invaluable and appreciated he is will do the trick. We can’t start showing favoritism…or can we?

Today, Congruent would like to express gratitude for the great work each of our team members contributes every day! Thank you for the unique excellence you all bring to your position! Now, enjoy a well-earned day off!

Remote work only would be the death of me. I know that’s not the case for everyone, but this moment today made me smile. Packed parking lot means… lots of people in the Congruent / ASOTU | More Than Cars HQ today. There’s lots of hustle and bustle as I bounce from checking in on agency clients, planning out Season Two of the More Than Cars Docu-series, recording podcasts, putting together a prospectus for ASOTU CON 2025 (asotucon.com) , and printing our first ever ‘Love People More Than You Love Cars’ order for an entire dealership. Just a crazy, busy, happy Wednesday. Work is what you make it. #hardwork #startup #creativeagency #inperson #rto #automotiveindustry

🌟 Celebrating a Year of Creativity and Leadership 🎨 Life as a designer can feel like a blur, with new clients, new visions, and new roles to explore. But amidst the chaos, it's important to pause and appreciate the milestones. Cheers to Christine Stadler for a year of driving creative projects, innovating, iterating, collaborating, and delivering top-notch results to happy clients. Your natural leadership skills have made you a valuable asset to our team at Congruent. Here's to many more successful years ahead! Happy anniversary, Christine! 🎉🥂 #CreativeLeader #MilestoneCelebration #CongruentTeam

This got me good. Even if you’re not a car person, You’ll get the joke at the end. Do you have a favorite? (Mine was the Lexus, but when I saw one in person at a car show, I thought it felt small in person.) PS: give ‘4runnerlifestyle’ a follow on insta :) #automotiveindustry #carguy #cargal #cardealership Toyota North America Lexus Tesla

Seriously. If you want to work directly with me and the Congruent team to push the boundaries on professional social media strategy and execution (strong emphasis on LinkedIn), please apply! (The job is in Syracuse, NY but for an absolute rock star...I might be able to be flexible) I'm hoping there is someone in my network who has the passion, personality, and professionalism to give everyone something to talk about. (if you know someone who should apply, please mention or share this...I'll personally send you something special if we hire them) MUST have experience and a good track record of success on multiple platforms, especially LinkedIn. We have amazing clients who see us as true partners and there is never a dull moment (in a good way). Is it you? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e9wYjyDE #hiring #postcreativestrategist #socialmedia #strategist #marketing #fonts

🎙️How car dealers can help you disappoint your wife...a consumers view. Recently I found a car online that my wife loved - Sent her pics (the color combo she loved most) - Told her it could be moved from one market to another so we could test drive it locally...(extatic) Then the dealer let me know the car wasn't for sale, because it was already sold. Now I get to tell my wife. I talk, write, and think about situations like this in my work with ASOTU | More Than Cars and Congruent. This time, I get to feel the consumer side. And I think the word 'feel' is better than 'experience', because it's a personal thing for a man to provide moments that bring joy to his wife. And even in that moment, I accomplished that for a brief second. Now I get to do the opposite. All because there isn't much incentive for a car dealer to be quick on taking a listing down once a car is no longer for sale. Why? >Transitioning to CONSUMER MODE - Let's assume that I don't have an inherent empathy for the industry (I love it so much!) or understand the double edged sword of the situation (leads vs peoples feelings). I know finding a solution to this particular issue is much more complicated than a consumer would ever care to understand. But for now, I'm a regular ol' consumer) My wife will surely sigh an 'aw man' and move on with life, but what happens to my trust level as a consumer of that dealer? The dealer just changed the tone of trust in the relationship. There wasn't transparency, and I have no trust...actually worse, I have distrust. You can't trust anything from a dealership and this another proof point. Why didn't they take the car off the site? They just wanted my info so they can sell me something else I didn't ask for. Why couldn't there be a 'sale pending' sticker...that's what they do in real estate. At least I can temper my expectations. I'm done with this dealer. I don't want to work the manager who baited me in, and who's is now contacting me through text and email to 'find something else'. Even worse, I'll probably tell this story to my group of friends who are coming over for BBQ and drinks tonight. >Transitioning back to Industry insider mode: This isn't an easy problem to solve from a tech standpoint. Systems are slow to update across platforms, and enough deals do fall through so that the car could be back for sale in a matter of hours. However: -Getting more leads is a quantitative -Disappointing a potential customers wife is qualitative It takes a lot more vision and motivation to dig into the second one. In this particular story, the dealer who is helping me disappoint my wife is a fantastic organization with people I've already built trust with, so I'm going to see if maybe they find something similar. However...if I didn't have the relationship and knowledge...that one situation could have grossly misrepresented them in a random consumers mind. How do we make the system better? #cardealership #consumer #cx