Jeff Croft // May 18, 2011

nGen Asslicking

Recently on the nGen Works blog, some of our newer employees (we call them nGeneers) have introduced themselves. I never did that here. But I wanted to write something, and being as I’m a complete egomaniac, I wanted it to be about me. So I thought, “Maybe I’ll write about how I ended up at nGen and how it’s been.”

Almost two years ago, I got an e-mail from Carl. He basically said, “nGen is going through some changes, and we need someone to come in and lead design for our new team.” Carl knew that my employer at the time, Blue Flavor, was going through some changes of its own, and that I felt like I wasn’t—let’s call it—a “culture fit” with what appeared to be the new leadership (for the record, that new leadership never actually took over).

I was looking for more flexibility. I wanted to work from home. I wanted it to be okay if I decided to work at 3 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. I wanted to travel a lot, and be able to work from the road. I wanted to do more speaking engagements. I wanted to be able to work on some product ideas I had on the side. My first thought was that I should just work as a freelancer. But I went down that road once, a decade ago, and it didn’t work out so well. So, I was scared.

I had a speaking engagement scheduled in Atlanta the next week, and Carl graciously flew up to the ATL to meet with me and talk about an arrangement. He offered me everything I wanted: a regular diet of work, a good team, the ability to freelance on the side, and most importantly, he didn’t care when or where I did any of it. It was an ideal arrangement.

For more than a year, I worked part-time with nGen and did my own projects on the side. I found that, more and more, the projects that were most exciting were the ones nGen was bringing me. Working with the amazing nGen team, and with the great clients Carl manages to pull for us was almost always better than working on the stuff I got for myself. So, over time, I’ve transitioned away from freelance work and towards a more full-time role on the nGen team. I still save some time in my schedule for personal projects, but more and more, I’m a full-time nGeneer. And I love it.

I’m the sort of person who gets bored easily. I’ve virtually never worked for the same company for more than 18 months. And if I did work someplace for 18 months, I desperately wanted to leave. nGen Works is the first place in my life that I can say I’ve been for two years without wanting a change.

I’m going to sound like a complete asslicker, but the reason is Carl. He understands creative people and creates a great working environment for them. nGen Works lets me work when, where, and how I want, for good clients on stuff I really care about, and does his best to shield me from stuff that I don’t. And I get to do it with an amazing team that constantly impresses me with their work and challenges me to do better. I don’t know what more I could possibly ask for.

Well, maybe a raise. Carl?