Live from Salt Lake City!

After about 8 hours and 2 flights--one in seat 45F, the last seat on a 150 seater, and the other in seat 2D, the first row!--I arrived in Salt Lake City. I've been through here once before, but it's always special to be greeted by the sight of mountains. Went to the convention center and picked up my bag of goodies using my golden ticket, and found 3 stamp sets inside (scroll to the bottom of this post if you can't wait to see them), as well as the new SPIRAL BOUND catalog! How wonderful this is is just beyond words. You'll see when you thumb through yours in a about a week.

After getting settled in my room with my roommate Neelam from Austin, TX, we went on a tour of the headquarters. This picture is from the lobby. What a beautiful thing to greet you and to set the tone for your work day as you enter the environment. The only funny thing is that we discovered, upon closer inspection, that the trees are FAKE! Still, a water feature and live plants that surrounds the cafeteria--it's a good thing!


The thing that impressed me most during our self-guided tour was this arrangement of core value statements that are posted in the Ideas Room. The categories were:

Integrity
Balance
Relationships
Personal Development
Growth
Positive Environment
Efficiency
Change

The way several were defined really struck me as they were applied to a business. For example, BALANCE was defined this way: We are dedicated to those who strive to create balanced lifestyles centered on serving family and others while nurturing their own self-esteem and growth. WOW--a company that comes right out and says that a personal effort you bring to them of trying not to be a workaholic is a GOOD THING!

The other one I really liked was INTEGRITY: We build our businesses through trust, fairness, and kindness with the thought that people are more important the products. We encourage everyone to give their best effort every day to provide positive support to those around them, and to exercise creativity in performing their tasks. Isn't that a great way to think as you interact with others over the course of each day?

I could go on, but it's now 6:22am, and I need to get in the shower. Here are the pictures of the stamp sets. More to come!