25 before 25

This year our agency celebrated its 25^th year! Inspired by Alyssa’s “30 before 30” list of things to do before she turned 30 years old, we thought of 25 things to cross off of our list before our big day. Here’s a look at some goals we crushed this year!

1. Host our first large-scale event: We had over 100 close friends, family and partners of IN food here to celebrate our 25 years. #INToasts25
2. Learn and grow as a company: This year we hosted a number of ‘Lunch and Learns’ on topics like social media, workplace wellness, and conference recaps. Our account team also has a book club! Here are a few of the books we’ve read:
   • Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? By Seth Godin
   • What Clients Love by Harry Beckwith
   • Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim
   • Becoming by Michelle Obama
   • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
3. Create an inspiring creative space: We added a photo wall to our creative room and everyone contributes pictures to update it with. So far our themes have been Minnesota State Fair, hygge, apples, and our calendar photos. Send any suggestions you have our way!
4. Roll out ‘Traction: EOS’ to our whole company: Check!
5. Host a food drive: With a little friendly competition, our account and creative teams challenged each other to see who could contribute the most donations for March out Hunger
6. Volunteer 100 hours: From gardening with Pillsbury United Communities to stocking food at the Open Door and serving meals at Loaves & Fishes, we’re proud of our team and the spirit to give back.
7. Complete a race for charity: The run we planned on going to was rained out. L However, Emily ran for Jandy Strong and we donated to the cause!
8. Expand our composting process: An additional compost bin is now IN the kitchen! In addition to their roles as Account Manager and Design Manager, we’d all agree that Maggie and Betsy also lead our compost division. They even went on a tour of a composting facility together!
9. Go for a trash walk (see: plogging)
10. Explore our neighborhood: The North Loop has been booming, we’re thankful that there’s so much to explore between new food halls and breweries.
11. Spend a summer day together: We spent our summer outing on the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
12. Do something challenging: Our wellness committee introduced us to daily challenges during our wellness week, such as standing for an hour of the day or having no added sugar.
13. Explore the outdoors more: 3 o’clock walks help our team get outside on a daily basis. Additionally, we ventured toward the Mississipi River for a scenic yoga class and lunchtime scooter ride.
14. Bring-our-dog-to-work day: Pups are some of our favorite coworkers! During the dog days of summer, we welcomed some furry friends into our office.
15. Embrace Minnesotan winters: Long winters can be brutal; our team finds creative ways to embrace the season. Some of which include: soup days and a February step challenge (this sounds contradicting but getting outside helps lighten the mood even if it’s below freezing!).
16. Get crafty together: We got crafty in the kitchen and made facial scrubs.
17. Learn something new: Nebraska native, Sam has taught us a lot about life in Nebraska since joining the team. One thing we learned about is Runza, which Dustin made for us all to enjoy on Sam’s birthday!
18. Get competitive: (See #5)
19. Expand our taste palate: Through our “soup” days we got to try a slew of cozy foods such as homemade curry, chili and hot dish.
20. Embrace our INternal talents: Emily guided us through a session of vinyasa yoga.
21. Take time for ourselves: Our 25 Days of Meditation challenge highlighted the importance of taking time for ourselves and being intentional. As a company benefit, we each also get to take time for ourselves on our birthdays with an additional day of PTO.
22. 25 Days of Meditation: At our morning status meetings we’d go through a meditation together. We’d recommend Headspace!
23. 25 Days of Push-Ups: We probably won’t do this again…
24. Hydration challenge: Drinking water is important for your health! The wellness committee hooked us up (again) with Yeti tumblers for this.
25. Host a 25^thAnniversary Celebration! It was great to celebrate 25 years of business with former employees, clients and friends earlier this month. Thanks to all who joined!

We’re thankful to have 25 years in the book. And we’re excited to see what the future brings. Cheers!