Launching our Arrow, (Virtually) Together: Think Bigger 2021

The theme of our 2020 Think Bigger event was “Let’s Go…Again!”. Little did we know that just a month after that event, we would be in the grip of a global pandemic, and shifting to 100% remote work. Fast forward to 2021, and like many others, we pivoted to putting on a killer virtual event! Our theme this year was “Launch Your Arrow”, inspired by Paulo Coelho’s quote “An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back, it means that it’s going to launch you into something great.”

We used this time to reflect on 2020, where we succeeded, and where we were challenged, so that we could pull our arrow back and launch into 2021 towards what we know will only prove to be something great!

Thinking Bigger, Virtually

Past Think Bigger’s have been a perfect blend of team building, celebration and planning for the upcoming year. This could have been a challenge to do virtually, but not to our Vibe Manager, Ryan Hill, who partnered with MiHi Productions out of Denver, CO. to put on a high-quality, smooth virtual event full of informative presentations with a lot of fun and celebration along the way. This year was to be no different – we played games like Family Feud^®, had a virtual photo booth where we could each take pictures and GIFs throughout the week, and also got to spend time with team members we don’t get to see on a daily basis. A special bonus for this year was that with the event being virtual, it was the first time that our entire Banja Luka office was able to join us in real-time!

Leading up to the week of Think Bigger, our team members received two boxes of surprises!  The first was a variety of organic snacks made by the Women’s Bean Project, a non-profit organization that hires women who are chronically unemployed to help them break the cycle of poverty due to chronic unemployment. These snacks were meant to keep us energized throughout the week, and they were delish!  The second box was a fancy custom box that was full of goodies, branded swag, office supplies, and more to make sure that all of our team members were well equipped to have a successful virtual event. Take a look at the highlights of the event that spanned a few hours a day over the course of a week:

Launching our Arrow, Together

Day One

Our CEO, Erin Cigich, kicked off Day One of Think Bigger with a reflection on all of our accomplishments from the past year. This was a great way to get everyone pumped and ready for the week ahead.  Here are just a few highlights of the things we celebrated:

• Welcomed 31 new hires to the team, including 10 from the acquisition of the Digital Remedy direct business’s team and 8 new babies to the Perform^[cb] family!
• Celebrated countless regional and national industry and culture awards, such as mThink’s #1 CPA Network for the 5th year in a row
• Released multiple new features on our proprietary tracking platform
• Launched our new brand, Perform^[cb], and just after Think Bigger, we rang in our one-year anniversary as Perform^[cb] after Clickbooth, Adperio, and Ignite OPM came together under this one powerhouse brand

We then welcomed our first keynote speaker, Victoria Arlen. Victoria’s life drastically changed in 2006 when at the age of 11, she developed two rare conditions, known as Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. These conditions caused her to lose the ability to speak, eat, walk and move, putting her in a vegetative state for nearly four years. She was able to slowly begin the fight back to health in 2010. Victoria defied the odds and not only recovered, but has since become an accomplished motivational speaker, sportscaster, TV host, silver and gold medalist swimmer, contestant on Dancing with the Stars, and founder of Victoria’s Victory Foundation, a nonprofit that assists those with mobility challenges to achieve their own personal victory.

Victoria’s quote, “Sometimes all it takes is a blink to ignite a success of a miracle,” was just what we needed to inspire our team and remind us of the importance of perseverance. Talk about an inspiring story!

We ended the day with a little fun competition by breaking out into small groups to design a t-shirt that embodies this year’s theme.  The team was divided into 25 groups of 4-6 team members, and they “drew” using an online tool. A panel of judges then voted on the winning shirt.

Day Two

We know it’s hard to sit in your chair and look at zoom for several hours. So day two was kicked off with the option to attend a virtual beach yoga experience with instructor Amber Handby, or an exciting psychic experience with mentalist Erica Sodos. This was a great start to the day, leaving our team members feeling both zen and calm, and as well as impressed and dazzled.

We then heard from members of the Leadership team as they reflected on the business’s results and accomplishments in 2020. Our CSO, Matthew Lord, highlighted these accomplishments across the company, and then our COO, Brad Dobbins, gave a drill-down into the Network’s performance, sending some impressive shoutouts to recognize the Network’s amazing team. Abby Campbell, VP of Agency, then took us through the Agency’s results, shouting out her team as well.

Day Three

The day’s agenda consisted of team breakout sessions during which every member of Perform^[cb] spent time with their departmental team to take a look at their individual and collective goals for 2021. But it wasn’t all work – some teams included some fun team-building games.  Besides the games, these breakouts offered a great opportunity for each team to focus on real-world takeaways and how our team members could immediately implement their learnings in their day-to-day.

Day Four

Our team dove into Day Four of Think Bigger with our second keynote speaker, Dr. Katia Campbell. Dr. Campbell is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver, CO. Her teachings focus on rhetoric, free speech, cultural representation, popular media, and critical pedagogy. Having co-authored three publications in the areas of civic engagement and social justice, it was an honor for our team to engage in her Dialogues Across Differences program. Our team was able to dive deeper into the importance of diversity and inclusion to better ourselves as an organization and the communities around us.

To end Day Four on a high note, our team competed against one another playing Draw United with our friends at United Way Suncoast and Mile High United Way, with whom Perform^[cb] has partnered since 2018 in order to give back to our communities. While all in good fun, the winning team was able to make a financial contribution to United Way in their names on behalf of Perform^[cb]. There is little more rewarding than knowing that you were able to help people in your community!

Day Five

Today, we gained insight into our company-wide goals for Collaboration, Technology, and Results in 2021 from our Leadership team. Our team was able to see some sneak peeks of technology features that will be coming to Perform[cb] in the near future that we know our marketers and partners will benefit from greatly. The team closed out the day with awards (if you haven’t read about our MVPs, you’re missing out), a virtual cocktail-making class, and Perform^[cb] trivia. And that’s a wrap for Think Bigger 2021!

2021: Launch Your Arrow

As we set our sights on what 2021 holds, we’re eager to continue crushing our goals. The year ahead seems bright, and we’re looking forward to unveiling some very exciting tech updates to our proprietary tracking platform. Our Development team is more determined than ever to continue designing the top features so our partners and marketers can work smarter, not harder to maximize ROI and drive customer acquisitions. Our Compliance team is ready to help marketers ensure their brands are protected, while our Partner team is pumped to help partners scale their business, and our Network Marketer team is working with brands to maximize their ROI on a daily basis. The Agency team is on point to step in and lead the way with affiliate management for some of the most recognizable household brands.

We’re ready to launch our arrows into 2021, and we can’t wait to see what our team – along with our marketers, partners and clients – will accomplish this year!