Hi, I'm Nora Allen. I am a Project Manager at TEN7. A good project manager has to be a nerd about organization and communicating. Someone who makes sure all of the developers and the producers on the team have what they need and then stay out of the way. So, we make everything run smoothly. The best project managers are ones that you don't realize are there, because they're keeping things running so smoothly.
Before TEN7 I went to school for journalism, and really wanted to pursue a career in writing and storytelling. That's always been a big passion of mine. And then I started at another agency where I was writing blogs and editing blogs, and really helping with storytelling in a very literal sense there.
And then moved into a project management position, when I realized I preferred to be part of the process for getting things moving, and helping people do their jobs really well and empowering people to focus and produce their best work.
So, moving to TEN7, I really appreciated the company's mission, Make Things that Matter. It very much aligns with how I feel about my job and my role as a Project Manager. And that’s how I pursue my passion for storytelling. I'm helping our clients tell their story to their website users, because their story deserves to be amplified and broadcast.
Websites are absolutely a form of storytelling. It's also often many people's first interactions with your company. So having your website work correctly, making sure it's accessible, making sure it's pretty, is all helping the user focus on the mission and the values of the company and what they can do for their users.
This position is definitely helping me fulfill my passions for storytelling, while also my passions for things like spreadsheets and Gantt charts and things like that. I'm happy to start using the phrase 'passion for Gantt charts.'
Most of my passions outside of work have to do with music. I live in a very music heavy household, grew up singing and playing guitar my whole life, and a lot of that also comes back to storytelling. A lot of lyrics are really important to me.
We have a dog named Frank after Frank Ocean, who is one of our favorite musicians, our favorite music artists. His lyrics are really great. And he's really fun to sing to. So naturally, we named our dog after him. Our dog seems so-so about Frank Ocean. He doesn't seem to care or recognize that as his namesake. He’ll come around.
Our mission, Make Things that Matter, is to me about amplifying companies whose mission includes benefiting the greater good in some capacity. So having a net positive impact on the world around us and the world that we live in. It's important to work for a company that has a mission, to Make Things That Matter, because not only does it resonate in how we treat our clients and how our clients feel about our work, but it also resonates in how we treat each other in our company and how we support one another. So, it leads to a lot of general happiness and comfort and empowerment as an employee and as co-workers and as people who are supporting our clients.
Yes, I do think as a project manager, I get to have a direct impact on making things that matter.
This post is part of a series of segments we are calling, TEN7 - Behind the Scenes. They provide a peek behind the curtain of the work we do, showcasing the technical and creative energy that is the “secret sauce” of TEN7. These posts allow our team to showcase their passion, lessons they have learned, and some of the tips and tricks that only come from dedication to their craft.
We hope this series will help you understand the makeup of our team, what it’s like to work with us, and how we might be able to help you! Call us.
