As we Make Things That Matter, we're grateful to have clients who share this mission, including @minnesotaplays. 💜

Here is a quick thread about how we helped Minnesota Playlist upgrade their website to better serve the performing arts community. 🧵 (1/8)

2/ Minnesota Playlist provides a vital space where performing artists can connect on an easy, community-driven platform. 🎬

When the site needed an upgrade, @minnesotaplays worked with TEN7 to step back and reimagine how the site can better serve their audiences.

3/ The Minnesota Playlist site was first created in 2007. Performing artists and companies create accounts to post their shows, classified ads and other information.

As a small business, it was important for @minnesotaplays to have a site that is easy to maintain and manage.

4/ The website was upgraded once in 2014, but by 2021 it was showing its age and the user experience was suffering.

✨ TEN7 was brought in to upgrade the site, while preserving the   archives of articles, past performances, talent profiles, and profiles for thousands of users.

5/ We started with a Discovery process, speaking with key stakeholders and examining how the content and flow of the site supported the Minnesota Playlist mission.  ⤵️ ⤴️ →

The information we gathered helped us build a more efficient and strategic path for the future.

6/ Once the strategy was set, we settled on key details for the upgrade including:

A new design approach that brings more creativity and fun to users, reflecting the energy of the audience. 🎭

An emphasis on visuals & photography, tapping the excitement & life of the theater.

7/ We developed a streamlined user experience to allow people to easily upload different images and graphics.

We also made sure the new site is easy to maintain moving forward, reflecting the need to keep the site running well into the future while staying within budget. 🧑‍💻

8/ To learn more about our work with @minnesotaplays, please read our case study 💼 (and check out others!) here:  https://t7.io/mnpl

For @UMNMorris biologist, Dr. PZ Myers, 🕷️ spiders 🕷️ foster curiosity and appreciation for life.

In the latest episode of @ONEOF8B, @pzmyers discusses how arachnids can inspire students to consider the wonders that surround us. 🕸️ Here are some highlights: 🧵 (1/8)

2/ Early in his career, Dr. Myers studied zebrafish 🐠, but he switched to spiders because they’re easy to collect and care for.
🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🤗🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️
He gathers the spiders from houses and barns around his campus. Right now he has around 200 common house spiders in his lab.

3/ As a young child Dr. Myers' mother bought him a toy 🔬 microscope and it spurred an obsession with nature that continues today.

At first he didn't think about a career in science, but he eventually realized by studying hard he could turn what he loved into a real job! 🎓 📖

4/ Dr. Myers says as an educator, he sees how religious views can sometimes distort or try to discredit science.

When he has students who don't believe in evolution, for example, he says letting them hold dinosaur bones in their hands is a great way to open their eyes. 🦴 🤲 🤯

5/ Still, Dr. Myers says the polarization of people's views is disturbing.

There are hardcore creationists who make a living discrediting science. Dr. Myers says he sometimes feels like a little Dutch boy trying to plug holes 🕳️ in the dyke, as an ocean of creationism flows in.

6/ After so many years studying biology, Dr. Myers says he doesn't view humans as being all that different from other species.

He says in his lab he has spiders who have dreams and plans like we do. They grow, they have babies. Their hopes for their future are just like ours.

7/ Dr. Myers is confident life exists around the universe since, under the right conditions, life will arise all over the place. 🌌

Whether that life would grow up to be like us is a little more complicated. Maybe there's a world of intelligent spiders out there!!  🕷️ 🤓❔

8/ Considering the brief time each of us is alive on earth, Dr. Myers says only way we can make a lasting difference is by doing good in the world.  So that's what drives him today.

Listen to more of @pzmyers on the full episode of @ONEOF8B!
🎧 https://t7.io/389

Our new Director of User Experience, @JNLover, brings unique perspective 🧐 to our team, focusing on design and accessibility.

She recently wrote about how her role can fill gaps and help clients better connect with audiences.

Here are some key points from her post:  🧵 (1/8)

2/ Janna's work goes beyond the visual elements of a website. Design is critical when it comes to content strategy and the way a site engages with users.

At the end of the day Janna is focused on how people are going to actually get what they need when they visit your website.

3/ Joining TEN7 gives Janna a different voice when it comes to serving clients. She can have more seamless interaction with developers, seeing projects from the initial concept through completion. 🌱🌿

There are a few key areas where she says design can make an immediate impact:

4/ Removing Barriers - Successful navigation isn’t just about simplicity. It’s about anticipating a user’s needs and creating a clear path to get there.

It’s also about continuous improvement, using data to uncover and fix previously unanticipated barriers.

5/ Accessibility - We want to make our websites accessible by default, not as an add on or an afterthought.

The work we do needs to welcome everyone, with as broad a scope as possible, so everybody can access and engage with our websites.

6/ Helping Clients Who Need Us - TEN7 works with many nonprofit, government, and education-focused clients. 💁

For Janna, this is an opportunity to bring design to these institutions to help elevate their storytelling and connection with their audiences.

7/ Incorporating User Experience Into Everything We Do - Janna doesn't just work with developers. She brings a user experience mindset to marketing and growth efforts as well. 👍

Her talents help potential clients understand who we are and how we can help them reach their goals.

8/ In a short time, Janna has already shown how design can add value to TEN7. 💜

She says she's excited to add a new ingredient to the mix, to bridge the gaps and open doors, so we can take TEN7 to even greater heights! 🥣 ✨ 👩‍💻

Read the full post 👉 https://t7.io/381

Growing up in India, @kamlikachandla never considered the possibility that art could be both a passion and her career.

In the latest episode of @ONEOF8B, she talks about how that perspective changed.  Here are some highlights of the discussion: 🧵 (1/8)

2/ Kamlika studied psychology and spent years working in the corporate world in leadership training and organization development. Then, a move to America changed everything. 🌎

3/ Kamlika had never harbored a desire to move west, but on a visit to Chicago, she met the man she would marry and decided to give America a chance.

✨ She says moving to the U.S. gave her a new understanding of liberty, freedom, and being your own person.

4/ Art was always a passion for Kamlika, but it was something she had to work into her free time, after a full day of work.

Suddenly, she decided it was time to pursue art full time. She dove in and never looked back. 🧑‍🎨

5/ While many people think art should just come naturally, Kamlika knew she had a lot to learn. 🖌️

She committed herself to the hard work to improve and make her dream a reality.

6/ When Kamlika started to get commissions for portraits, she was driven to give her best to every piece she created.

She felt each painting was like giving a piece of herself, and her art was providing a connection to the world around her. 🖼

7/ Even after finding success as an artist, Kamlika continues to push herself to learn and improve. 🎨

She recently went to Italy to learn techniques for sculpture, which was intimidating at first but proved to be a source of great inspiration.

8/ Listen to the entire interview with @kamlikachandla on the latest episode of @ONEof8B.

You'll learn more about her journey and you'll even hear some of her poetry about the trials and lessons of life!

Listen here & subscribe: 🎧 https://t7.io/380


Last month, for the first time, the TEN7 Leadership Team gathered for a 2-night retreat.

As we've grown, our Leadership Team has grown, so it was time to gather away from clocks and screens, and think about the future. 🦸🦸🦸🦸🦸 

CEO @IvanStegic shared the highlights: 🧵 (1/9)

2/ Gathering in person was intentional. TEN7 is a proudly distributed workforce but this moment called for something different.

@DaniAdelman flew to Mpls from Oregon. We piled into @JNLover's HUGE Subaru (It has 19 cup holders!) to head to a lake house outside the Twin Cities.

3/ On the car ride we discussed a book that was assigned as homework: The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by @patricklencioni. 📚🕴️ 

It was a valuable discussion that helped us each evaluate the unique talents that we bring to the table. ✨ 
https://news.ebooksones.info/?book=0787954039

4/ At the lake house we lost ourselves in insightful discussions, board games, and Old Fashioneds 🥃 in the evenings! Our Chief of Staff, @erin_marissa_, wowed us with her culinary talents, keeping us fed and energized. 🍽️ 

Two days later, there were a few key takeaways: 🤔 💭 

5/ Homework Can Be a Great Icebreaker: 🗣️ 
The book discussion ended up being a perfect way to start. People took the reading seriously and the conversation helped us define our roles and inform our work together. 

6/ Scaling Your Mission & Values Requires Focus:
Our team has embraced our values and mission, but they need to be a vehicle of growth, not a byproduct. 💜 

Growth that is values-driven is sustainable. Then our UX expertise and deep Drupal experience will catapult us forward. ⏩

7/ Being Honest Means Understanding We Can Do Better:
We are proud of the work we do, but we had honest discussions about how we can do better. 😇 

Can we improve efficiency to serve a wider variety of clients? How can we build trust even when things don't go perfectly to plan?

8/ Gratitude for the Team:
As the founder of TEN7, @IvanStegic said it’s sometimes hard to let go of the reins.

This retreat helped him move along that path. He saw how much the team cares. With leaders like that in place, he can let things go, knowing things are in good hands.

9/ This retreat is not the end of the story. The team focused on a 3-year vision that will require work to become a reality. 🥅 

Still, getting away from it all helped us come together for a long-term plan to Make Things That Matter. 

Full post here 👉 https://t7.io/379

As fall 🍂 approaches, TEN7 is embracing change. New ideas, built on our mission to Make Things That Matter, have us excited about future possibilities! 🚀 

In the latest Read Things That Matter, CEO @IvanStegic laid out some reasons for optimism and hope. 🙌  🧵 (1/6)

2/ While it's true that our nation and our world are facing significant challenges right now, there still seems to be a sense of optimism in the air. 

Like students walking into class, TEN7 is starting a new chapter, poised to accomplish great things.  

3/ We have expanded our leadership team, adding @JNLover as our new Director of User Experience. 🦸 

We also conducted our first Leadership Team Retreat, gathering in a lake house to create a vision for the future of TEN7. It was an inspiring getaway! t7.io/379 

4/ We've also been energized ⚡ by the contributions of our new Chief of Staff, @erin_marissa_.  To learn more about her path to TEN7 and what she brings to the table (talent AND food-wise!) check out her "Behind the Scenes" interview!  t7.io/374

5/ We're also energized by people who are making a difference in the world 🌍, such as our guest on @ONEOF8B, Amy Berman. 

Her organization, @MotherBearProj 🧸 has sent nearly 200,000 handmade bears to kids in developing countries impacted by HIV/AIDS.  18b.io/140

6/ The last several years have been tough, but is the tide turning?  Maybe justice, peace, and a return to the common good are on the way! 🕊️ 

Let's build on this moment to speak out and stand up for what’s right. That's how we turn our vision for brighter days into reality. ☀️


Taking a stand on difficult issues isn’t the easy path, but at TEN7 we don't see another choice.

In the August edition of Read Things That Matter, we explain our commitment to live our values, support our team, and offer hope in difficult times. Here are the highlights: 🧵 (1/9)

2/ Our commitment to Make Things That Matter https://ten7.com/mission requires us to speak out on controversial topics, to support important causes and look for ways to help our team members grow and thrive. We do this because we know our actions are what define us. 💜 

3/ Our core values serve as guideposts in our work & in the way we carry ourselves as an organization. 🌟 

To illustrate their importance, we recently launched a series of blog posts taking a deeper dive into our values, starting with “Be Inclusive.” t7.io/370

4/ This series will be driven by our team members giving their take on what our values mean. Our first contribution was from our junior developer, 💗 Madeline Holland: “Be Inclusive - Embracing and Valuing Our Differences t7.io/371

5/ 🌱 As TEN7 has grown, we have been lucky to add amazing talent. For example, last month we officially hired @erin_marissa_ full time as our new ✨Chief of Staff!✨ 

We also will be adding @JNLover to our Leadership Team 🦸 as our new ✨Director of User Experience.✨

6/ Hiring talented people is only part of our recipe for success. We also look for ways to help every team member bring the best of themselves to their work. 

That's why we've implemented "Focus Wednesdays," turning Wednesdays into "meeting free zones" to allow for focus time. 

7/ We're also experimenting with a pilot program we’re calling “Flexible Fridays."

This allows team members to take a short day (or day off) on Friday to recoup, relax, and 🌴 ease into the weekend if they’ve accomplished the things they’d set out to do for the week.

8/ The importance of escaping the day-to-day grind ⚙️ was reinforced by @jeremymessersmith on @ONEOF8B. Jeremy talked about the upside of “boredom.” 

Sometimes we need to get away from the noise to remember the beauty and joy the world has to offer. 18b.io/138 🏞️ 😍

9/ Focusing on what's really important is a lesson we take to heart as we continue to live our values, to stand up for what’s right, and to choose hope as we push for peace and justice for all.

Subscribe to future editions of Read Things That Matter here: t7.io/subscribe

A little more than a year ago, Director of Operations @DaniAdelman wrote about our decision to migrate our internal documentation 📝 to @NotionHQ. A year later, the decision is proving to be a good one! 🙌 

Here are a few kew points from her post explaining our move. 🧵 (1/8)

2/ For years, we used Confluence for company notes and documentation, but as the team grew, so did our needs. We tried Google Drive but it wasn't quite right. Then we tested @NotionHQ and we were hooked! 🪝 

Notion has excellent UI, and lends itself to many benefits including:

3/ Keeping all our internal documentation neatly organized and easily accessible (we still keep our client technical documentation in @GitLab, where the devs can always find it).

4/ Adding emojis to everything! 💜 🌱 🗓️ 🗄️ 🌻 ✅ 🗞️ 🧑‍💻 🎁 🙋 🌸 👕 We are a big fan of emojis because they serve as visual signals to your brain and, as a bonus, they can be highly entertaining! 🦸 🤹

5/ Creating a main database of tasks and filtering those tasks for individual purposes and projects. 🗄️ → ✅ 

For example, team members can create a filtered view of our main task list that only shows them their assigned tasks or tasks tagged with a specific client or project.

6/ Customizing everything based on specific preferences and needs. This is one of Notion’s greatest assets. 🤩  There are so many different ways you can set it up and display pages. You’re not locked into a specific view or setup. 

7/ Building presentations with a fun, engaging interface that’s easily shareable and doesn’t require email attachments. 🚫 📧  

Notion is also a go-to resource for our team to reference anything they could possibly need about our company. 📚 💫 👀 

8/ We're still learning and refining the way we use @NotionHQ, but the more we learn the more we feel it was a great decision to support our work and help us live out one of our values: 
Be a Team.  💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜🧑‍💻💜

The growth of TEN7 is driven by a desire to make a positive difference in the world 🌍 - to Make Things That Matter.

We recently launched a series taking a deeper look at the values 💗 behind this mission. Here is a summary of part one, focused on Be Inclusive. 🧵 (1/8)

Our CEO @IvanStegic kicked off the series explaining how values are guideposts. They help us make decisions about work, how to treat each other, and when we need to take a stand. 

That's why Be Inclusive is particularly important right now. t7.io/370

Be Inclusive means recognizing and respecting differences. It also means embracing our common humanity and connection. 🤝 

Recent events, like the overturning of #Roe, show we have a lot of work to do to create an inclusive future where freedom and safety are open to everyone.

In a separate post, junior developer Madeline Holland provided added perspective on Be Inclusive. 

Madds grew up in a small town where people were not accepting of differences. Madds made a conscious effort to seek a different path. t7.io/371

At University, Madds sought new experiences and saw their horizons expand. Ever since then, they have been drawn to more diverse and inclusive environments. 
 
Madds applied at TEN7 after learning about our values. As a member of the team, Madds has seen Be Inclusive in action.

Madds writes that TEN7 leadership has been open to ideas from anyone on the team. Even as a junior team member, Madds has felt free to make suggestions and has seen those suggestions embraced and adopted. 

That’s putting Be Inclusive to work. 💜 

Madds says the commitment to Be Inclusive also played out when Ivan and TEN7 matched all donations to Planned Parenthood, backing up their public statements about women's rights.  https://t7.io/358

Madds is driven to play a part in this continuing effort, and is proud to work for a team that is working to Be Inclusive.

Next month we'll take a closer look 👀 at another TEN7 core value: Be Honest, and how this value is important to our work, our actions, and our team.

In an effort to live our values and Be a Team 🤝, we are conducting a series of food-based team-building events hosted by Chief of Staff, @erin_marissa_

Our 2nd in this series was a virtual "salt tasting." @MNBrian wrote about the experience. Here are a few highlights: 🧵 (1/10)

2/ Team members who signed up for the 🧂 event received packages with 12 small bags of different salts. Erin created a detailed Notion page with information about each salt and sample recipes. 

The various colors and textures of the salt crystals were immediately intriguing!

3/ At the designated time we logged into zoom together, packets arranged in front of us, and we started our salt journey! 

Erin led us through each sample, asking us to put a pinch on our tongues to appreciate the different flavors. There were a number of revelations 💡

4/ There are two basic types of salt 🪨 Rock Salt and 🌊 Sea Salt. 

Erin explained that all salt comes from the ocean. Sea salt comes from evaporated seawater while rock salt comes from ancient sea beds and must be mined.

5/ By far the worst tasting salt was the one we are most familiar with: iodized table salt. 🧂 It’s dense. It’s not pure. The iodine was added in the 1920s to help people suffering from goiter (a thyroid condition).

It’s useful for cooking, but it can easily be overwhelming.

6/ Erin explained how some salts are great for cooking with (adding to water for boiling pasta, baking, etc.). Others are considered “finishing salts.” 

Finishing salts have larger crystals & flakier, crunchy texture. They look great on the top of a dish and they taste amazing!

7/ Similar to wines, salts reflect their origins. 

For example, Persian Blue Salt is extracted from salt ponds in Iran that formed more than 100 million years ago.

Alea Sea Salt from Hawaii has trace amounts of Hawaiian clay.

The differences in the flavors were striking!

8/ Smoked Salts Are a Thing!

We were astounded by the smoky flavor of Smoked Maldon Sea Salt and the Oak Smoked Salt we tasted. 

🔥 Hot tip: Try these smoked salts sprinkled on top of grilled corn on the cob! 🌽 

9/ The final takeaway had nothing to do with salt. It was the joy of getting to see other TEN7 team members from around the country sharing this experience together.

Erin’s passion about salts was contagious and it was exciting to learn together as we work to Be at Team. 💗 


10/ Read @MNBrian's full post here: https://t7.io/362 or follow along in Notion and learn even more about salt 🧂 👉 https://t7.io/Salt-Tasting
