In this episode, I sit down with Logan Mallory, the VP of Marketing at Motivosity. Logan is not only extremely talented at demand-gen and brand awareness, but his personality on LinkedIn and IRL makes him a popular marketer who has helped many companies and individuals.
You’ll learn about his career and how he has continuously helped companies and individuals grow to their fullest potential. You’ll also learn several strategies that you can use today to take full control of your career and marketing destiny. Hope you enjoy!
In this episode, I sit down with Logan Mallory, the VP of Marketing at Motivosity. Logan is not only extremely talented at demand-gen and brand awareness, but his personality on LinkedIn and IRL makes him a popular marketer who has helped many companies and individuals.
You’ll learn about his career and how he has continuously helped companies and individuals grow to their fullest potential. You’ll also learn several strategies that you can use today to take full control of your career and marketing destiny. Hope you enjoy!
Hello and welcome to the Jake Mix Marketing Podcast. Today I am in Lehi, Utah at the headquarters of Motivosity, which is an employee engagement employee recognition platform. Is that, is that kind of what we're looking at?
Logan Mallory:You nailed it, Jake. Motivosity is all about making people happier, happier at work. And we do that through peer to peer recognition and, uh, It's a great way to build culture. So nailed that.
Jake Mix:Okay. Well, awesome. Just want to make sure I got that. Uh, I've actually been here before. If any of you are avid listeners you'll know that my first episode was with the previous CMO Motivosity, Mr. Joe staples. It was the first episode. It was the first episode ever. Isn't that crazy? That is crazy. So this is like, I feel like this is a, a walk down memory lane.
Logan Mallory:I, uh, I feel like I'm going to spend most of my career following in Joe staples, uh, footsteps and trying to fill his shoes. And so Joe's a mentor and a friend of mine. I worked under him for a while. So good. I'm glad to know that. Once again, I'm I'm at least on a path Joe is on that's good news.
Jake Mix:That's right. Well, you know, this has been an interview that I wanted to do. We have Logan Mallory. I haven't even introduced you yet. Um, yeah, so he's the vice president of marketing at Motivosity and he's been here for a little more than a year, right? That's right. Yeah. And you know, Logan is one of those guys that's very active on LinkedIn. I have seen so many posts. They're actually getting like a lot of attention right now. Is that right? I've been seeing you in like the LinkedIn News and that kind of thing.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. LinkedIn has been really good to me. I spend a spend a lot of time there. I think it benefits both me and my employer. And so I spent a lot of time there and it's, it's been great for, for, uh, my career. So yeah, I spend a good amount of my, my, uh, virtual day on.
Jake Mix:That's awesome. Well, and I've, I've definitely tried to, to, to follow you a little bit, you know, post a lot more often and, and it's been good to me as well, so yeah, I appreciate that. And hopefully we can talk a little bit more about that. Um, during this, during this interview, I have a lot to ask you and it's just such a thrill to finally make this happen. I know we've, we've kind of gone back and forth or scheduled just having an aligned. Uh, this is a really good opportunity. So thank you for
Logan Mallory:being here. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. You're giving me more credit than I deserve Jake, but I'm glad to be with you.
Jake Mix:Well, Hey, you know, what's funny is I actually, so Motivosityis, is used at my work and, uh, I went to a golf tournament. And we're like, we, we saw the Motivosity no, who is it? It's the big leap tent. And we're like, yeah, we just started using Motivosity and they're like, oh my gosh, like, I'm good friends with Logan Mallory over there, like your name. They, they just like casually name drop you. And so when people casually name drop you, you know, it's big.
Logan Mallory:So I don't know about that. I'll take it. I'll take it. So anyway,
Jake Mix:yeah. Pleasure to be here, but let's first go in, um, talk a little about your upbringing. I mean, From what I see on your LinkedIn resume, from what I'm seeing in like your past experience, you've had a lot of experience in marketing. Has it always been that way? Have, have you kind of just had a natural act for marketing? When did you first learn about marketing and wanting to go that route? I
Logan Mallory:was thinking about our podcast today as I was driving in kind of thinking about, you know, my background. And I remember in the 10th grade telling Mike the English teacher at Brighton, Michigan high school, Brighton high school in Michigan. I said, he said, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to be the president of the United States. And, um, I don't know why I said that. I don't know, like, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Um, so no marketing was not always the path. In fact, growing up most of the time, people, you know, friends or family or people who had influence over me would say, Logan, you'd be great at sales. And so I spent most of my. Late teenage years and the early part of my college career, thinking that I would go into sales and I did, I actually put myself through school selling advertising for a magazine. Um, I interviewed for sales roles and accepted a sales role with a company in Texas. And when people said Logan, you'd be really good at sales. What they really meant. Hey, Logan, you're kind of nice and you can sort of talk to people, right. And, and those aren't the same thing. Right. And so frankly, I spent about the first four years of my career, mostly in sales and completely miserable, um, like losing my eyesight from stress and hated Sunday nights. And then one. I was working for a company in Seattle and they said, Logan, we didn't, we need a new email service provider. Or actually they needed one. They didn't have it. Wasn't a new one. They needed one. And so, uh, they said, well, you take on this job, just go help us find a good email tool to use. And that was my. First exposure to digital marketing. And that's when I knew that's where my career was supposed to go. I realized it was a way that I could contribute to a business and to drive revenue and have responsibility, but without the monthly sales quota and the pressure of the like hard close, which was, which was not who I am. And so once I got that exposure, I knew exactly what I needed to do with my career. And, uh,
Jake Mix:That's amazing. Has an experience in sales and going that route, has that helped within your marketing career or what kind of pieces of have transitioned?
Logan Mallory:It is literally my competitive advantage. So one of the things that's made me a better marketer is I know how sales reps think. And I remember being the sales rep, getting the lead in the morning and thinking. This lead source the worst or, oh great. I just got a lead from here. This is going to be great. Right. And so what it's done for me is, is a few things. First of all, it's made me very empathetic to what it's like to have a quota. And that makes me a better marketing counterpart. And two it's allowed me to think more strategically about marketing. So, um, typically I will align at the hip around pipeline created or revenue driven. Like if sales doesn't win, then I don't win. And that attitude. I think if you'll excuse a little bit of arrogance, that attitude makes the difference for me when I'm interviewing for marketing roles.
Jake Mix:Wow. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I know that as I've talked to different people, it seems like the balance between sales and marketing is, or can be a big problem within a company, right? When the cells doesn't believe the marketing's on their side and the marketing side doesn't believe the cells on their side. So that's amazing that you've been able to. Kind of crossed that path. Yeah.
Logan Mallory:I think that's one of the most common problems within an organization. Sales doesn't hit their target. They blame marketing, marketing, blame sales, right. And so it goes back and forth and it's like this quarterly argument. Now I won't say that that's completely solved, but I do think that when marketing feels responsible for revenue with sales, Then marketing's already blaming themselves a little bit before anyone else can, can turn and look at them. Right. So, um, again, I, I think we are adversarial in those relationships as a general business statement. Um, and we shouldn't be, we shouldn't
Jake Mix:be right. Jeez. I love that. Well, and you know, you've had, since then, you've had. A ton of different marketing positions and, uh, have been able to gain experience. I'm sure. In a lot of different areas. So why don't you run me a little bit through, um, kind of going from that sales to marketing jobs. Sounds like you did a little bit of email marketing. W how did it play out from there?
Logan Mallory:Um, so I knew that I, that I needed to transition and ended up with a company. Actually. I mentioned that the magazine sales that I did in class. Well, I was away in Texas and Seattle. That company that I worked for was acquired by a big publishing organization. It's awesome. And it ends up that the big publishing organization needed a digital marketing manager, as I kind of had this realization. So through. A strong network and like sheer force of will. I literally like sent in my resume and I said, I will be at your door to interview for this job on this day. So I ended up working for a company called desert book and manage their website. It was about a $10 million e-commerce website and, um, was very focused on B to C. The four P's of marketing, I was responsible for the product and the price and the promotion, and, um, and, and got some really great fundamentals for marketing there. Um, I'll give you the quick story and then if you want to dive in more, we can dive in more. Uh, eventually a company called Workfront, which was recently bought by Adobe for $1.5 billion approached me. And I wasn't sure I wanted to leave the comfort of my role at desert book, but the opportunity to kind of, um, be pulled into. Tech marketing and, and, you know, the, the SAS tech scene, uh, was too good to say no to, uh, I later went to a company called jive, which was acquired by log me in. So that led to some broad public company exposure that I knew I needed. And then I've been here at Motivosity for about a year. So. Um, the theme with each of those transitions and Jake, you lead the way, like you told me what you want to talk about, but each of those transitions has given me exposure to a new part of marketing that I wasn't experiencing before. It's added an extra puzzle piece to my giant puzzle and made me a better overall marketer. So I've tried to be intentional about why I'm taking the roles I'm taking and which puzzle pieces.
Jake Mix:Well, that's awesome. And well, and you, you were kind of talking about a desert book, how you transitioned to the, was it director of digital marketing or director of marketing?
Logan Mallory:Um, at desert book, I was, I was a digital marketing manager. Then I moved to Workfront as a senior. Digital marketing manager. I think it's been a while I'm getting old. Yeah.
Jake Mix:It's hard to remember, right? Yeah. Um, so I'm just curious how you, because obviously you had some experience in cells and sounds like at the tail end of the other company, with some email marketing, that kind of thing, like, what were some of the strategies you use where you under someone that taught you a lot about marketing? Did you have to throw yourself into the marketing scene? Like how was that learning process? How did you develop those skills?
Logan Mallory:Um, a couple of things. One I had, I had a few great mentors, John Coleford and Ryan Miller were my direct and then secondary boss Deseret book. And they are very, very, um, great coaches. And so, um, I think that that being under their wing helped me a lot. The other thing that was beneficial at that part of my career was, um, taking a quantitative approach. Uh, not, not to speak ill of anyone or anything over there. It was a very, this is how we've done it, or this is what's been successful in the past, or this is, you know, kind of the, the guidelines we're going to work within. And, um, I think one of the things I did was brought a lot of data. I got really deep into Google analytics and I could run tests on email and on the website that could happen before the retail stores they had. I can't remember probably. I can't remember how many brick and mortar stores there were, but I would show up in meetings and use the digital results to educate to the brick and mortar groups. And that gave me this like perspective that they hadn't really been leveraging before and, and, uh, immediately proved some value and some worth. And so I think before. John and Ryan, I think between, um, my like realizing how valuable that quantitative insight was and, and rinsing and repeating because I saw the value of it. And then the third thing was, um, I was, I was hungry. I wanted, I wanted to progress. I had found that I had found what I loved and when you love what you do, it's really easy to get engrossed in it. And to just like, go this. That's
Jake Mix:awesome, man. Super cool to hear that. Cause I feel like, you know, I forgot to ask that process, uh, because oftentimes all we hear is you jumped from this position to this position, to this position, and it's really cool to see how you, how you kind of dive deep. You know, you dove deep if you will. And, uh, really got in there and were hungry and super cool and mentors, I think that's, you know, what's what was the. The impact of mentors in your life and in your career,
Logan Mallory:man, I've been so dang lucky. Like it feels like everywhere I've gone from middle school forward, there's been there's for, you know, different periods of lives. That's been different people. Sometimes it was spiritual. Sometimes it was school. Sometimes it was work. Sometimes it's been, you know, outside of any of those, I've just been really lucky to always be surrounded. by Typically really great men, um, who have, who have guided me and, and, uh, taken an interest in me when they didn't need to, um, I actually just went to lunch with my counterpart today and he said, Hey, what's your, what's your like, mentorship? Like right now? I said, you know, what's interesting is I feel like I'm kind of shifting. And I'm now at a spot where I'm mentoring more than being mentored. And he said, you know what? Like, that's great. That's good. You should provide that, but don't forget that you still need to fill your bucket and you need to be full. And so, uh, anyway, I've, I've had these really great mentors. Um, I think those two gentlemen took a little bit of a shot at me or excuse me, a shot. Like they, they gave me a shot. They gave me a shot. I don't know that I had the credentials that deserve that job. I came in. Asking for a lower salary. Cause I wanted the experience in the role more than I wanted money. And so between all of that, they were willing to give me a shot and uh, and, and I didn't let them down. So they saw a little bit of promise and a little bit of a, of a diamond in the rough and, uh, it's worked out great, hopefully for all of us.
Jake Mix:It's amazing. And how long were you in that desert book position?
Logan Mallory:They're just shy of four years, I believe. Yeah, just shy of four years.
Jake Mix:Okay. Okay. Have you had like a average amount of time you've been in a position. I know that sometimes you can't like really sink your feet in until a certain amount. Yeah, I'm
Logan Mallory:probably on average. I'm probably about two and a half years. So in college three years, here's how it went three years, three years, one year, four years, two years, three and a half years. Okay. One plus at . So I'm probably two and a half year
Jake Mix:average. Okay, cool. Is there, I mean, have you, have you been able to. Like, is it just enough to stay in a role for a year? Do you feel like you could have done more of those roles for a year? What's your thoughts there?
Logan Mallory:Um, one of the things that I've learned is that if you're in the wrong job, you can't get out fast enough Yeah. So looking back on a couple of those, if I would've known what I know now I would have left before orientation was done. Wow. Um, that was early in my career. I didn't really know what the red flags were. I thought I had to muscle through and thought I had to like, prove that I hadn't made the wrong choice or proved that I could do it. And I don't know if it's like that I'm a little more established or that I'm more confident or I have enough money to like, not worry about my next paycheck, but like in those early days, When those were all problems, I just felt like I had to tough it out and I was wrong. I was wrong.
Jake Mix:wow. Well, that's, it's really good to hear from, from a perspective where you've gone through a lot and you're in a comfortable position. Cause I think, uh, kids and people like me who have just graduated we're a bit or a bit in that mindset where we feel like we have to stick it out. So yeah.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. I think if you, um, so let me give the counter advice to that. Okay. If you find that three or four times in a row, then you ought to look in the mirror and do some analysis. Right? Great point. But once, once every couple of gigs, like sometimes you make mistakes, right? Or you think one thing, and it's not the reality. So what, I'm not giving you permission to do is change jobs after 30 days, five times. Right. If you've realized you're in a bad spot and you stuck at your last place for awhile, get out and go find something great. Yeah. There's two, especially right now, this advice might only be good for 2021. The economy is too dang. Good to not go get something that. you like So
Jake Mix:true. So true. Well, especially in Utah, and I think most of our, most of the listeners are from Utah, so, yep. Great opportunities here. Well, let's talk about a little bit of your role at Motivosity VP marketing for a little over a year. Yeah. Or some of the things you did in the first six, 12 months to ensure you were going to have success.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. Um, I think. Three things. If I were to kind of summarize it in three things, the first one is a long-term and a short-term plan. We needed, we needed demand gen quickly. And that was my primary focus. And so I like spent a lot of my energies in a short-term plan, but I also knew that there was long-term efforts that needed to be done. And so kind of being able to switch even within the same day or within the same hour and say, we're going to do this now because it benefits us this. And then say, we're going to invest this because it'll benefit us next year. So keeping a short-term and a long-term play. Uh, the second thing that I did, uh, if, if anything has made. The marketing team at Motivosity successful. It is the team members that we've brought on. Um, when I started, there was one, um, contracted employee on the marketing team. Now there are eight of us, including myself, and it is an amazing team, the best energy, so willing to help people aren't territorial. Like this crew is unbelievable. It's one of the most fun groups I've ever worked with. Um, and then the third thing is like, I brought energy to, um, I brought energy to the organization and what that is not as a comment about the organization, mode of audacity is already an energetic place with people who love their life and love what they're doing. I would like to think that I came in with excitement and energy and a positive attitude. And. Um, added to, or expanded the foundation of like energy that already existed. And so, um, that was more of a cultural ad than a marketing ad.
Jake Mix:Okay. Yeah. Well, it sounds like those are some three great principles. Did you come into the organization planning to do some of those things? Like, did you have the mindset to go in. And did you learn that from previous previous positions or like, did it kind of just come in, you saw the need and you took the action.
Logan Mallory:I don't know if I should admit this on a podcast, but that would be giving me way too much credit. I think the one that I like, if I knew that I was going to do anything, um, it's the energy, right? I think. I enter and again, excuse me for talking about myself in a positive light, but I think I enter a room with a SA, a smile and excitement and a positive attitude. And I've learned since I was in second grade moving to a new elementary school that that works right. So, right. So that's a life lesson that I apply everywhere I go. Um, I knew that the demand gen portion and like the like driving leads quickly would, would. Be beneficial because that's my core skillset. Right. And so I knew that Motivosity would value that otherwise I wouldn't have been the right person for the job. Um, and, and I don't want to make it sound like I don't have any clue what I'm doing, but I think you think you might have some ideas and then you show up in an organization and you get the dynamics and you get to look at the real numbers and you get to actually understand the sales process and whatever you think was the right play. Probably isn't the right play. So I think there's an element of Confidence and having a lot, like a deep well to draw from. But also an element of, um, I'm tenacious enough, I'm going to figure this out, right?
Jake Mix:Yeah. And I would imagine that energy can contribute to any, any organization. Right. If you have a willingness to learn and adapt.
Logan Mallory:Yep. And I think that's the beauty of the team, the marketing team that we've, that we've grown here is it's a group of people that feel that way and are willing to figure things out. And, um, so it's one thing when there's one marketer that feels that way when there are eight of you that are all willing to figure it out and bring energy, but it is like, I, I dunno, it's just magic. It's
Jake Mix:magic. That's awesome. Well, and, uh, I want to talk a little bit, cause you're, you're primarily a B2B organization, right? Yeah. So what's kind of your main, where are you mainly getting leads from? Is it social? Is it, you know, tell me a little bit about that.
Logan Mallory:So think about those long-term those short-term and the long-term plans. Right? So short-term, I mean, when you're in a B2B organization, there is a group of people that wants to buy from you, or that is in the. market Right now, like right today, they're trying to find a solution. So a couple of places that you'll find those, uh, those buyers, those bottom of the funnel buyers, you're going to find them on the review sites. So Capterra G2 crowd software advice, right? People where, or excuse me, places where people are going to find specific solutions. You'll also find it in ad words, right? If, if you're using specific AdWords on, on Google or Bing, like there are certain indications. That people are looking for something at the bottom of the funnel. And so you'd better be in both of those places. And then, uh, also if you're not using paid social, right, if you're not using LinkedIn and Facebook to capture people's attention, those are bottom of those. Well, let me, I won't say they're bottom of the funnel leads. There are people who are a little. Intrigued enough to get in the market. Right. And so that can drive some quick wins for you, uh, if you're targeting things, right? So that's kind of the short-term path and that's where any good B2B marketer shows up. You audit that you make sure you're spending in the right place. You're getting all of those low funnel leads and that gives your sales rep something. to do This month, the longterm plan. What's your event strategy? Where are you going to be? Right? Where are you going to be present? Is your brand saying the right things to the right people? Is your content compelling or boring? And I would argue most content. These days is boring, right? It's either boring or too thin to actually provide any insights, um, and your SEO strategy, and clearly your SEO. If, if your, like, if your SEO strategy. And your content strategy aren't aligned, then you're in trouble anyway. So, um, you got to think short-term and you got to think long-term and, um, that's what I've got to say about that. That wasn't very great transition to,
Jake Mix:I loved it to be honest. Um, well, that's cool. And, and, uh, you said the most content is, you know, frankly, a little boring and I would, I would probably agree and very thin not enough value. Well, how are you creating content that is valuable? What do you have any tips? Uh,
Logan Mallory:that's one of the reasons that I chose to come to Motivosity, um, I've worked for very wonderful companies, companies that are respectable companies that do the right thing, companies that care about their customers. And I will say this on a podcast, even though it might hurt some feelings. Like I, like, they're not necessarily exciting products, like project management, isn't exciting. And business phone systems. Aren't totally thrilling. Right. Right. And so for me, Modavanti was this opportunity to be obsessed with the product that I was marketing. I was a user of Motivosity before I worked here, Joe staples, as a mentor and friend to being here. I had a lot of exposure that way, uh, you know, clearly respected Scott Johnson, who's the CEO and founder, and also founded Workfront. Um, and, and so for me, I had always had these like interactions with and coming here and loving the product makes contents so much easier, right? Like part of the reason my LinkedIn has gotten better over the last year is the intersection of what is all about. And my personal brand. And so, uh, now can we all work for a place that we love their product for an entire 50 years? Probably not, but if you're not mildly passionate about the product, it makes it almost impossible to have your content be great. So I think as marketers, we could do a better job and be more judicious and picking our roles so that we can be excited about it. I've been guilty of saying it doesn't really matter what product I market. I can market it. Right. That's true. I can market it, whatever it is, I'll market it, but when you're passionate about it and unlocks some potential, um, and is really cool to watch that happen.
Jake Mix:Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I'll tell you, and when I saw that you moved to LinkedIn, because I've been following you on LinkedIn for quite a while, I felt like you and the brand. Matched very well. Right? I think, yeah, no, it's a great, that's a great thing. Now, let me preface that, but I feel like Motivosity has a lot of energy to it. I wouldn't be surprised if you guys have started to build quite the community. Am I wrong on that?
Logan Mallory:Yeah. It's growing, it's growing. It's a lot of work like LinkedIn doesn't necessary. Favor business accounts. And so I look at groups like gong, Gong's done an amazing job. Um, log me in where I worked has a massive following. And I look at those companies with envy. Um, we've grown a lot, like we've, we've grown significantly in the years since I've been here. There's a lot more to do. There's a lot more to do. And, um, the good news is I don't have to have followers on LinkedIn for our social presence to be successful. So the other day I was scrolling LinkedIn and there was a woman who had made a post about something and she was wearing a thanks matter shirt, which isMotivosity's tagline, right. Thinks matters. And she wasn't talking about thanks matters. She wasn't talking about motivation. She just happened to be, um, her, she just happened to be wearing it. And the other day, my brother-in-law who lives in Georgia, um, he sent me this text message and he sent me this text message with a picture and he goes, Hey, just in case you hadn't seen this. And I don't know if I can find it and we're on a podcast anyway, but it was a picture of a. And I'm sorry for not remembering it was, I'm going to get there. This is a bad podcast. It was a . And so he's the wide receiver coach and I hope I pronounce his name. Right. I'm assuming that that's, Kalani's relative. He's the wide receiver coach at BYU. And, um, he's literally sporting his thanks matters shirt on this show on BYU TV called the deep blue and that wasn't planned that wasn't scripted. People like . And so even if we're not growing our followers, as much as we could, or we're not the biggest one out there, we're growing in some really great social way.
Jake Mix:Oh yeah. Well that's, I would, I would think that's a huge win for you guys to see that kind of content. I feel like it'd be very proud of the efforts when I, when I could see that. Yeah, exactly. That's awesome. Well, and yeah, it sounds like you, um, How just in a lot of good things here, like it's cool.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. It's, it's been very, very fulfilling and I, um, I came into Motivosity with the expectation that it would be a career defining opportunity and I'm going to work hard. And I know the rest of the Motivosity team is going to work hard to make that true for all of them. It's a good, it's a good place to be. We do good things for our customers. And so it makes our work
Jake Mix:enjoyable. Yeah. Well, I'm a fan of Motivosity. I I've been using it for about, oh gee, it's been about two months and that's been fun.
Logan Mallory:Well, we're, we're glad doTERRA joined, joined. It was
Jake Mix:part of the family. Yeah, for sure. Well, let's talk a little bit about your overall career. Um, have there been any, have there been any marketing principles that have translated or have really stayed true, been evergreen throughout your entire.
Logan Mallory:I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but one of the things that has been that has been helpful for me as a marketer since day one is to always have a new idea in my back pocket. I think we get, um, not complacent, but we just kind of run the same motions over and over and over. We need to update our social media. We need to send out an email for this let's update the website. Right. And I would suggest that if you want to be an amazing marketer, That you have something new that you can pull out, because at some point you're going to have a quarter where sales isn't going to hit their number, or you're going to have, uh, an executive come to you and say, we need a new idea. This doesn't feel fresh. What should we do? And if you kind of look around the room, That doesn't feel good, right? Like if you're like, if you're just silent, that doesn't feel good for anybody. Right. But you can build confidence in both from executives and in yourself, if you say I was reading this the other day, and I think this would be really cool to try, and maybe it's not the perfect. But it's an idea and one idea spurs another. So, um, I, I don't have a recent example, which I guess is kind of hypocritical. That's not true. I do have one. I'm just not going to share it on podcasts. It's too good. We were in an executive meeting the other day and it was an executive offsite. We were doing some planning for 2022 and I said, I want to do this Because it's part of my marketing bucket list and I think it would be awesome. And everyone kind of looked at me like I was crazy, which is probably accurate, but then I'll let them me for a second. And I was like, wait. And another idea came from that idea. And so. It ended up being, I won't say one of the highest priorities, but I will say one of the highest energy driven driving ideas and, um, we're going to do it. We're going to do it. So I'll, I'll expose that idea. If you want to have me back in November or so of next year, I'll tell you that idea. We love it, but I keep an idea folder in my email. So, you know, all those annoying emails you get from vendors like, Hey Logan, try this. Or, Hey Jake, come, you know, let us do a demo. I get rid of a lot of those, but every once in a while, maybe one out of 10 or one out of 20, I'll put that email in my idea folder in my inbox. And then that way, when I'm sitting in that meeting, or when I realized there's going to be a revenue deficit or something, I go back through that email folder and. say This might be worth trying. Right. And so I've got a, I've got a repertoire of, of things to pull from in my back pocket.
Jake Mix:That's so smart. Well, and I think we all know the feeling of those meetings, where, you know, we're fishing for ideas and no one comes up with anything and it's just awkward. It's a great, I feel like it's a great opportunity to be, to set yourself apart
Logan Mallory:It is a great opportunity to set yourself apart. And all it takes is a little bit of intentionality. Before. Cause you never know when that meeting's coming. Oh yeah. Right. And all you have to do is be intentional a couple times a quarter before that and say, I'm going to go spend 30 minutes and look for new ideas. I'm going to spend 30 minutes and watch what our competitors are doing. I'm going to take 30 minutes and read this content so that I can come up with something. Right. You do that three or four times in a quarter and you'll have a couple ideas in your back pocket.
Jake Mix:Yeah. That's so smart. And jeez, how often do we just go through our job? We do the work, but we're not continuing to like educate ourselves and learn. And that's such a great point 30 minutes a day and we can get some great ideas for the future. Yeah, absolutely. That's awesome. Okay. Let's talk. I want to transition a little bit. It sounds like we've gotten some great content here. Um, but I want to transition to a little bit of your LinkedIn presence. Sure. Because like you said, it has been. Great thing for your career. So would you recommend to everyone is on LinkedIn, would you recommend everyone posts on LinkedIn? Like what are your thoughts about LinkedIn?
Logan Mallory:Um, Clayton Christianson says, and I don't know when he said it originally, but in the book, how will you measure your life? He's talking about networking and he says, if you start networking, when you need a job, It's like planting a sapling when you need shade, right? Yeah. You're too late. Yeah. So for me, LinkedIn is not about today. LinkedIn is about the future, right? I have this, um, again, arrogant goal to like never apply for a job. I don't want to apply for jobs. Amazing. I would like people to show up and ask me to come work for them. Right. And that might not always be the case. Like I'm sure something will happen. And at some point that I'll have to, that'll be all, you know, I'll have to go through that rigmarole, but LinkedIn gives me the hope that I could avoid as much of that like painful process as possible. So should everyone be on LinkedIn? Yeah, I personally think if you're not a doctor or a dentist or like don't care about jobs. Sure don't be on LinkedIn, but otherwise, yeah, you should be there. And I'm not saying you have to be as active as I am, but I think it's a really beneficial place. Now, the caveat that I would add to that is, um, Microsoft bought LinkedIn for something like $26 billion. And I don't know how long it's been. It's probably been seven or eight years. Um, so I don't think LinkedIn is going to like disappear into the night with an investment like that someday. LinkedIn will be replaced or outdated. Right. Someday we're all going to die. And the next generation is going to be like linked what? So what I would warn and what I'm trying to figure out, I don't have the answer yet, but at some point LinkedIn will, uh, age out, right? Yeah. And I have to figure out how to be ready for that. So right now all my eggs are in one basket. And I think if you wanted to upgrade on what I do. You would do that by not having all your eggs in one basket.
Jake Mix:Yeah. Well, I've already started to see the engagement rates go down. I mean, if you think about the last two or three years, sounds like it's a great platform for organic, but you can kind of see maybe some intention going to some different places.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. And I think LinkedIn is aware of that and they're trying to figure out how to, how to like balance that out. Polls is not the answer, right? Like polls are everywhere and they're encouraging those, but like that's. Um, that's not the answer, so yeah, there's, there's risk there, but it is, it is a wonderful platform. I have nothing but gratitude for, for LinkedIn. Every element of my career is better because of it.
Jake Mix:Nice. What do you suggest if you were to do one action on LinkedIn everyday, would that be to post, would that be to comment? Like what. Is the game plan. If someone
Logan Mallory:wants to start, let me not give you an action, but let me give you a philosophical approach. Love it. I would, I would go to LinkedIn with a generous presence, right? Okay. Don't worry about what's in it for you. If you don't know Nick and Levi from, we are mind previously of VidArmy and they're in different places. All those guys think about is helping other people and caring for other people. And that has helped their businesses tenfold easily. Right. And so for me, it's not about, Hey, I want this out of LinkedIn though. I'll admit like a, like an, a share feels great to me. And of course I love that and I have my dopamine hits. Right. But. Um, a lot of what I try to do on LinkedIn is spread job, like job openings, right. Or comment and share so that people's job openings get pushed out. Um, I try to bring a lot of hope to people. I think people are just sad and depressed and lonely and scared and all of these negative things. And if you can go be generous to those people, it will go a long way that doesn't have direct. Get you a job. It doesn't have direct make more money. Eventually it will work. out
Jake Mix:I love it. Well, and I, uh, I love your posts. I love your pickleball networking posts,
Logan Mallory:Jared Olsen's baby, that, um, that he's left and gone on to job Nimbus, but we're, keeping it alive and it's a, it's a good place to be in a nice chance to help people that are, you know, trying to network and try. Yeah. And
Jake Mix:openings. Yeah. That's been awesome. I'll I'll have to come sometime. That seems fun. Yeah. Do you still do that on a weekly?
Logan Mallory:Uh, it's always been every other week by the time this podcast is live, we'll be done for 2020, but once warmup or excuse me for 2021, but once things warm up in the spring, we'll, we'll, uh, be out on the again.
Jake Mix:Okay. We'll get to know. That's awesome. Um, well, yeah. Great insights on LinkedIn, you know, it's, I, I'm starting to see more and more people on there posting every day. And so it's good. I love that advice coming with a generous presence. I think that's something that I could do a little bit more too. One other
Logan Mallory:thing. If you don't mind. I think that if you come to LinkedIn and talk about this same thing every day and try to make it all about work, it gets boring and repetitive. Right. And so when people say, Hey, how do you come up with your content strategy? I'll typically think in three buckets, I'll typically think like marketing, right? That's part of my world. And then I'll think about Motivosity and employee engagement. And then my third bucket is like my personal brand, which. is Uplift others help others and kind of this, like, I don't know, like kindness thought leader or something. And so I have different thought different lanes to pull from each day. And I hope what that does, whether it translates or not. It keeps my content from getting boring. I'm not talking about AB tests every day for 365 days like that. Doesn't build. All the time. So for me, I try to pick a few different lanes and, um, that gives me new content Wells to pull from.
Jake Mix:Jeez. Yeah, that's a, that's a, I'm really glad you brought that up because I feel like content, it's definitely something people are always asking about. How do I create more ideas? How many create? Yeah. Love it. Well, um, let's, let's go a little bit more into it. We've been talking a lot about strategy and, um, you right now are an adjunct presents, an adjunct professor at BYU teaching some marketing strategy. So like, what are some of the core principles that you're teaching in that class? What advice would you.
Logan Mallory:Yeah, it's been a great class. And actually the, so I've, I've taught a marketing class and this one's a general strategy. This is, uh, um, business students in all different majors, typically at the end of their collegiate career. Um, I think one of the most important things that I teach in that class is the concept of an intention. Um, a deliberate strategy and an emergent strategy. So the deliberate strategy is what you set out to accomplish as your end result. It's kind of your longterm goal that you're working towards. It's right in front of you. You know what it is? You can, you can envision it, the emergent strategy or the opportunities that pop up along the way. Right. That might take you away from your deliberate strategy. They might get you there faster or in a different method. Um, but E emergent strategies are a little bit more of a risk, right? And I think that, that concept, if you, if you keep that concept on your radar and realize that emergent strategies exist and like have that terminology, then you think about them. So my, like, what's my deliberate strategy. My deliberate strategy is to provide for my family to make enough money that I can have flexibility and to be a leader within, within marketing. And, and that's my deliberate strategy. Right? My emergent strategy was, uh, Well, let me tell you, I'll tell a story super fast. I was sitting at Workfront, which was a job. I loved, it was great people. I got a call from HubSpot, which is a marketer's dream. Right. And I'm on the phone with the HubSpot recruiter and we're talking, it's a great call. Like I practically packed my bags to go to Boston. Like one of those where you're almost texting your wife, like we're moving. Um, so then the recruiter says, Hey, Tell me about the budget that you're managing. Tell me about the program, spend that you're managing. And I was like, I manage a couple of hundred thousand dollars. It's mostly on licenses and tools, and I could hear the recruiter get bored with me and basically hang up the phone. So that's when I realized that I needed a role where I was managing substantial budgets and that became my emergent opportunity. Right. It was like, how am I going to create. That emergent opportunity. So that's thinking about it in a different way, because maybe that's maybe really what that is, is saying my deliberate strategy changed, but when the opportunity at jive presented itself and they needed someone to manage a million dollar budget, it was a no brainer because I knew that was how I got. To my deliberate strategy through an emergent opportunity. So anyway, that's a long story, but, um, I think that's one of the most important things. Be intentional, have a plan and then be smart enough to follow the right things that pop up and, and provide opportunities along the way.
Jake Mix:Wow. I think, I think, yeah, so this is more. I guess this could apply, could apply to everything, right? Like it could apply to everything in business.
Logan Mallory:It's absolutely a business corporate strategy applied to a personal personal career, which actually really matters because a lot of the students I'm talking to and perhaps some of your ideas. You're not the CEO yet, and you're not making those decisions right now, but you are the CEO of your career. Right. And you are making those decisions today. And so learning that in your personal life and in your own. Gives you like the sandbox experience to apply it later on when you are the leader of the organization? Yeah,
Jake Mix:my gosh. Well, yeah, it just prepares you so well for those kind of roles. Absolutely. That's awesome. Would you like looking back on your career, did you ever think that you'd be in this position now? Like how was there ever, like worry or doubt at the beginning of your career thinking what it all worked out. On your end.
Logan Mallory:Yeah. I, uh, first of all, you're overselling where I am right now. Like I, I, um, Well, like I live a normal life, right. I live in a nice 2,700 square foot house on a third of an acre in south Jordan, Utah, which actually is a big acreage for Utah, but I'm not a big house. Right. I drive a 2012 Nissan Murano, so I love it. So I want to love it. I don't want to act like where I am is some, like, I'm not retired yet. Quit my job today. Like I still have a lot to do. Um, am I comfortable in my career? Do I know where I'm going? Do I feel confident that if Modavanti got tired of me today, or if I disagreed with something here that I could find a job in the next couple of weeks? Absolutely. And so that part is, is aspirational, like the confidence in my career. Um, so I remember being in Texas, working for a company that I had. Um, was really disappointed with my choice and I had no clue where I was going to go or what I was going to do. And, um, it was a period of. At best desperation, just no clue who I was. And I remember thinking I have no skills that will ever be wanted by an employer. Um, I don't want to work. I remember like, like it was desperate and I made a post on LinkedIn the other day and, and it didn't happen while I was in Texas. It probably took another 18 months. It just takes one. Anything. To change your situation. It takes one person to give you some advice. It takes one like burst of courage. It takes one article that opens up your eyes. It takes one mentor that gives you a shot. It takes one pat on the back from a street, you know, like it just takes one thing. That could change your whole life. And so, um, I'm very sorry for people who are in that situation where they feel like I don't know what I'm doing or how I'm going to make it or feed my kids for 40 years. Um, but I know what that's like and just hold on. It'll be, it'll be okay. Work hard. Make friends, be kind, be generous. It will be okay.
Jake Mix:That's about the best advice that we could end on ever. I love it. And great advice for, you know, people who go and, and especially earlier in their career, they're so scared. And it's like, I just love that, you know, there's, there's so much opportunity out there and, uh, anything could happen. So yeah,
Logan Mallory:just to let those, um, let those feelings sit with you, but
Jake Mix:ah, I love it. We'll got Logan. If people wanted to learn more about you or. Logan Mallory: Uh, if you want we're at motivosity.Com and it's a wonderful product. If you're trying to build your culture, if you're trying to retain your team members, if you're trying to help your managers be better leaders then Motivosity has some amazing solutions for you. And again, as a user, um, it was, it was awesome to have as a former user. It was awesome to have as a, as an employee. Uh, if people want to reach out to me, I'd love to, uh, to connect on LinkedIn. That's the best place to. If you, uh, either Google or searching LinkedIn for Logan Mallory and the a L L R Y. I'm pretty easy to find. I think I show up pretty high in the Logan Mallory search algorithm. So, um, please, please reach out. And if I can be a resource, I'd be thrilled. Awesome. Hey, well, we, we, you know, thank you so much for your time today. Honestly, this has been so amazing and gotten some, just a ton of little tidbits that I think people can walk away with and apply to their career. So appreciate your
Logan Mallory:time. I hope it's helpful. I'm sure. And for everybody out there, thanks Jake
Jake Mix:chaos.
Logan Mallory:And thank you.