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Greg Storey
Destroyer of silos—super connector inside and out of the Enterprise. Vast vision—quick to scale the view of problems and opportunities from universe to macro. Supportive player coach—very chill. calendly.com/greg-storey
Professional Background
Greg Storey is an accomplished professional in the realms of design and advertising, bringing a wealth of experience and a well-rounded perspective to the industry. With an impressive track record that spans over two decades, Greg has held key leadership roles in various prominent organizations, driving innovation and growth in each of his endeavors. As the current President of LexBlog, Inc., he is at the forefront of revolutionizing digital publishing through technology and design.
Prior to his role at LexBlog, Greg served as the Strategic Advisor at adplist.org, leveraging his expertise to guide emerging design leaders and foster a community of inspiring individuals. His earlier tenure as Senior Director of Design at InVision positioned him within one of the leading platforms for product design collaboration, where his leadership significantly contributed to enhancing the overall user experience.
Notably, Greg’s tenure as Executive Director of Design at USAA allowed him to harness his design acumen to ensure that digital experiences were not only innovative but also user-centric, directly impacting how millions of members accessed critical financial services. Additionally, his experience as a Professor at the Austin Center for Design demonstrates his commitment to educating the next generation of designers, all while fostering a culture of creativity and critical thinking.
Throughout his career, Greg has consistently proven his ability to blend creativity with strategy, as evidenced by his role as Head of Brand and Culture at IBM. In this position, he was key in shaping the company's external and internal branding strategies, presenting a cohesive identity that resonated well with consumers and employees alike.
Education and Achievements
Greg Storey obtained his Bachelor's degree in Advertising with a minor in History from the University of Alaska Anchorage, which laid the foundational knowledge for his multifaceted career. This unique intersection of advertising and historical context has often allowed him to appreciate the narrative behind brands and the emotional connections they forge with audiences. His education has been instrumental in shaping his approach to design and strategy, giving him a comprehensive overview of consumer behavior and market dynamics.
Greg is not just a leader but also a visionary thinker who has founded significant platforms, notably the Bureau of Digital, which serves as a hub for digital professionals to connect, share knowledge, and foster professional growth. His time as President and Partner at Happy Cog provided him a solid platform to collaborate with diverse clients and help them realize their branding and design aspirations. Greg's efforts in these ventures have established him as a thought leader in the design community.
With additional roles as a Board Member at Authentic Jobs, Inc., and Creative Director at LexBlog Inc., he has been an influential participant in shaping industry standards and nurturing talent. Greg has also utilized his skills as Principal at Airbag Industries and Senior Designer at Polychrome LA, creating compelling designs that have won acclaim across various markets.
Achievements
Greg Storey has achieved significant milestones in his career, marked by both leadership and creativity. His contributions to major industry shifts have not gone unnoticed; they reflect a blend of strategic insight and passionate commitment to design excellence. Under Greg's guidance, teams have launched successful products and initiatives that have transformed user experiences and elevated brand identities.
A prominent figure in the design space, Greg continues to advocate for innovative practices that foster inclusivity and diversity within the industry. He has consistently encouraged dialogue about the future of design and its role in broader societal contexts, earning him respect and recognition from peers and professionals alike. Through mentorship roles and his influence in communities such as the Design Leader Forum, Greg has played a pivotal role in elevating the voices of emerging designers, energizing the next generation of talent in the creative fields.
With his broad understanding of both the historical and contemporary landscapes of design, Greg Storey remains a vital contributor to industry conversations. His ability to innovate while keeping the user experience at the forefront exemplifies what it means to be a leader in today's fast-evolving design world. As he looks to the future, Greg continues to inspire and cultivate talent, making lasting impacts in advertising and design communities.
Highlights
“So, how does this work,” an executive recently asked me. He had read my previous posts about fractional leadership but didn’t have any experience with it. I thought, hey if this guy (who’s an amazing, experienced leader) is asking, then I bet there are others who are curious too. Gather ‘round my friends and I will tell you what I told him.
By and large, fractional leaders are great to bring in to get work done that the leaders don’t have the resources or energy to focus on. Think of it as an easy way to temporarily add an executive-level leader to help you through different scenarios:
- A stopgap solution between a permanent hire
- Assessing your operations and creating a road map for improvement
- Evolving your team’s soft skills and vocational practices
- Get important things done that you can’t prioritize right now
How it works in general:
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We collaborate on the problems and needs that require additional attention and support. After we’re aligned on these things, then we can determine the work ahead and how it will be measured.
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We have stated expectations set between both parties so we can be successful. The big two are dedicated time to meet each week and clear and regular communication.
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Fractional leaders work up to a certain amount of time each day, week, or month depending on what is needed to succeed. As no culture is the same, when I work has to be shaped around it.
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Engagements are typically 90 days in length. Depending on the scenario, in some cases, I might stay longer to help solve more problems or find my replacement. Either way, I will leave you with a set of recommendations and a road map to help keep you on a successful path.
That’s it. Working with me will save you a ton of time, give you peace of mind, and relieve some stress.
The hard part for you is to look at your to-do list—your backlog—and think, what would Greg do? And when you think you’ve got an idea, schedule a free session to share what’s on your plate, what your culture is like, and see if there’s a there there—as they say. Don’t delay! I can only do one more of these engagements per quarter.
#getthingsdone #zeroheadcount #slamdunk
Designers who report directly to a person who does not have a background in design, how big is your design team?
Please also repost and share this with your network. I need the data for a project I'm working on. Thank you.
#design #designteam #productmanagers #itmanagers
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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