Going From Shapeways to Northwestern Mutual
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Community pro\\xa0Andrew Thomas\\xa0was recruited by\\xa0Northwestern Mutual\\xa0while working at Shapeways. On this episode, he talks about what it\\u2019s like to go from a 200-person startup to an organization with over 7,500 employees that has been around for over 160 years.
With more teammates and internal knowledge comes the added responsibility of continuously learning, introducing yourself to new people, and advocating for your work across the organization.
Andrew and Patrick also discuss:
- The standardization of knowledge management practices
- How Andrew thinks about self-care and burnout for himself and for his team
- Getting buy-in and advocating for your work in a 7,500+ person company
Our Podcast is Made Possible By\\u2026
If you enjoy our show, please know that it\\u2019s only possible with the generous support of our sponsor:\\xa0Discourse.
Big Quote
Standing out on LinkedIn as a community manager (04:16):\\xa0\\u201cI think [I got noticed by Northwestern Mutual because I listed] out the tools that I have had experience with. My job is to manage our self-help portal and that includes knowledge and communities. One of my last projects at Shapeways was redesigning our knowledge base. I think that when they saw, \\u2018Oh, knowledge base and support communities. This is perfect.\\u2019\\u201d \\u2013@athomitron
About Andrew Thomas
Andrew\\xa0Thomas\\xa0lives in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture, Andrew moved to New York City and has started many online and offline communities across industries that include finance, entrepreneurship, 3-D printing, and gaming. He is currently the lead community manager for\\xa0Northwestern Mutual.
Related Links
- Sponsor:\\xa0Discourse, civilized discussion for teams, customers, fans, and communities
- Andrew Thomas on Twitter
- Andrew\\u2019s website
- Roll Control, Andrew\\u2019s fitness game inspired by Wii Fit and Super Monkey Ball
- Northwestern Mutual
- Shapeways
- The Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) initiative
- The official Minecraft feedback forum
Transcript
Your Thoughts
If you have any thoughts on this episode that you\\u2019d like to share, please leave me a comment,\\xa0send me an email\\xa0or a\\xa0tweet. If you enjoy the show, we would be so grateful if you spread the word and supported\\xa0Community Signal on Patreon.
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