(For those of you who haven't seen the announcement, Mark Kingdon, Organic's CEO, is stepping down to lead Linden Lab, the maker of Second Life. Tomorrow is his last day. -Ed.)
When someone chooses to leave the company at a natural point in their career, when their work is done and the timing is comfortable and right for Organic, I like to say that person is "graduating." I am officially "graduating" from Organic on Friday, May 2nd.
Omnicom has begun a search for a new CEO for Organic. Until the role is filled, an interim management committee made up of seasoned Organics will be responsible for major executive decisions: Chuck Russo (EVP of Client Development), Marita Scarfi (CFO and COO) and Jonathan Nelson (Founder and Chairman).
On a personal level, Organic has been my life for seven years. It's not easy to leave but I am very confident the company is in a terrific place which makes it a comfortable time for me to graduate.
The company:
• Has superlative talent in every corner of the company and a tight-knit management team
• Is doing some of the very best work the company has have ever done
• Has a premier roster of client relationships
• Is considered a leading brand in the marketplace
• Has a unique and cohesive culture that allows people to learn, grow and do great work
Organic's people and culture are the magic in the company's success. Organic has this hidden, hard-to-identify attribute that it's taken me the better part of seven years to understand. It's a mash-up of natural intelligence, great creativity, kindness, sincerity, compassion and determination. I think it's very evident in Camp Organic - an exercise in customer empathy.
I am very thankful for my time at Organic - and by extension, my time over the past several years with Omnicom. I met and worked with many, many exceptional people who are responsible for the company's success - a special thanks to each of them.
The past seven years would make a great business book because it's three success stories in one: turning around a dot-com darling, repositioning the company as a leader in user-centered design and online marketing and managing through a period of rapid growth period that redefined the company. I finished the final chapter, and so it's time to move on.
Thanks to everyone for making this a truly exceptional life experience. And, a big thank you to all of the bloggers and readers of ThreeMinds for your support since our inception.
Mark
PS: Follow the jump to learn more about the picture above.
I wrote about Second Life in Click Z in 2006 and created my first avatar more than a year ago. Around the same time, I invited the dynamic Founder, Philip Rosedale, to speak at an Organic management meeting. He was a hit. He has a fantastic mind and a magical vision for Second Life. Last month, I read Philip was recruiting a CEO so I wrote him a note asking him what he was up to. We had dinner and the rest is history. Or will be, hopefully. I am deeply honored to be joining the Linden family.
Come visit me in-world. My avatar is M Linden. I start May 15th. As you can see in the snapshot below, I am still sleeping on the job but now I have better hair, skin and clothes.
Strategists & Planners
Comments (10)
Good luck to you, surprising move I must say, knowing the industry perspective on Second Life these days. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for some big news from Linden Labs in the coming months, as I'm sure you'll be a real catalyst for change from the moment you start working (and not sleeping on the job).
Posted by kaylam | May 1, 2008 2:34 PM
Posted on May 1, 2008 14:34
Good luck mark on secondlife!!!
Master Huldschinsky (on secondlife)
Posted by Nathan Prugh
|
May 28, 2008 4:51 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 04:51
Good luck mark on secondlife!!!
Master Huldschinsky (on secondlife)
Posted by Nathan Prugh
|
May 28, 2008 4:52 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 04:52
good luck mark on secondlife!!!!
Master Huldschinsky (on secondlife)
Posted by Nathan Prugh
|
May 28, 2008 4:54 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 04:54
Welcome to Second Life, M.
I noticed you don't have a TV to rack out in front of. That just won't do. Feel free to PM me in-world - I'd love to show you some of the great shows on SLCN.
Posted by Normal Rayna | May 28, 2008 5:28 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 05:28
Welcome to Second Life, M.
I noticed you don't have a TV to rack out in front of. That just won't do. Feel free to PM me in-world - I'd love to show you some of the great shows on SLCN.
Posted by Normal Rayna | May 28, 2008 5:30 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 05:30
Welcome to Second Life and to Linden Lab, Mark! I imagine that you have far wider challenges than at your time in Organics — or, perhaps, put in another way, you might have far more people with high hopes and expectations from your work at Linden Lab.
The timing couldn't be more perfect. A lot of "paving the road" work has been done by the 250 or so employees at Linden Lab and the 13.5 million Residents in Second Life — almost all of them eager promoters of the technology, the community, and the possibilities it can offer at so many levels that your major difficulty will be to define priorities!
Second Life Residents are *very* demanding — more so than the industry and marketing analysts, or the nasty media that is always in search of the tiny tidbits of bad news to publish — the only ones that people like kaylam happen to hear about. Pushing a positive image of Second Life as the most innovative technology since the PC hit the marketing shelves or the first bytes were passed across a web server and its client will be your ultimate challenge.
It's not going to be an easy ride! Then again, your work at Organics proves that you like very hard challenges. I sincerely am one of the many millions of Residents with very high hopes that Linden Lab has truly picked a strong leader that will not fear the amount of hard work ahead to push Linden Lab back in the limelight it deserves — while at the same time motivating the millions of Residents to continue to promote its use, in what is possibly the largest crowdsourced marketing promotion ever.
And hopefully, in seven years or so, when your work at Linden Lab is finished, you're allowed to sleep on the job... in peace, with a smile, with the sense of having accomplished your task!
Posted by Gwyneth Llewelyn
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May 28, 2008 11:37 AM
Posted on May 28, 2008 11:37
T-shirts! Get your M LINDEN POWER IDLING! T-shirts here!
http://kanomi.blogspot.com/2008/05/power-idling-with-m-linden.html
http://uncensored.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=702620
or
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Shempo/73/229/121/
Posted by kanomi | May 28, 2008 7:47 PM
Posted on May 28, 2008 19:47
I am not sure if you can read this post Mr. Kingdon, but I'd like to try writing it anyway..:)
First of all, thank you for accepting what can be the most challenging job in your lifetime. We are a vibrant community in SL and we love and truly enjoy the world that LL brought to life throughout the years. A product like this is absolutely tricky technically, and many repurcussions are present, but the tremendous opportunities and the great rewards that follow overcomes it.
As someone posted above, SL already has a TV network, in fact there are three networks as of now. We also have a thriving publishing sector (I am an editor of a magazine there), a fashion community, an arts community, and also a PR/Marketing community. The possibilities are endless. CREATIVITY and COLLABORATION is certainly the driving force here.
A lot of creativity and community effort is brought into Second Life and a lot of sharing of ideas has been passed on here, enabling people from all works of life to commune and collaborate. Something like this is incredibly powerful, and I hope someone like you can see this, learn to utilize it, and capitalize on it.
With this in mind, I hope that as CEO, you will take LL into a much better place in which non-techies can understand, there are a lot of areas in which people who are not familiar with SL can really learn in order for them to understand it. I hope with your expertise you can turn SL around and make it easier for them to understand so they can no longer stereotype the virtual world as a place where geeks and people with no real lives engage in. Perhaps that is the most difficult task yet.
May you be the bridge that connects SL to the real world.
Posted by Anonymous | May 29, 2008 11:02 PM
Posted on May 29, 2008 23:02
I am not sure if you can read this post Mr. Kingdon, but I'd like to try posting it anyway..:)
First of all, thank you for accepting what can be the most challenging job in your lifetime. We are a vibrant community in SL and we love and truly enjoy the world that LL brought to life throughout the years. A product like this is absolutely tricky technically, and many repurcussions are present, but the tremendous opportunities and the great rewards that follow overcomes it.
As someone posted above, SL already has a TV network, in fact there are three networks as of now. We also have a thriving publishing sector (I am an editor of a magazine there), a fashion community, an arts community, and also a PR/Marketing community. The possibilities are endless. CREATIVITY and COLLABORATION is certainly the driving force here.
A lot of creativity and community effort was brought into Second Life and a lot of sharing of ideas has passed on here, enabling people from all works of life to commune and collaborate. Something like this is incredibly powerful, and I hope someone like you can see this, learn to utilize it, and capitalize on it.
With this in mind, I hope that as CEO, you will take LL into a much better place in which non-techies can understand, there are a lot of areas in which people who are not familiar with SL can really learn in order for them to understand it. I hope with your expertise you can turn SL around and make it easier for them to understand so they can no longer stereotype the virtual world as a place where geeks and people with no real lives engage in. Perhaps that is the most difficult task yet.
May you be the bridge that connects SL to the real world.
Posted by Isadora Fiddlesticks (SL) | May 29, 2008 11:10 PM
Posted on May 29, 2008 23:10