My story

It all started in 2009... or was it 1994?

(Not a reader? Visit BRNDSTRM.com to find out how I can help you tell your story.)

In 2009, I started partnering with LinkedIn, and soon became the first LinkedIn-certified training provider in North America. I regularly outperformed LinkedIn's own trainers in driving adoption of the platform by 2.5x or more, and was invited to make my process a regular part of LinkedIn's marquee user conference, TalentConnect, where it is still in use today.

This work led to cofounding Brand Amper, a storytelling platform that simplifies the process of writing a professional "elevator pitch." Companies give Brand Amper to employees, and then can see trends across departments and geographies that help them amplify their brands to candidates in those areas. (Get it?) Brand Amper was purchased by The Muse (the leading career destination for Millennials) in 2017. 

But the foundation for this success was set through dual experiences I had had during the 16 years prior, first with high tech communications, and then with high touch communications.

During my senior year at Wharton, I helped a friend start a bookstore and took an order—for a textbook, naturally—using brand new technology: a website and email. For the next 7 years, I continued to build and optimize websites, as an entrepreneur, as the Executive Producer of RollingStone.com (where I was responsible for the user experiences of 20-25 million monthly visitors), as a consultant, and as an industry blogger. This is where I learned about the inherent power of technology.

But back in that same year in school, I also discovered organizational behavior, a discipline I'd turn to fully in 2002 when I'd start providing leadership & communications consulting to F500 executives & entrepreneurs—learning it well enough to teach at the graduate level. This is where I learned the limitations of technology, and the power of interpersonal engagement, and of giving people a reason "why" to stay engaged once technology's novelty had worn off.

Today, the digital transformation work I do for companies represents a culmination of these experiences.

For more information, please visit LinkedIn: in/seiden.

For a glimpse into the future, visit my blog.