The Next Chapter

Anyone who knows anything about my personal life is well aware that I'm usually pretty good at getting things right the second time around.

(Cliff's Notes: I married my high school sweetheart, but not until 20 years after our first date, once we had each been married to other people, only to reconnect and get a second swing at it 12 years after our original target wedding day. Here we are—13 years, a daughter and stepson, and four dogs later—finally getting it right.)

Here's to mulligans.

What most people don't know is how I got here, to where you're reading this. The history is a similar tale of second chances. When I ventured out on my own in 2012 to start my own business, I was greeted with the generosity of Heather and Jay Harrington as a soft landing. They offered me an office, access to the Internet, and a bunch of free coffee I cheated them out of without them knowing.

A hand up soon led to a hand shaken, as the Harrington firm and my own began to find opportunities to share clients, refer business back and forth, and even collaboratively pitch business together. It proved to be a very good match...so much so, that we began to explore what matchmaking might truly look like between our organizations. Maybe a closer (and more official) alignment was in the stars?

As we went down that road together, various forks in the road presented themselves. Without boring you with the details, suffice to say we tabled our discussions of joining forces. Many of you know where the next seven years took me. Harrington went on to great things of their own.

Until one day...

Opportunity knocked. History repeated itself. A mulligan was offered.

And here we are. What has been a conversation spanning months (now), and I suppose years (if you take into account the initial conversations), has now become official. I am proud and extremely excited to announce that I have merged my practice into the Harrington firm, joining the agency as Principal and Chief Storyteller. I'm again humbled by, and thankful for, the warm welcome extended to me by the Harringtons and their team. And I'm grateful that fate continues to offer me second chances to get things right the first time. ;-)

We are bullish about what the future holds for our firm, and we have some very exciting things on the horizon, the details of which will be announced in due course. The Harrington team shares my passion for strategic storytelling, especially as it relates to visual storytelling. Their skill sets and resources complement our own in ways that present very intriguing possibilities, in terms of how to rethink how firms are engaging their various constituents in more effective, enduring ways. Stay tuned for announcements as we're ready!

I'm hoping to connect in person with as many of you as I can to share any details you might care to hear. It might take a bit, but let's plan on it. Drop me a line at tom@hcommunications.biz anytime.

In the meantime, allow me sign off in a way fitting of the great Paul Harvey, as now you know...the rest of the story.

To mulligans!

Tom Nixon
Principal + Chief Storyteller