What ICrossing doesn’t want you to know, from a former employee.
Does that grab your attention?
Have you ever worked for a company and you are proud to work there and very enthusiastic about the work you do and yet the corporate policy is not to talk about the company? Having a blog about a particular subject and working at a company within an industry which pertains to that subject and being told not to blog about the company even if it is positive can be quite surprising. That is what happened when I started ICrossing. I wrote a post about the many talented and successful marketing agencies located in the Phoenix Metro Area; ICrossing being one of them, and ofcourse they found it because afterall ICrossing is a Search Marketing Firm along with the many other services they provide such as creative and even mobile. So anyway, I was called into the office and was politely asked not to blog about ICrossing. It’s not like I said anything negative or had any details at all about them. So why do companies feel like they need to control the message. Control is an illusion; especially now with Social media and user generated content so prevalent. Wait a minute, maybe… could it be? ICrossing is a front for a secret Government agency? Think about it. C.I.A. , IC… two of the letters from CIA are used in ICrossing! The internal communications refer to the company as IC. They have posters in the building all over that state “ICrossing – We are for Search.”, “Search is in our DNA”, “ICrossing, WE ARE FOR FINDING”, “ICrossing, WE WILL FIND YOU.” I should have seen it. I should have realized who I was really working for.
So now is my chance to let the cat out of the bag and a much needed relief from my shoulders.
During my tenure at ICrossing, I learned a great deal more about Search Engine Optimization and how Search Engines rank and index websites, but as for the the internal workings of ICrossing I found it to be a corporate atmosphere unlike any other marketing firm. I actually liked this. ICrossing knows who they are and where they are going. They had a Visionary Leader in Jeff Herzog and the new CEO Don Scales is impeccable and just as impressive in his organization and leadership. Don is a student of Jack Welch as evidenced by his leadership and style. I picked up on this right away when we first met, and seeing his communication style and vision for the future of ICrossing in the Strategic Plan. I could tell because I too am a student of Jack Welch. My leadership mirrors Jack Welch, Donald Trump, Walt Disney and Herb Kelleher if you can imagine how that might look… Anyway I digress.
The strategies and decisions are all based on data. Data drives everything. I also found everyone that I encountered there was extremely dedicated to the clients they serve. After all when working for Fortune 100 companies paying a lot of money for ICrossing services, you want to do everything you can to keep them happy and exceed their expectations. Individuals like Monique Costello, Matt Gryzb, Carolyn Frazier, and Rene Tarteglino who lead different accounts that I worked on were not only a joy to work with, but an inspiration. Working with them made me want to work harder for them and of course the great clients we represented. Putting in the 12 to 15 hour days on those occassions was worth it because I knew the rest of the team was as well and the effort was appreciated. I didn’t complain too much to myself because after all this is an agency and this is the agency life. That is why agencies have such a high turnover. If you were expecting me to blast ICrossing, or share some juicy company secrets or how Google blocking automated search ranking software may or may not be affecting ICrossing; you are out of luck.
I have nothing negative to say about ICrossing other than their office was way too far away from my home. It was time for me to leave and start a new job in a Director level role much closer to my home. I wish ICrossing continued success in their global expansion, to Don Scales as the New CEO and to Jeff Herzog with his new venture of Zog Media.
What a let down. I thought you were going to share some inside trash or give away some secrets. What kind of person leaves a company and then sings their glories even after leaving?
You are one class act Mr. Saling.
Good Luck and Continued Success with your career goals.
Sounds like both iCrossing and you lost, but I can understand not wanting to make a commute.
Please, Richard “saling” is it if you are so proud of icrossing why don’t you use their real name? or spell it right iCrossing. This looks like some piss poor PR play by IC to keep the negative posts about them down.
Don Scales is a grumpy old man with questionable morals and rumored to be abusive towards women
Herzog on the other hand is a true visionary, too bad Don pushed him out in a shady way haivng a board meeting behind Jeff’s back and selling him down the river.
Good luck getting sold IC!
Why don’t you use your real name? It seems you work there or used to work there. Don never seemed grumpy when was around him. As for rumor and innuendo, I prefer not to speculate on that as it serves no one. I am proud of IC. They are a solid company. Would I do some things differently? Of course, but I am not in charge. So, let go of the bitterness it only holds you down.
Why are you defending these jerks? Every other agency in the valley knows their bad rep for working people to death. They don’t want you working long hours but keep piling on the work with shorter deadlines, then make you feel there is something wrong with you because you stay late to get your work done. I hate the place. They have no respect for their employees and Don is a joke. It is so funny how the leadership says they want a better retention but they don’t change how they treat us and they have lay offs right after saying that they won’t!
But it’s all ok because it’s all done with a smile.
Two Words
ASS KISSER
Where did working the long hours, taking responsibility for other people’s mistakes, taking crap from a no nothing manager, an asshole slave driver project manager and ignoring the backstabbing from conniving co-workers get you?
I hope you are at a better place now. I know I am.
They went from being a great shop to joke since Herzog left and Scales took over.
Rumor has it this little media blip has also caused a rift among investors and affected the pipeline leading to iCrossing axing 40 jobs. Many of the employees had been there for over 4 years.
Meanwhile Don Scales still owns his 6 homes and an iCrossing paid for NYC apartment.
Justice has yet to be served
This place IS great, that we are being sued for “stealing” employees from one of our competitors and they are bringing their clients with them.
Is it ICrossing’s fault that we attract your employees and clients because we offer a better place to work and better services with better ROI for your clients?
Stop the whining. Lawsuits will not make you a better solution for your clients or a better workplace for your employees.
I think it is entirely bad form to disparage those of us who have transformed iCrossing from some amateur SEO shop to a worldwide digital marketing agency. Don’t you people know I’m British? My father was a commander in the Royal Navy.
And another thing – it’s all about teamwork.
As my father, a commander in the Royal Navy, used to say about submarine life – “120 men go down, 60 couples come up.” Tally-Ho!
I wonder what this means for iCrossing executives who have aspirations but haven’t made it into Don’s inner circle? Will Don, Dave, Colin, Marlin, and Lori get ousted? If they do, I wonder if I, er uh, that executive would end up in the fabled catbird seat.
It’s difficult to say…
All I know is that my checks cleared.
The entire lawsuit is felonious. It’s obvious from the speculatious accusements that the suer is in pursuit of a payday at the expenses of Don “Success Is Ours To Have” Scales.
I don’t find it worth my pretensions to digmify.
Jealousy is a wicked mistress…
We might not like Don but don’t forget who brought him on.
25 more lost jobs today and counting…
IC use to be a great place to work!
But the Troll has taken the silver spoon we created, and tarnished its sheen to the point, that it is now.
A rotting carcass!
30 more lost jobs today.
“I was called into the office and was politely asked not to blog about ICrossing. It’s not like I said anything negative or had any details at all about them.” … Real nice. Real progressive.
This company has no vision. The mass exodus is just getting started. It’s directed by a small core of execs who are slowly running it into the ground with a culture that rewards name-dropping, smooth talking, web 2.0 weenies.
Oh, and rsaling, since you asked- we’re not using our real names because (…and I know this is a shocker…) we’re not ready to loose our jobs. Do you think that could be it?
Don Scales as a great leader. Remind me of his tremendous success at Agency.com? It was all about firing people every quarter to make profit numbers, not about growth and success. Same at iCrossing, I hear. Also, if you watch the trade rags you’ll note that a good percentage of the Agency.com folk that followed him over in Chicago have already left. And although they illicitly and unethically pursued Agency.com clients, none of any real value actual went over.
Boy could I tell tales out of school! I wouldn’t mind working for Herzog again if he jettisoned all the hangers on who had NO CLUE what they were doing. Zog meister– go back to your roledex and find all of the really good people that you once had working for you — like Jen.
So what’s an entry level job like at this company? Something to look into or stay away from?
Now this is a good string.. I worked for ic in the beginning.. not as an employee and then later as an employee.. I gotta say Herzog is awesome.. So was jeff johnson, and a few others but the rest were daily worried about their position and or promotion..
I was as Herzog said the only person driving hard into large clients so eventually they all hated me. I quit and was slapped with a two year non compete..
To combat them I created The SEO Agency. and now i get business and rock and roll. Still i love ranking right under them for primary keywords.. I only hope some day i take a large client and then another and another, until they feel me..
But if that never happens I will share on thought. I learned more with them then i would ever imagined. My passion is part of an existance from my experience and a drive to digital excellence…
Oh but Jeff Pruitt, u can kiss my a!!! moron… nipel sucka…