Kevin Theis, DAI Scientific, with Bill White at Pittcon2014.

While planning a visit to a major technology trade show in Chicago last week, we printed a map of the exhibit booth locations and highlighted the companies we wanted to see in the exhibit hall. Up one aisle, down the next, introduce ourselves, shake hands, leave a business card. That was the plan.

Our attempts to get through the exhibit hall in the time allotted to us over two days were thwarted at every turn by interruptions from people we knew from current or previous relationships. We literally ran in to these people. A nuisance? Hardly. These impromptu conversations in the middle of the aisle were the most productive and beneficial meetings we had all week, and the most fun.

In most high tech industries there are a core group of “lifers”, people captured by captivating technologies who never escape the gravity of curiosity and discovery. We see them again and again and, over the years, we often work together here and abroad for companies who depend on our acumen for marketing, brand management and communication.

When introduced to a potential client in a trade show booth last week, I remained silent – comfortably embarrassed – as I listened to words of recommendation and encouragement from an influential industry insider speaking highly of the OffWhite staff. It was a personal endorsement earned through loyalty to shared clients and performance in the trenches. It was proof that we have done our jobs well as our work was validated by a sentence or two from someone who simply wanted the best for his company. The best, he said, was OffWhite.

At OffWhite there is no better reward than a happy client. Those who benefit from our work are usually on the front lines of sales, delivering the message on the street while a marketing team builds the offer and articulates the value. When we can empower these street fighters to call for OffWhite air cover we can expect to share in their success and live to fight another day. We can expect them to say they want OffWhite on the job because what we do works.

Our trip to Chicago was rich with planned and chance meetings, new faces and challenges, long days and great dinners with friends. Most of all, it was a chance to celebrate the free-enterprise system amidst a tapestry of invention and innovation.

For those who continue to recommend us to your extended business family, thank you.