Genene Morris, Editorial Director

7:07 a.m. 

It’s the ringing bell that awakens me. The delicate chime comes not from an alarm clock, but an actual bell that dangles from a yellow string tied to my backdoor knob.  When we first got Jack, our now six-year-old Boxer, I had the bright idea of teaching him to ring it whenever he needed to go outside to relieve himself. What I hadn’t considered back then was that my clever pooch would one day weaponize this contraption and use it as an instrument to satisfy his every whim. Want to play? Ring, Ring. Feel like catching some rays in the backyard? Ring, Ring. Bored? Ring, Ring.

Given the hour, I know there’s only one reason why he’s at the backdoor and it has nothing to do with his bladder. He’s hungry. At 92 pounds, Jack is not one to miss a meal; certainly not on my account. He taps the bell with his nose again, this time more insistently. I pull the covers back and step out of bed. “Yes, Jack, I’m coming,” I assure him.

Somedays I wonder, who’s the trainer and who’s the trainee?

8:10 a.m.

Jack is fed, I’m dressed, and we’re enroute to doggie daycare. As I pull out of my driveway, I roll down the back windows so Jack can poke his massive head outside. I peek in my sideview mirrors, tickled by the sight of his floppy ears and jowls flapping wildly in the wind.

When I enter the camp’s parking lot, Jack whimpers with anticipation. He can barely wait for me to grab his leash before he’s out the car, pulling me toward the front door of the building. Jack is well-known here so when we arrive, we’re greeted with an exuberant, “Hello, Jack!” by an attendant who escorts him to the play yard. Jack walks off without so much as a backward glance in my direction.  

8:35 a.m.

I am home sitting at my desk, watching my work computer come to life. As Editorial Director and member of Red Cell’s Marketing and Communications team, I am the firm’s resident storyteller. My days are governed by the written word—I am either reading it or writing it.

I start each workday sorting through email and Slack messages and my calendar. Today, a colleague, Sophie, has asked me to review an investor deck and revise one of the slides. She needs my edits by the close of business. I go to our Monday board, a project management app that tracks our team’s assignments, and add it to my list of things to do today. As I go through other Slack messages, I also click on links for articles that colleagues have shared so I can read them when I have a free moment – which probably won’t be until later this evening.

When I’m done, I have compiled a list of tasks to complete, meetings to attend, research to do, articles to write, and colleagues to contact.

9:30 a.m.

My first meeting of the day is with the rest of the Red Cell Mar-Comms team: Léa, our Senior Marketing Manager; George, our Graphic Designer; and our intrepid leader, Katie, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. I have been with the company for roughly 18 months and can honestly say, I love our team. We’ve recently begun a major revamp of the Red Cell website. I’ve noted more than 40 writing assignments that are due within the next couple weeks, which means lots of long, busy days are ahead of me. Like I said, words consume my life.

We each discuss what we’re working on and receive guidance from Katie on matters we’re not clear on. We’re getting together again in a couple hours for a meeting with our web designer, Jen, so we close with a “See you later!”

10:02 a.m.

After our meeting, I click the link for the Investor Deck and start making revisions to the slide in question. I also take the opportunity to read through the rest of the deck and note other slides that could use updating.  Before I know it, it’s time for my next meeting, the daily Red Cell Sync.  

10:30 a.m.

At Red Cell, we are guided by three core values: Excellence, Accountability, and Collaboration. Our culture is one that is built on radical transparency. So, several days a week, Red Cell employees come together on Zoom calls for roughly 15 minutes to discuss projects we’re working on, and any roadblocks we’ve encountered. Each person takes less than a minute to run through their priorities for the day. I use this opportunity to talk with Sophie about my assignment.   

10:45 a.m.

I’ve jumped back into the Investor Deck and quickly type up revisions for another slide and send them out for approval. While I wait, I work my way through the rest of the deck making tweaks as I go and pinging people in the doc with questions.

I then turn my attention to a press release that I’ve been working on that will announce one of our newest incubations, Eyris, a company that is offering a suite of blockchain technologies to enhance data protection. It is the first company that will launch under our newly formed Cyber Practice, which now joins our other two practice areas:  Healthcare and National Security. When I’ve completed work on the Eyris release, I check Slack and see that my rewrites have been approved. I love feeling productive.

Noon

A Team’s notification alerts me that Tiffany, the Client Solutions and Experience Lead at Savoy Life, a Red Cell incubation that’s working to make healthcare work better for senior living communities, has started our Mar-Comms weekly sync. We are joined by Addie and Peter, Savoy Life’s, COO and President, respectively. We use this time to touch base on outstanding projects and get information about upcoming ones. Today, we are discussing a one-pager that we’ve produced for referral agencies; illustrations that a freelance artist has created for marketing collateral; and new features they’d like added to the Savoy Life website. By the end of the meeting, we have a clear idea of our next steps.

12:45 p.m.

I’m on another call with the Mar-Comms team to discuss in greater detail Red Cell’s website revamp. Next week, we’ll be in San Diego for our quarterly All Hands meeting, where we will all come together and receive updates on the company’s progress and strategic plans, meet with incubation leads and their growing teams, celebrate milestones, and engage in team-building activities. All Hands is also a perfect opportunity to interview people face to face. Katie runs through items we need to do next week to make sure we’re making the best use of our time while there. Jen joins our meeting, and we discuss photos we need to have taken.  

1:45 p.m.

I reach out to the first round of team members we want featured on the website, to gauge their interest. I get an enthusiastic “yes” from an overwhelming majority of them.

2:00 p.m.

My stomach growls. I have 30 minutes before my next meeting, so I go into my kitchen and make a lunch of oatmeal with a sprinkle of nuts and brown sugar. What can I say? I’m on a health kick. 

2:15 p.m.

I need fresh air! I still have some time before my next meeting and use this opportunity to go for a quick walk in my neighborhood. I don’t go far – just to the end of my street and back. I greet neighbors with a wave as I walk by, making a mental note of my fellow remote workers. They’re usually the ones standing at the end of the driveways either stretching their limbs before going back inside or talking loudly enough on their phones for everyone to know they’re on a work call.  Speaking of phones, I check mine and note that it’s time to head home for my next meeting.

2:30 p.m.

Katie, Léa, and I have gotten together with our media partners at SBS Comms to discuss intake sessions with Red Cell leaders, announcements we’re planning to make, upcoming speaking engagements, and requests that have come in for media interviews.

3:15 p.m.

In the past week, I have had meetings with representatives from market research companies to learn about how their products can help us to zero in on our target audiences. They’ve sent a bunch of materials that I’m now wading through to share with the rest of the Mar-Comms team.

4:06 p.m.

The house phone rings. It’s my husband, Jay, calling to let me know that he’s left the office and is heading home. I inform him that he’s in charge of picking up dinner – and Jack.

4:45 p.m.

Jack and Jay arrive home. After our greetings, Jay heads to the kitchen with our dinner and Jack makes a beeline for a doggie bed that’s in my office. Jack’s full name is Jack Johnson Morris, named for the first black world heavyweight boxing champion. Right now, our boy sleeps like he’s gone a full 12 rounds in a boxing ring.

5:00 p.m.

I eat dinner at my desk as I work on updates to a press release for Andesite, another cybersecurity incubation. Andesite is building technology that’s designed to improve the capabilities of cyber defense teams and their analysts so they can better predict and stop cyber threats. I put the finishing touches on the release, share it with Katie, and with her go-ahead, I send it to the company’s leaders for approval.

6:30 p.m.

I’m at my niece’s track practice. I hate to brag, but Brooklyn is fast! So fast that her coaches are now having her race against older girls AND boys. I get such a thrill from watching her run and can’t help but entertain thoughts of going to the Olympics someday to see her race other elite athletes.  She’s only 5, but still, her Auntie can dream.

8:00 p.m.

I’ve signed back onto my work computer. It’s quiet now, the ideal time to catch up on things that I put on the backburner as I dealt with higher-priority assignments. Tonight, I’m reading articles and checking emails one last time. That’s when I remember that I still need to sign up for one of the team-building activities slated to take place during our All Hands. We have a choice between surfing lessons and kayaking. As appealing as kayaking is, I step out of my comfort zone and opt for surfing.  

10:30 p.m. 

I shut my computer down for the evening and am now sitting on my sofa mindlessly watching television and sipping on a cup of chamomile tea. Jack is curled up at my feet, dozing off again. Since getting home, he’s rung his bell only once, which was right after his dinner. I finish my tea, turn off the television, and head to bed.

It’s been a long, satisfying day. I think Jack would agree.