The second part first

Absolutely you should care. In fact we would go as far as to say that this will be the most important website you visit, ever.

No seriously.

Stop looking at us that way.

And now for the first part second

My name is Robert Westfall and I am founder, creative director, and chief strategist of WESTFALL | GROUP and editor of Inside the Group. (I know--title whore).

My company's purpose is both simple and complex--to help organizations evolve--in how they think and act, in the way they understand and interact with the world around them, how they use technology and innovation to improve their businesses and organizations. We're an advertising and marketing agency, research company, think tank, full-service design firm, management and IT consultancy all under one roof. (one moment please-drink of water)

Now back to the question at hand.

Inside the Group was created to:

• Share the knowledge we've gathered over time (hence "inside the group") and to present the ideas and philosophies that we see as relevant to surviving and thriving in the future.
• Hopefully present a compelling case for our work and make you want to learn more about our company (a teeny bit of self-serving does make the world go 'round).
• And because my company's ability to serve clients and the continued usefulness of this site are both dependent on always staying up on new ideas and innovations we want to learn from you the reader--the person out on the front lines of business, technology, social change and public policy.

What you won't find here…

Name calling. Bravado. Constant self promotion. A battlefield of ads. Endless "let's see who can be the loudest and most annoying."

Instead…

Analysis. Advice. Ideas.

Ideas that a start-up might be able to use to make it more successful in the future. Ideas that a small, scrappy charity might be able to use to raise money or awareness. Ideas that might be the catalyst for better policies to improve the world around us.

Sometimes these pearls of wisdom will come as quick little tips, other times in the form of longer, fact-filled articles with paragraphs and maybe even some punctuation. They will almost always be slanted towards common sense and real world application. And yes a little sarcasm and "duh!" may be thrown in for good measure.

A Quick Primer

To the right is a list of categories and an archive (which will grow over time) of our articles for ease of searching. There is an icon called “Project Kansas City” which is a continuous conversation we are having about the issues facing our hometown as it makes the evolution into a great 21st century city. We think you’ll find this not only an interesting and lively discussion, but will be able to apply much of what is there to your own hometowns.

There's also an icon that takes you away from here to a little test we've created to help spark your thinking. And yes there is an icon that takes you to our company site (it wouldn't kill you to take a few minutes, you know.)

The articles we post often will fit into multiple categories based on the type of audience it helps, as well as the area of interest. For example an article about design might be of use to small companies and nonprofits and therefore it would be put into all three categories. This makes finding articles in our archives easier for you. 

Final thought

I realize that in a world of sound bites and ubiquitous attention deficit disorder a hope of creating a place where ideas that can actually make a difference are offered and shared may all sound like a pipe dream, and maybe it is. But it's what my company is striving for and it's what this site is going to do as well. So if your with us, let's get started.

Robert Westfall
(title whore)