Originally from Chicago, I grew up putting seven toppings on my hot dogs and reading The Chicago Tribune, which was where I got my start in journalism. I was drawn to the hustle of information and the grind of putting a story together on a tight deadline.

After Chicago came the buzzing CNN Newsroom in Atlanta where I concentrated on digital storytelling for CNN.com and CNN Radio (before podcasts were cool). My work in editorial and producing prepared me for the golden age of social media, where soon every brand marketing team needed an editorial calendar for their blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and this strange new one called Snapchat.

Upon making my jump to marketing, I found myself spearheading adidas Originals’ first social media Newsroom Team. Our first assignment was a social activation for NBA All-Star Weekend in New York. My idea was to approach it just like an editorial team, briefing in influential Instagram photographers to shoot product and events all over the city. This may not sound groundbreaking now, but neither adidas nor its competitors had ever used this influencer approach. Adidas dominated All-Star Weekend in consumer engagement and earned media impressions, and it played a pivotal role in the adoption of influencer strategy and out-of-the-box thinking.

At every opportunity, I will look for a unique point of view because differentiation is key. A Kantar study cites that brands that differentiate are four times more likely to grow, and they attribute their difference as the number one factor in share price outperformance.

There is a constant perpetuation in our culture that pushes everything forward—technology, consumer expectations, industry, even our own careers. When I learned to embrace innovation and doing that new thing in a new way, it unlocked growth—for me and organizations I’ve worked for. Let’s work together, and do something no one’s ever seen before.