7 Influencers We’d Love to Invite to Thanksgiving Dinner

With just under a week to Thanksgiving, it’s time to break out the old holiday checklist:

1. Order Turkey -- check
2. Make Centerpiece -- check
3. Prepare Silverware and China -- check
4. Buy Wine -- check
5. Invite Friends -- check
6. Invite Dream Marketer --

Oh no. Did we forget to invite the Marketer again?!

Ok, maybe this isn’t on everyone’s Thanksgiving checklist, but it could be an awesome experience.

Turkey Day presents families and friends with a rare opportunity to catch up with our loved ones, share stories, and discuss ideas, but what if you could add one of your favorite influencers into the mix? That’s the proposition I had for my IMPACT colleagues this week.

If they could invite any marketer, designer, or business tycoon to Thanksgiving who would it be?

Here’s what they had to say:

Walt Disney

“He spent so much time working to make the lives of others better, and his vision was so crystal clear that even to this day, the organization with his name is still making people of all ages smile.

I think Walt Disney would have a lot to say about how far we’ve come with technology and all the different ways we can use it to bring a powerful message to a large audience.

One thing I’d bring to dinner with him? Google Cardboard; the portable, super cheap virtual reality system. He would love it.” - Derrick Weiss, Account Executive

Seth Godin

“Firstly, I know he’s going to have a great story to share about Thanksgiving! In addition, Seth’s thinking and writing resonates with me a lot, and I believe we would actually have a great conversation about almost anything at the dinner table.” - Kwaku Awuah, Delivery Lead

Creators of Waze: Uri Levine, Ehud Shabtai, & Amir Shinar

“I didn’t even know their names until today, but I’d like to invite the team behind the community-driven navigation app, Waze. Every time I use that app I think, “Wow, whoever invented this app is a genius”, and having an official genius at Thanksgiving would be a real treat. I’d love to know how the social idea came about, and what plans they have for the future of the app -- or possibly even chime in some ideas of my own.” - Natalie Davis, Director of Talent

Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant

“I’ve been a huge fan of his art since the Andre the Giant has a Posse campaign. His work, both political and personal projects, is amazing; so well done and thought out. If you haven’t seen his work I highly recommend buying MayDay (a great collection of his art).” - Vin Gaeta, Tech Supervisor

David Ogilvy

“I would invite David Ogilvy to Thanksgiving dinner. Besides being the "father of advertising", I think he would hold a riveting conversation about the development and changes in marketing. I would love to pick his brain about how he came up with some of his most famous campaigns.” - Amanda Leclair, Client Resource Manager

David Cancel

“This year I’d love to share some mashed potatoes and gravy with David Cancel. He’s somebody I’ve really looked up to since my start at IMPACT. He's had a huge impact at HubSpot by rebuilding their product organization and is already seeing a lot of success at Drift. He just seems like an endless fountain of knowledge that I could learn so much from.” - Joe Rinaldi, Creative Lead

Mark Cuban

“No doubt, I would absolutely want Mark Cuban at my Thanksgiving dinner table this year. If the fact that he's an extremely successful billionaire -- who also happens to own a professional basketball team and movie theater chain -- doesn't quite scream "genius business man," then I don't know what does.

Because he started at the bottom and admiringly worked his way up, he's been through every aspect of the entrepreneurial world, including sales, marketing, manufacturing, investing, operations, and strategy.

Although his book, "How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It," gives you an open-door look at his life's path to success, nothing would beat getting the chance to ask him my long list of unanswered questions in person.” - Kaitlyn Petro, Delivery Lead

Who would you invite to Thanksgiving dinner?

Let me know who and why in the comment section below!