In 2022, Cayenne joined Prismatic as a consultant. We were a small agency with no need—or budget—for a full-time, traditional HR role. We did, however, need someone who understood that caring for a team takes more than keeping paperwork in check and having an employee manual.

Cayenne helped us refine our annual review process and guided us through reviews with thoughtfulness, clarity, and care. Eventually, the demands of her full-time job meant she had to step away from consulting with us. We were grateful for everything she had done, and I thought that might be the end of our working story.

Then came a conversation on my front porch.

Feeling the strain of wearing too many hats—the proverbial challenge of every entrepreneur—I started to lay out Prismatic’s next strides and a role I wanted to create. This person would lead two sides of a crucial Prismatic coin: our relationships with clients and our relationships with one another. They would bring to life a client engagement initiative I’d wanted to launch for years while also caring for the people and culture behind the work.

I kept describing the person we needed. Someone perceptive. Compassionate. Strong. Someone who could listen closely, tell me what I needed to hear, whether I liked it or not, and help make a good thing better. Someone, I said, just like Cayenne. Would she help me write the job description? Maybe even screen candidates? Because no one knew us better or understood our pulse like Cayenne.

Somewhere in that conversation, the light bulb went on for both of us. Cayenne was at a crossroads in her own career. Prismatic was ready for its next chapter. And there was only one Cayenne in the world.

So we rode off into the psychedelic Prismatic sunset. I’m joking … but not really.

Cayenne joined us full-time on April 1, 2024, which also happened to be Prismatic’s anniversary. She joined us as our new Director of Relationships—a title that captured the full intent of the role. Internally, she would help our people thrive. Externally, she would guide Client IQ, our approach to understanding and strengthening the experience we create for clients.

Client IQ gives us deliberate moments to listen throughout a relationship: when a client chooses Prismatic, while work is underway, when a project wraps, and after the everyday emails and meetings have quieted down. We ask what’s working, where we can improve, and how our clients feel about the work and the journey of making it. Then we bring that feedback to the team and act on it. We also make room to celebrate milestones, share good news, and send a little unexpected joy by way of surprises and delights.

Why invest so much attention in the relationship? Because brilliant work deserves an equally remarkable experience. Our clients have built this agency with us through their trust and referrals. Client IQ helps us keep earning both.

Cayenne took that mission and ran with it.

Under her guidance, our team has grown by 50%, with more hiring underway as I type this. She has helped us welcome incredible people who share our values, our culture, and our passion for delivering PRISMagic. She has made onboarding more intentional, introduced programs that strengthen how we collaborate, and woven our values through hiring, annual reviews, and our Half Day Hero platform. She has created personal lines of communication across the team, making space for people to be heard, and helping us work better together.

She has also changed what I thought an HR leader could be. Earlier in my career, HR often felt like the department you hoped never to hear from. Cayenne has built something entirely different here: a source of trust, honest conversation, compassion, fun, and accountability.

On a personal level, she has been my rock. She has taken several hats off my head so I can focus my energy on the work I must lead as Prismatic grows. And she has done it while making our everyday journeys more joyful.

That is leadership. And I am proud to share that Cayenne has been promoted to Vice President of Prismatic.

In this role, she will help lead our company forward by bringing her extraordinary gifts to our team, our clients, and everything we create together. The role began with a conversation about the person Prismatic needed. Every day since, Cayenne has shown us just how much more was possible.

Stephanie Darden Bennett
Founder + President
Prismatic