It's 3 o'clock on a Monday afternoon, and Brass Media - the publisher of a personal finance magazine for young adults - is holding a staff meeting.

But if you're picturing a bunch of suits hunched earnestly around a conference table, forget about it - it's not that kind of meeting, and Brass Media is not that kind of company.

About 18 of the firm's 24 employees are scattered around the lobby at Brass headquarters in Corvallis when CEO Bryan Sims comes strolling in, wearing jeans and toting a laptop.

Like most of his employees, he's in his early 20s, and the meeting offers a window onto the culture of a very nontraditional workplace. The dress is casual, the tone is laid-back and the emphasis is as much on fun as on work.

Topping today's agenda is a report on the "Young Today, Rich Tomorrow" tour, a 10-day swing through New York state to promote the Brass Student Program, which uses the magazine as the basis of a financial literacy curriculum in New York high schools.

Sims and two staffers made the trip, and the idea is to bring the rest of the staff up to speed on what they did and what it means for the company. Brass Media is working to replicate the pilot project in other states, which could mean significant circulation growth.

To keep things interesting, the three have created a multiple-choice test for the staff with information on the tour, illustrated with a digital slide show projected on the lobby wall. Whoever gets the most questions right wins a Starbucks gift card.

Pop quiz:

• How many students did Bryan talk to on the tour? 1,900
• How many miles did we travel on tour? 6,970
• What was the most popular question from students to Bryan? "Are you single?"

As intended, that last answer gets a big laugh from the Brass crew, but it's not entirely a joke.

"Every school, without fail, some girl would get up and ask Bryan, 'Do you have a family? Do you want one?'" said PR specialist Lauren Beyer, who also made the trip.

Not your typical sales junket, but there was a method to the madness. The tour allowed Brass to connect with its target market, network with representatives of the New York credit unions that sponsor the Student Program and develop a formula for promoting the program elsewhere.

"It was a very successful event overall, something we'll be able to do in other states," Sims told his staff. "I really appreciate everybody's hard work. Thanks, everybody."

Sims has parlayed a head for finance and a feel for youth culture into a successful business. Published quarterly since 2004, Brass Magazine is distributed to 350,000 people through 178 credit unions in 38 states. When school resumes in the fall, an additional 50,000 copies will go out to students at New York high schools, and that number will rise if Wisconsin comes on board for the Student Program as expected.

But at the age of 23, he's sometimes still mistaken for a student when he speaks at high schools, and his management style is reflective of his generation.

"Just like everything at Brass, Bryan's pretty informal," said Laura Edmonston, 30, the Student Program coordinator and the third staffer on the New York tour. He can be decisive when he needs to be, she said, but generally he prefers to include as many people as possible in the process.

"He definitely wants to make it a team effort."

"Ours is not a traditional organization," acknowledged Steve Sims, 55, Bryan's father and the company's chief operations officer. "The whole question of management is a big question for us. How do you grow the organization?"

That's a question Bryan Sims has thought a lot about. The answer, he believes, comes down to balance.

"A joking, fun environment is what we try to project as much as possible, but you've got to get your work done, too," he said. "There's definitely a fine line between being seen as a peer and being seen as a CEO."

BRYAN SIMS
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: Chief executive officer, Brass Media
FUN FACT: An indpendent production company from California is shooting a pilot for a TV reality show about Brass. Think "American Chopper" with magazines instead of motorcycles.
QUOTE: "I have kind of a work hard-play hard mentality, and I think that's pretty standard for the Generation Y work force."