Video: What Inspires You?
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November 30, 2018
Five Listening Tips I Learned from My Hair Stylist
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December 5, 2018
Highlights, lowlights, babylights, splashlights. Painting. Gloss. Ombre, sombre, balayage. As my stylist likes to say, when it comes to hair color, “There are a lot of ways to get to France.” Ok, I get it: I come to my stylist with a look — or an outcome — in mind. My stylist, equipped with a myriad ...
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November 30, 2018
Family Away From Family: Gratitude in the Workplace
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November 19, 2018
Yes, it’s that time of year again … Walmart has had their Christmas decorations up for a month already, Costco hung their Christmas wreaths the day after Halloween, and the United Turkey of America wishes that the Grinch would steal Thanksgiving instead of Christmas. Thanksgiving is just days away. Many of us will join our …
Six Tips for Improving Your Localization Strategy in a Global Market
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November 15, 2018
The digital revolution has expanded our customer markets from local programs to global proportions. We now have access to a much broader target that’s easily reached via social or mobile around the world. However, today’s marketers should not make the mistake of assuming that a “smaller world” means a smaller message. While targets can be reached more efficiently, we must still apply the same discipline of crafting the right story for the right audience. Take the time to consider each and every audience and what drives them to action and then begin that dialogue. Here are the basics to take your global strategy and make it applicable on a local level: 1. Understand the market through listening! Who knows a market, its dynamics and the culture better than its natives? Leverage opportunities with resident experts in the form …
An Oreo, a Deviled Egg and a Bloody Suit Walk Into an Office …
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November 1, 2018
Hi guys! It’s me, your friendly HCB culture blogger! I’m back to talk to you about my all-time, hands-down, most-favorite holiday ever — Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. I mean, who doesn’t? You get to spend a whole month watching scary movies and then top it off by dressing up like a hotdog and then binge eating candy until you’re nauseous. IT’S THE BEST. And recently, I’ve learned that celebrating it in an office environment is actually a great way to gain some serious insight into your coworkers. Here’s the secret: Pay close attention to the costumes your coworkers wear. Think back to yesterday … What was your favorite costume that a coworker wore? What made it your favorite? When I think about my favorite coworkers’ costumes, the things that make …
Treating Patients and Judging Award Shows – Not so Different
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October 26, 2018
When I was at the Cannes Lions Health & Wellness International Festival of Creativity two summers ago, I attended a session aptly called “How to Win a Lion.” It was there that I realized that award show judges are a lot like doctors. According to a survey by Statista, doctors on average see about 20 patients a day. That’s thousands of patients a year, each with multiple symptoms, a unique medical history and their own set of concerns. Though they may have a common condition that they share with millions of others, each patient wants to be seen and treated as the individual that they are. Similarly, a judge who’s a regular on the award show circuit can be exposed to …
Listen First, Ask Questions Second- Life Lessons From Journalism School
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October 16, 2018
“Journalism is dying.” “Better to major in business.” “It’s not like you can get a job at a newspaper anymore.” “Good luck with that.” Just a handful of the encouraging things I heard from peers, parents and even strangers as I declared my major in journalism at a state school in 2012. I understood their opinions; journalism was, and still is, an evolving industry. But instead of listening to them, I stuck with my gut and thank God for that. I went into my first few classes with some background knowledge — I was the editor of my high school newspaper and …
How to Make a Cross-Cultural Global Team Succeed? Communication.
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October 9, 2018
Before I came to work as the CFO of HCB Health, I was the Global Controller of a very large design firm. My finance team was in the U.S., EMEA and APAC, and we shared treasury and tax with our holding company in India. I learned that working with a global team presents many challenges that managers often overlook, and, if ignored, they can slowly degrade the overall team dynamics. It seems obvious that regular and frequent communication is the key to success. Duh? Sounds so easy. However, it’s not so easy when you are speaking to team members for whom English is not their first language. While numbers are the universal language, the complex business transactions we discussed created confusion more than once. There were also time differences. Your morning is your …
Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat. It Was Ignorance. (Curiosity Was Framed.)
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October 4, 2018
The world’s greatest inventions, discoveries, innovations, products, services and companies all have one thing in common. They all blossomed from the seed of curiosity. When curiosity is nurtured and pursued, anything can come from it. But it can’t be passive or accidental. It must be as natural and active as our beating heart in order to see its fruits. At HCB, we’ve made it one of our core values …
Video: Listening to the Data
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October 3, 2018
Yes, My Degree in Bass Performance Really Does Apply to My Job in Advertising
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September 21, 2018
And a one … and a two … and a one, two, three, go! I guess by now I shouldn’t be surprised at how many musicians there are in advertising — hell, I’m one of them. Everywhere I’ve worked, there have been guitarists, drummers, singers, pianists … and, perhaps most importantly, bassists. (Can you guess what I play?) My degree is in Popular Music Performance. It’s an unusual degree, I’ll grant you, and it never fails to come up in job interviews. So, after 11 years as a writer, I’ve had a lot of …