The Journey Talk featuring Paige Sontag

Welcome to The Journey Talk with Rafa Uccello! Here we talk to young marketing professionals about their career journey, aspirations and inspirations. Get to know more about the people that are shaping the future of our industry.

This week, we got to chat with Paige Sontag, a Senior Manager at Nielsen, that talked about the importance of leadership and transparency in client relationships.

Name: Paige Sontag

Pronouns: She/her

Education: Bachelor of Arts Honours in English and Psychology at Queen’s University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Research Analysis at Georgian College

Industry: Digital Marketing / Advertising Technologies

Favourite quote: “You don’t know what you don’t know” – my boss and mentor

Guilty pleasure: Love Island and boxed wine

Q: Did you have a career in mind when you started?

A: No, not really. I went to Queen’s University for English and Psychology because I wasn’t sure of what I wanted. I had two ideas in mind: either I wanted to get a master’s in information sciences and become a librarian or do a master’s in counselling psychology and become a counselor. As I was near the end of my undergrad program, I realized I did not want to get another degree. After that, I started looking into colleges and multiple post-grad programs. I came across the Research Analyst program at Georgian College that sparked my interest. While I was there, I noticed that I liked marketing research, where I started my career. I always knew I enjoyed research; however, I also knew I didn’t want to work in academic research. When I started to learn more about marketing research, the passion started setting in. And the rest is history.

Q: Did you ever feel rushed to decide your path after undergrad?

A: I did feel kind of rushed because everyone wants to get a job after they graduate. My problem was that I wasn’t entirely sure about what I liked. I was a good student, but the university was not the type of study I liked to do, so I knew that doing a master’s without being sure if I would enjoy it was not worthwhile. That’s why I took the post-grad path; it turned out to be a great experience.

Q: At what point did you know what career you wanted to be in, and what you wanted to achieve? 

A: When I was in my post-grad, I had different courses within research that sparked in me the certainty that “Yes, this is what I want to do”. I like qualitative research; although I leaned more toward quantitative analysis in my job, I had the opportunity to get trained as a moderator. Throughout that period, it became apparent that I wanted to have a career in that field.

Q: What is something you learned that has been impactful for you? 

A: One of my bosses told me that “You don’t know what you don’t know”, which can be a confusing sentence. However, this taught me that when you work as a supplier of data to marketers and agencies, they expect you to be an expert in many areas, but you can’t always be that. Admitting that you don’t know something and finding the answer afterward, was one of the most impactful things. I’m a perfectionist at my core, and I always want to help my clients, immediately. But it is not always possible. It was hard for me to understand that at the beginning of my career, it helped me realize that it’s ok to not know everything in such a vast industry, and take the time to find the correct answer later on.

Q: What is one thing you wish you knew when starting your career in marketing?

A: I wish I knew that the job isn’t as important as it feels. When you are working hard because you want to see great results, you can burnout quickly. One thing people say in our industry is that “We don’t do brain surgery”. There are no radical outcomes if you can’t get something done. Although we are accountable to our clients within our deadlines, most clients understand if you need an extra afternoon to get something done. Needless to say, working is essential, but it’s not life or death. However, I still need to remind myself that it is okay to take a break, so I don’t feel burned out. That keeps me going.

Q: What keeps you motivated and inspired in your professional life?

 A: For me, one of the essential things is leadership and being part of a team. What keeps me motivated is being able to keep my team motivated and engaged, and seeing their success. When they are successful, everyone wins, the team and each individual member. It also reflects how much I helped them grow and work toward their goals. I always say to my teams that if they need a reference for a future job, I would oblige; I don’t want to hold them back for what could be a significant step in their careers. Decisions leaders make can have a profound effect on the trajectory of their team members. I always want to help people—from those I manage to my team or my clients.

Member Spotlight: Reginald Sheppard

By: Madeleine Christmann

Check our member in the spotlight – Reginald Sheppard. Highlighting his thoughts on how the New Brunswick government should aim to use digital marketing strategies when connecting with the younger generation on COVID-19. A true testament to CIMMO’s online courses and mentorship paired with long-time member success. You can read more about the article here.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-messaging-for-young-people-1.5887866

25th Century Magazine: Innovation from the Brazilian outskirts

By Mario Quintino

 Inspired by the desire for change, consultant links creativity and transformation with a project in Capão Redondo.

 A little over ten years ago, in the Capão Redondo neighbourhood in Sao Paulo’s Southern outskirts—one of the most deprived areas of the city—the Fábrica de Criatividade (Creativity Factory) project was born. Created by the entrepreneur Denilson Shikako, 34, the innovation consultancy was established in 2007, and to this day operates in the same headquarters. Currently serving large companies in Brazil, it still maintains social projects in the region, always aiming at creating and transforming. The Creativity Factory is an example of what can be achieved by more sustainable capitalism focused on fighting against inequality and advancing opportunities, especially for the most marginalized.

“The world is different on the other side of the bridge.” One of the most well-known verses by the rap group Racionais MCs shows the reality of contrasts in SĂŁo Paulo. While, on one hand, the Southern region is home to Morumbi, one of the city’s most privileged neighbourhoods, on the other hand, there is CapĂŁo, which was once considered one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Shikako’s family was one of the victims of this unequal reality.

In 2000, his father was murdered. Following this tragedy, the middle-class family sold everything they had and moved out of the country to take care of a relative’s business in the United States. However, it was from this loss that Shikako found inspiration to contribute to change in the neighbourhood, doing what eventually became a lifelong project for him: seeking creative solutions to overcome difficulties and expand opportunities.

“After this tragedy, my family moved away, took off some time, and returned. I already had the desire to create a social project, and came up with the idea of building the Factory. We need to take steps to change our reality, otherwise, nothing will happen. Our interest has always been to create a sustainable project that gives this idea and money to people,” says Shikako. Soon after the concept was consolidated, work began with the help of various partners.

The concept of creativity and the reuse of materials have been incorporated into every detail, including the design and construction of the building where the Factory is located. There are, for example, doors made with marble, a “human foosball” court, walls with secret passages, and slates on the washroom walls, where anyone can write their thoughts and leave messages.

Everything is different and functional in a space that also became home to the first Cultural Center in CapĂŁo Redondo, with a theatre and spaces offering a range of creative workshops. Around one thousand people a month benefit from these services, offered free of charge or at affordable prices, through the Friends of the Creativity Factory Association. “My mother remembers something. I wrote something in fourth grade where I said I wanted to be an inventor. I wanted something really revolutionary, in the middle of CapĂŁo Redondo. The plan was to create a place offering for people ideas and, at the same time, could generate income for them.”

In one of these activities, Shikako recalls the story of a boy. The children had to express, through drawing, what they would like to be in the future. The boy then took the pencils and drew an image of a child during a mugging, wielding a weapon in his hand. After this, there was a need to work on raising awareness and possibilities for this child. “Our goal is to awaken the idea that innovation and creativity open paths, possibilities, changing lives like this. Through art, we can create the awareness of seeking something new and, consequently, offer opportunities,” says Shikako.

 Innovation consultancy

 The idea began by valuing and creating a space for change in a neighbourhood that transformed and became one of the best-known innovation consultancies in Brazil. Large companies such as Natura, Danone, and Rede Globo are among its clients. For Itaú (Brazilian bank) the co-development of the organization’s innovation project resulted in actions such as a flash mob that brought around 5,000 employees together.

Another project created for the cosmetic company, Mary Kay, is “Our Monday is the best” with the program “Thank God. It’s Monday”. For a year, every Monday, the company’s call-centre operators had different activities involving different perceptions of senses encouraging creativity and coexistence. Several of these projects generated videos and texts that can be found at the consultancy website: www.fabricadecriatividade.com.br.

One of the highlights of the Factory’s work is its motto, which is a phrase by Shikako himself: “You miss 100% of the pitches you do not do.”

It is an ode to human potential in face of the transformations the world is undergoing. The Factory is introduced to the projects proposed by the companies and teams of professionals in areas such as marketing, engineering, design, advertising, and publicity. Together, they develop actions encouraging employees and managers to innovate. The idea is to always stimulate creative thinking. The project has already carried out around 700 training sessions, 400 consultations, and more than a hundred projects across all branches of companies.

“Our work is empowering people, showing them the ability to be creative. You need to be aware of what you are capable of and feel free to innovate. We show techniques that provide this. All of this results in the construction of an integrated and creative company. Creativity changes the world. We want to awaken and transform people,” says Shikako.

The success of the Creativity Factory has already expanded beyond the bridge separating Capão from the rest of the city. It has put itself on the map. “Capão is our Silicon Valley. We can have an even funny headquarters comparing to Google!”, says the entrepreneur, laughing. The space has been used many times for meetings and presentations inspired by nature. Worldwide famous bands like hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas, have already performed there.

Space has also hosted United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) meetings. With such recognition and expansion, it grew and needed new units. The consultancy, known as the world centre of technology and innovation, is now in Silicon Valley, and also in Canada. It never, however, forgot its origins and purpose. Projects like this are timely initiatives; they start very small, from the idea of someone who believes in human beings. However, they carry with them the ability to have a long-term impact by acting early in life for young people, even in childhood. They become, therefore, an educational construction activity, resonating with people in this century, and those centuries that are coming.

 25th Century Magazine was created by Midierson Maia and it is focused on long-term impacts of disruptive technology. It seeks to bring the reader a debate about the impact and consequences of disruptive innovation. Check out more at https://25thcenturymag.com/

 

 

BRAND>ed Content: What’s Your Story Podcast

BRAND>ed is a strategic brand digital marketing agency specializing in integrated marketing solutions as well as all aspects of online marketing and mobile. The following podcasts and articles will help you UNDERSTAND, DEVELOP and ACTIVATE your brand to success.

What’s Your Story Podcast: Dr. Youssef Ahmad Youssef, Ph.D. & President CIMMO

This episode is all about human connection and offering help to businesses during the pandemic. Dive into the conversation with Youssef on how it has affected small businesses more than big businesses.

What’s Your Story Podcast: Anna Tavares, Director of Strategy Vendasta

Join the insightful conversation with Anna as she outlines Vendasta’s goal of delivering the 3 main services to their customers during the pandemic. Anna also talks about the 3 steps business can take to survive this pandemic.

What’s Your Story Podcast: Monica Pasinato-Forchielli – President One Wellness Group 

Tune in as Monica tells us about her story and experience with the pandemic and how deeply her business has been affected by it. Being a wellness group that provides services such as Spa and Massage treatments, health care consultation etc. and has direct contact with customers, she had no choice but to shut down her business. From a marketing perspective, she explains how important it is to keep your business website and social media platforms active and keep your current and future clients updated with your business’s updates and COVID-19 guidelines. 

What’s Your Story Podcast: David Kincaid CEO, Level 5 Strategy 

Join David as he provides a new definition of a brand: The PROMISE you make in terms of the VALUE you want to present to your market and be CONSISTENT about providing that value.

Check out all the What’s Your Story Podcast episodes.

25th Century Magazine: Shaky foundations, building the education of the future

By Mario GregĂłrio

Experts discuss current difficulties and indicate the paths education should take. 

Technological evolution and the behavioural changes arising from it, pose not only the challenge of preparing children and young people, but also the difficult task of proposing an education which prepares adults for things such as the clarity of risks, the need to build the future, and the need to enable a more conscious attitude upon innovation processes.

“The future is today, it is now,” states Universidade de SĂŁo Paulo (USP) professor JosĂ© Carlos Moran, who, between the late 1980s and early 1990s, was one of those responsible for creating the School of the Future, a pioneering project in the discussion on how to better prepare students and educators for what is to come. “We started in the midst Internet advent, which was still unknown. Our main objective was to discuss the new challenges that arose for education in this new reality,” he explains. As a visionary, Moran and his group anticipated discussions which only now have more prominence in school spaces, such as the need for education that uses all resources; not just instrumentally, but also reflecting on their utility.

“The school and teachings of the future need to be created and put into practice today. Needs are clear and we need to meet them,” Moran believes. Data on education in Brazil reinforces the professor’s idea. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)—which measures the level of education in various countries all over the world every three years— came out with their most recent study in 2015. The results showed Brazil was among the last in all areas evaluated. Of the 72 participating nations, Brazilian students ranked 66th in Mathematics, 63rd in Science and 59th in Reading. PISA is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Besides the difficulties indicated in the survey, the reality is even worse if we consider the amount of people who dropped out of university. In Brazil, students who drop out are around 7% in elementary school and 12% in high school, according to the Ministry of Education (MEC).

According to Moran, among the reasons for dropping out, is the fact that students find the school system doesn’t work for them. Some students also need to support their families, financially. “School needs to be seen as a space that will provide students with elements for their growth. Education has to open the possibility of creating a better future for oneself and building a better life. This must begin as early as elementary school.”

Futurology and education

The debate about the future was outlined in the 1970s, with a Brazilian among the group of pioneers. Professor Rosa Alegria has always been curious about what could happen in society; she became a futurist, graduating from the University of Houston in the United States, one of the first schools to theorize about the future based on a trend scenario constructed by methodical observation of the past and the present. “Futurism studies which paths will lead us to the novelty. We try to anticipate these events in order to deal with the future better,” she says.

According to Rosa, analysis of social changes and statistics can be useful in this attempt to interpret the future. “Futurism has more to do with anticipation than forecast. It has nothing to do with assumptions. It is an analysis based on what we have already experienced and the characteristics people have, how they usually act,” she explains. To avoid terminology misunderstandings—which might link the field with astrology or other sciences—researchers from the area prefer to use the term “futurism” rather than “futurology”. Currently, Rosa is at the forefront of implementing an educational platform called TTF – Teaching To Future, created in Germany. It involves training teachers and encouraging students’ creativity. Projects like this create educational practice, which helps to create agents of change while educating for professional activity.

One of the things experts in futurism are concerned about is the discussion on the educational bases that need to be implemented. “Teaching today is outdated and still has characteristics that go back to the Industrial Revolution. Students need to learn about the past, always look forward, and be encouraged to develop creative ability. The way information is being transmitted is just as important as what is being taught. We have several possibilities for this and technology is an ally in this matter,” Rosa points out.

According to Alegria, Brazil is headed backwards in terms of education. In 2017, the Federal Government stated that every student, whether from private or public schooling, is expected to have the same educational background, she explains. “Students are increasingly demanding personalized education that can capture the skills of each one and develop them in the best way possible, but it is something that would require costs which governments do not seem to be willing to budget for.”

In the United States, business theorist Clayton Christensen—author of the books, The Innovator’s Dilemma and Disrupting Class—argues that schools can undergo the same processes of disruption as a company in order to change the way of teaching. Although controversial, he argues that there are very similar issues in the world of education and business. He believes one of the solutions could be online education, which could merge different ways of learning, since the student would be able, through the Internet, to contact teachers with different methods, without being obliged to take classes with professors imposed by the school. According to Christensen, schools and activities should enable students always to be successful, just as in the business world.

Basic issues

Besides the need for a personalized education, there is a structural challenge. “Nowadays, many schools have 35–40 students per classroom. It is very complicated for the teacher to organize any activity with such a large number of people. Activities and group dynamics are tools for development, but on this scale, it is impossible for the educator to deal with each student with the necessary attention and monitoring,” Moran adds.

According to the study Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from PISA, released in early June by the OECD, Brazil is among the countries with the highest number of students per classroom. In China, an average of 12 students make up a class, while in Brazil the average is 22 students. That figure is second only to Colombia, with 27 students on average per classroom.

Despite studying the relationship between society, education, and technology, both Moran and Alegria see the teacher as the centre of the entire educational process, which means that this profession must be valued. “While salaries are falling, teachers have more students to teach and guide, without a minimum structure or resources for this, especially in public schools. This undermines initiatives in developing new teaching methods and activities,” Moran says.

“Nowadays, technology is accessible to everyone and should be an instrument of education. There is a lot of talk about flipped, more interactive classrooms, but how do we do this while we’re in this situation? We need to invest and recover the dreams that education can provide,” adds the professor. When talking about flipped classrooms, Moran refers to a method of teaching in which a problem or challenge is posed to the students. In the search for resolution, relationships and theories are constructed and researched.

On this topic, Rosa adds that parents have a determining role: “Parents and community are fundamental in discussions about education and future. Everyone contributes in some way, and exchanging knowledge encourages everyone to create and propose new ideas.” Education has direct impacts on issues that currently remain only in the field of political discourse and are not being put into practice, such as sustainability and reducing inequality. There are few projects which, when thinking about the future, promote a transformation starting in the present, involving young people, for example, in actions of social entrepreneurship.

25th Century Magazine was created by Midierson Maia and it is focused on long-term impacts of disruptive technology. It seeks to bring the reader a debate about the impact and consequences of disruptive innovation. Check out more at https://25thcenturymag.com/

 

 

 

Execution in business

Peter F. Drucker said, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things”. Similarly, I would say that planning is doing things right, while execution is doing the right things.

Regardless if there is a good plan or a bad one, without the proper execution, the results will be lacklustre—at best! Hence the popular saying by Jeff Bridge, “Execution is everything”. It is expected that during execution people get diverted. This diversion leads to poor or improper execution, ultimately resulting in less favourable outcomes. Such diversions are most often the result of “pull” or “push” pressures that amplify during the course of execution. Oftentimes, diversion, itself, leads to more pressure on the person, and this amount of pressure determines how far the person diverted.

These days, with the COIVD – 19 pandemic and the consequences of working from home, new sources of challenges arise to increase various types of pressure on the person. These pressures include, but are not limited to, worries about getting infected by the virus itself; getting implicated with the economic situation; feeling of isolation; and fears of frustration and depression—each, or all of which, contribute to the end result.

This article will highlight the steps on how to stay focused on executing the task, which helps translate intent to reality and make for a smoother and more achievable path. It will also highlight tips on how to help people get back on track in case of diversion.

“Execution is putting your mind, your heart and your body in action”, Noura Hamade

There are prerequisites to help carry the execution successfully and avoid any execution pitfalls. These prerequisites include:

  1. Clear vision of where we need to be;
  2. Clear understanding of where we are;
  3. Clear knowledge of what options we have to reach there;
  4. Aligned individuals who have the right skills related to the required task, in addition to their ability to implement. They are aware of both the big picture and have a clear understanding of their tasks. To help motivate them, they should also know what is in it for them.

Once the above is in place, the following are the three steps to manage your execution successfully:

a) Priorities: Before carrying out the act of putting the plan into effect, the first step is to prioritize the implementation by developing phases of implementation to make it happen based on business priorities. Doing so, means listing all the actions, and prioritizing them based on the following criteria:

  1. Which action has more impact on the results?
  2. Which action brings me closer to where I need to be?
  3. Which action has priority (i.e. quick-win, relevance, urgency, etc.)

After that, it is all about just do it and the discipline in doing it.

“Just Do IT” —NIKE

b) Review: Assess the current state to recognize where you are, assessing your progress by asking the simple question, “where are we against the organization’s performance indicator”, and against the target (plan). Then define and analyze the gap with the intention to take any corrective actions and changes, as needed.

c) Improve: The improvement stage is a concept that aims to enhance performance which allows us to improve our results and deliver better-than-expected results. It is very important at this stage to recognize and understand the outcome of the review.

Based on the review outcome and the gap analysis, you should conduct corrective actions to address potential gaps. This could require more challenging courses of action, such as adjusting the initial plan. Part of building the corrective actions part, is to understand what leads to this diversion, and recognize the pressure, the source of that pressure, and whether you can control it or manage it, and how you can minimize the effects of it. All the while, being mindful of improvement: It is a process and should be weaved into the culture of all organizations. Improvement should be considered in one of the two following conditions:

  1. If the review identifies a gap between the actual and the plan

OR

  1. If any new factors arise and could impact the plan or the execution

Finally, the trap which most executives find themselves in, after the improvement stage and the corrective actions, is directly starting the implementation without realigning the stakeholders involved in the initial plan, or the persons affected by these corrective actions. This trap will result in the failure of the process.