Keeping the Team Dynamic and Culture in a New Remote Landscape with Adam Kleinberg
Release Date: 11/25/2020
How To Be the Jenny To the Industry’s Forrest Gump with Zach Rodgers
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Kevin has a fun chat with Zach Rodgers, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Marketecture Media, a new media venture that helps people navigate the world of marketing technology. Zach also ran AdExchanger’s editorial operations and supported programming strategy for the company’s Programmatic IO and Industry Preview Events. Zach and Kevin discuss editorial independence, how Marketecture can help assist vendor conversations, and how Marketecture’s products and offerings can help both ad tech and marketing executives. Takeaways: [3:31] Zach believes in editorial independence and that...
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The Hypocrisy of Woke Capitalism with Jennifer Sey
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Jennifer Sey is an author, business executive, and retired artistic gymnast. She’s also known in the marketing world for spending a great deal of time with Levi Strauss, as she managed all aspects of the brand as brand president, including product. Jennifer and Kevin talk about the hypocrisy of woke capitalism, and why brands should focus on having open and transparent conversations with their audience, or just decide to make it more about the product and less about taking a stand on an issue they might not be ready to fully back up. Jennifer and Kevin discuss a few examples of brand...
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Dirty, Dangerous, and a Little Dull: Chris Cunningham of C2V
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Kevin welcomes Chris Cunningham, a true living legend in the digital space and a 20-year media and tech veteran who is a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage venture capitalist. Chris recently launched a $10 million early-stage venture to fund the C2V brand. He talks about how they select the brands in their portfolios. The guys give their real thoughts for better or worse on the Bay Area, comparing Shrek to Silicon Valley, and a few examples of the old economy legacy industries that are ripe for disruption. It’s a down-and-dirty discussion about disrupting the industries that may or may...
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The Future of Online Gaming, The Metaverse, and Google’s Collusion with Mike Shields
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Kevin first gives his take on the slap heard across the world and then welcomes guest Mike Shields, Founder of Shields Strategic Consulting, host of Next in Marketing Podcast, and former writer and editor at Business Insider, Digiday, Adweek, and Wall Street Journal. They discuss how the world of online gaming is changing our society, a few important questions to ask as we possibly head into the Metaverse, and how to get to the point where we don’t have a detachment from reality while consuming these things. They also discuss collusion in our browsers, how we protect where our first-party...
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Focus on the Value You Create, Not on Yourself with Mark Naples
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Mark Naples is the founder of WIT Strategy and has led strategic efforts on behalf of more than 450 companies, complete company re-positioning campaigns, and dozens of corporate and product launches. He joins the show today to talk about keeping your ego checked, why “bro culture” holds back brands, the importance of setting ground rules and keeping your principles honed, and building trust and true rapport with the media. Kevin also shares the wonderful yet horrible experiences he had while running for office! Takeaways: [9:44] Mark and Kevin talk about a few intense interactions...
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Kate Kaye Explains WTF is Going On With Google and Their Privacy Budget
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Kate Kaye is an award-winning tech journalist who has published work in many places including MIT Technology Review and NPR. Kate covered the data industry for Ad Age and digital political campaigns for ClickZ. She joins Kevin this week to talk about Google’s Privacy Budget, the Privacy Sandbox Initiative, and how we get people to care about the disruption that is taking place. She explains the different ways industry groups are both hurting and helping their constituents, and how she feels the future of data tracking and privacy will go. Finally, Kate and Kevin discuss the need for more...
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Radical Transparency with Jonathan Elist of Penuma
TMI with Kevin Ryan
This week, Kevin welcomes Jonathan Elist, CEO of Penuma, an amazing solution for men that is not your traditional product. Jonathan discusses what Penuma is, and how radical transparency and trust are at the top of Penuma’s core values. He talks about some of the challenges in building the community, and how they balance both in-house marketing with agency outreach. He and Kevin also discuss Google Ads, Reddit, and word of mouth as a way to grow brand awareness and attract a network of happy customers and top-notch physicians. Takeaways: [2:38] Jonathan talks about building patient...
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Leaning into Agility and Holacracy with Nita Sanger
TMI with Kevin Ryan
The digital transformation is changing every aspect of how companies do business, and the most successful companies are those who are leaning into these changes. Nita Sanger joins the show as the director of digital advisory practice at Cherry Bekaert and master of strategic intelligence, common sense, and in-practice digital transformation. She has seen firsthand the effect that the rapid pace of technology change has on companies of all sizes. She discusses the ways successful companies use technology to create a competitive advantage, the importance of company culture, and the role of...
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You Are Your Own Brand with Elizabeth Nader
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Elizabeth Nader can tell right away whether she is coaching someone that has what it takes to succeed. Yes, talent and intelligence are important, but the ability to be coached is what takes someone that extra step further and gets them to grow past their limiting beliefs. As a coach, entrepreneur, author, and speaker, Elizabeth’s mission is to help people realize that they aren’t in competition with anyone else, just themselves. She joins the show this week to talk about the importance of embarrassing failure, taking a closer look at our limiting beliefs, who the enemy of our brand really...
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Bringing Game Development to the People: Kathryn Guess of Microsoft Game Stack
TMI with Kevin Ryan
Kathryn Guess is a Product Manager for Microsoft, who built Game Stack and Azure PlayFab brands from the ground up. She joins the show this week to talk about how gaming isn’t the isolating experience one thinks it may be, and how gaming actually helps build communities and join people together — especially during the pandemic. She talks about the important and challenging issues in gaming regarding mental health and reporting domestic abuse, what the democratization of gaming means for both individuals and developers, and how gaming can contribute to a holistic lifestyle. ...
info_outlineThis week, I welcome Adam Kleinberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Traction. We discuss the way culture is changing dramatically as a result of employees having the ability to work remotely, and how we can thrive in a remote environment without affecting the work or the team dynamic. Adam talks about Traction’s remote working policy, how they provide everyone with the tools to do their job professionally, and why you will want to make sure the Zoom camera is on when it’s required.
Takeaways:
[3:33] Adam talks about Traction’s transition of pivoting from being an agency into a brand experience consultancy, designed to support and turbocharge in-house teams.
[6:13] Adam’s team makes sure everyone has their basic tools to do the job, whether it’s an office desk, computer monitor, or even phone setup.
[9:46] They have also implemented a little of the budget for wellness, and put an emphasis on the work/life balance.
[11:10] It is more important than ever to hire people not just for their skills, but if they really show up to be present, and be an integral and helpful member of the team.
[12:48] Traction makes sure they let employees know that some meetings require a “camera-on” policy.
[16:37] Adam sees a future where some people will choose to continue working remotely, while others will opt to be back in an office. It is up to the CEO and team visionaries to make both possible and functional.
[20:49] The future may see more adjustments for salary based on the market in which an employee lives.
[29:06] Yes, it’s true. Adam really was blogging back in the 1990s, before it was cool.
[30:53] Adam discusses people moving out of the Bay Area and to other locations to be with their family, since it’s not required for the industry in the current moment.
Quotes:
- “We have it in the handbook — don’t be a jerk.” — Adam
- “Part of building a great company is finding people who align with some sort of cultural ethos.” — Adam
- “We have to stop thinking about counting impressions and figure out how to make them.” — Adam
- “Good talent can live anywhere.” — Adam
Mentioned in This Episode:
Silicon Valley Pay Cuts Ignite Tech-Industry COVID-19 Tensions