Lauren Serota on Honing Career Skills Working in Australia

In Chapter 2 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "How Has International Work Experience Contributed to Your Professional Development?" Working on several projects for an Australian client gives Serota a firsthand look into the nuances of current issues in Australian culture and linguistics, in particular the tension between Westerners and indigenous people. She shares how her work and her teaching - via an alumni working at the Australian Centre for Social Innovation - play into what she learns working on international projects.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Lauren Serota on Building Creative Direction Communication Skills

In Chapter 9 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?" Serota finds more exposure to the world and to people helps her understand how to communicate differently to different people. In her job role, she is responsible for giving creative direction to designers. She notes how designer personalities differ and how she finds it helpful tailoring feedback - conceptual to tactical - when working with them. She notes how she carries this awareness into her work presenting in meetings and facilitating in classrooms.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). 

Lauren Serota on the Why Trust is the Key to Project Collaboration

In Chapter 13 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "What Have You Found to Be the Keys to Creating Successful Project Collaborations?" Serota finds building trust essential to creating successful creative team project collaborations in her work at frog design. She learns to both understand team expectations and communicate her own expectations to motivate her team and create an inclusive environment where each team member has a stake in the project.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). 

Lauren Serota on Blending Life Passions and Career Goals

In Chapter 21 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Serota shares how work and life experiences integrate together into how she lives her life. She notes how life outside work - from exercise and cycling to personal relationships to traveling - inform life inside work and vice versa. As a creative leader, she looks to always learn and figure out the right homeostasis between her work and life that keeps her simultaneously happy and challenged.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Nina Godiwalla on White House Roundtable Lessons on Leadership

In Chapter 11 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "What Have You Found Most Valuable About Working With the White House?" Working on the White House Roundtable alongside an interdisciplinary mix of industry experts gives Godiwalla greater context of how to help leaders become better people. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Nina Godiwalla on Finding New Ways to Learn From Your Clients

In Chapter 12 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Godiwalla shares how learning from clients has been instrumental in her professional development. She finds great value in the knowledge sharing reciprocity that comes in the client relationship and shares an example on biases in the workplace from her work with the State Department. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Yoav Gonen on Two Ways to Test and Validate Your Career Choices

In Chapter 5 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Gonen gains career planning insights from co-workers leaving their newspaper reporting jobs to change careers. He also reaches out to writers he admires for career advice. In both instances, he finds validation in his work and learns to better appreciate what he does for a living. Shortly after this interview, Gonen was promoted from education reporter to New York City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Yoav Gonen on Managing Changing Relationships in News Reporting

In Chapter 13 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?" In six years reporting on the "education beat", Gonen shares how turnover in the Department of Education - or DOE - has required him to adjust to working styles of new DOE employees. Working a job where communication is important, he finds relying too much on email over phone or face-to-face is not a good idea and is challenged by new DOE employees who prefer email over phone calls. Yoav Gonen is a reporter and City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Previously he spent nearly six years covering the education beat for the New York Post. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Tricia Regan on Taking Advantage of Living in New York City

In Chapter 1 of 15 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, filmmaker Tricia Regan answers "How Do You Make the Most of Living in the City?" Born and raised in New York City, Regan finds living in the city electrifying. She embraces the activities around her and the social lifestyle that keeps her engaged with community and friends. Tricia Regan is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker known for writing, directing and producing documentary films, including the Emmy-winning "Autism: The Musical". She also has worked extensively in non-fiction television for A&E, ABC, FOX, Lifetime, MTV Networks and NBC.

Tricia Regan on Learning Cultural Diversity Working in Film and TV

In Chapter 11 of 15 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, filmmaker Tricia Regan answers "What Have You Found Most Rewarding About Traveling to New Places?" Making documentary films and shooting and producing television shows has given Regan the opportunity to travel around the world and deep into sub-cultures within regions and communities. She shares how going into different worlds, for example working on a murder investigation TV show where she filmed interviews with serial killers, has pushed her to be more accepting of differences in others. Tricia Regan is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker known for writing, directing and producing documentary films, including the Emmy-winning "Autism: The Musical". She also has worked extensively in non-fiction television for A&E, ABC, FOX, Lifetime, MTV Networks and NBC. Regan earned a bachelors from Binghamton University and masters from New York University.

Doug Jaeger on Growing Creative Capacity by Making Brand Films

In Chapter 11 of 14 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and brand marketer Doug Jaeger answers "How Have Your Client Projects Shaped How You Present Your Skills When Pitching Business?" Jaeger and his team invest in brand film projects to learn new capabilities. As they sell brand film work for clients, the project experiences inform new ways he and his team can evolve brand storytelling beyond film work and into media distribution and commercial filmmaking. Doug Jaeger is co-founder and creative director at JaegerSloan Inc. where he focuses on brand and experimental marketing for clients such as Squarespace, Samsung and PwC. He is an adjunct professor at New York's School of Visual Arts (SVA) and co-curator of JnrlStr. He graduated from Syracuse University.

Ken Biberaj on How to Distinguish Yourself From Campaign Rivals

In Chapter 14 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "How Do You Distinguish Yourself and Your Positions From Your Rivals in the Primary Campaign?" In a crowded Democratic field, Biberaj, the youngest candidate, shares how he differentiates himself and his campaign platform by focusing on the intersection of non-profits, government, and business and his experience across all three.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

Ken Biberaj on Understanding the Key Issues That Matter to Voters

In Chapter 20 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Experiences in the Past Year Have Most Influenced the Direction of Your Campaign?" He finds unexpected moments open his eyes most to the key issues such as senior housing, homeless shelters, and keeping schools open that concern voters.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

Slava Rubin on How Specialist Job Roles Help Young Companies Grow

In Chapter 15 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Indiegogo CEO Slava Rubin answers "How Are Your Recruiting Priorities Changing as Your Company Grows?" Rubin shares how growing from 15 to 60 employees has shifted hiring needs away from generalist or "athlete" skills sets and toward specialist skill sets. As structure is added to manage organizational growth, job roles and responsibilities also get more structured and specific. Rubin shares why it is important to constantly evaluate these shifts to maintain company culture. Slava Rubin is CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo, the world's largest crowdfunding platform. Indiegogo empowers anyone, anywhere, anytime to raise funds for any idea—creative, cause-related or entrepreneurial. Prior to Indiegogo, Rubin worked as a management consultant. He earned his BSE degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Transcription

Erik Michielsen: How are your recruiting priorities changing as your business grows?

Slava Rubin: We’re constantly meeting to re-org the company as it evolves in terms of the size, and as part of that, when you’re smaller, you want more of an athlete, which is you’re not exactly sure what they’re good at, but they can just be a valuable asset to the company, they can be versatile, and you start getting bigger, you don’t want people who are just athletes, you wanna have them start specializing. So you can almost think of it in basketball terms. Sometimes you just have five great athletes, or sometimes you have like the 7-foot-3 guy as the center and he’s exactly the center, and this other guy is a 3-point shooter and he can’t do anything else, but it’s actually nice to have those really locked down pieces if that’s where you need to focus on, if you have those other athletes. So as you have more specific roles, it’s important to get those specific recruits, but it’s a balancing act as we’re evolving from more athlete-driven to finding some specific focus.

Erik Michielsen: And how do you maintain that culture as you’re shifting from focusing on athletes to more specialists?

Slava Rubin: I think that’s a great question. You need to constantly evaluate on the specific role. Is this somewhere where you can still go with an athlete or is it somebody that’s so precise where their experience needs to be so clear, and their knowledge base subject matter expertise is so unknown that they need to be a specialist? And every position has a different evaluation

One of the specialist positions that we just hired for was actually our head of international. So that was one of those things where it’s hard to be an athlete to just say, “Oh, I think you’re or she is really smart, and I think they can figure it out.” It’s really nice when that person has done international for years and they have gone to those examples and those experiences and be like, “Oh, that’s a problem. That’s gonna be problem. You’re gonna deal with this. I know this is gonna happen.” That’s where being a specialist helps.

James McCormick on Why There is No One Right Way to Live Your Life

In Chapter 6 of 21 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, legal search and consulting firm executive James McCormick answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" McCormick shares what he has learned in his 20s and 30s, namely that there is no one right script to follow to life a full life. Moving from Detroit to Ann Arbor to San Francisco to New Orleans to New York City, getting married, becoming a father, and building a law career all teach him the importance of improvisation and flexibility. He channels what life has taught him into his work as an executive recruiter by learning to listen and treat every person he works with as an individual. James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City. Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day. He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan.

James McCormick on How to Build Cross-Functional Knowledge at Work

In Chapter 13 of 21 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, legal search and consulting firm executive James McCormick answers "How Have You Learned to Work More Effectively Across Different Disciplines?"  Experience provides McCormick cross-functional learning experiences he then can apply in serving clients and training new employees. He learns from his father that often the only way to build institutional knowledge is to embrace the continuous learning experience that creates it in a career. James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City. Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day. He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

James McCormick on Doing What is Best for His Family and Future

In Chapter 21 of 21 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, legal search and consulting firm executive James McCormick answers "What Steps Are You Taking to Do What is Best for Your Family and Your Future?" McCormick prioritizes his home life to make sure his son gets proper attention and is introduced to a wide array of experiences. He makes sure to carve out time with his wife in a schedule that gets far busier with children. At work he makes it a point to create an inclusive culture where everyone plays a role helping to grow the company. James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City. Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day. He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

Leslie Kerner on Learning Client Relationship Management at Deloitte

In Chapter 9 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, education software company executive Leslie Kerner answers "What Did You Learn in Your First Job After College That is Still Relevant Today?" In her first job out of college, Kerner takes a job as a business analyst at management consulting company Deloitte. There she learns the importance of client relationship management working across industries in diverse work environments. By building trust and helping clients understand she was there to help and not hinder, Kerner builds project teams that work together to solve problems.

Leslie Kerner is Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Professional Services group at Amplify, a software and services company innovating K-12 education. She is responsible for building and managing training, professional development and consulting services for schools. Previously, Kerner worked as a management consultant at Deloitte & Touche. Kerner earned an MBA from the Duke University and a BA from Northwestern University.