Our media team can’t stop watching this powerful video, America in Four Minutes. Says Becky: “Power in the script, power in the music. And simple execution so the focus stays on his beautifully crafted poem.”
Google’s latest project hopes to shake up the musical landscape with artificial intelligence, forcing artists everywhere to answer the question: are we human, or are we dancer?
Ahead of the referendum on whether or not Britain will stay in the EU, Twitter created new emojis in an effort to persuade a younger demographic to register to vote.
Inklings and musings from Scott’s travels in which he ponders the concept of perfection in society.
A researcher asked 14,000 people how they negotiated. Turns out, most are doing it backwards.
Hitting roadblocks as you lead your team? Here’s a nice reminder that even President Lincoln had to switch up his leadership tactics to win the Civil War. (For more presidential lessons, check out this piece from Frontier Academy facilitator Nate, who brings us a critical insight straight from George Washington.)
You're a tourist in San Francisco. You want to take a guided tour but don't like the options at the Tourism Center. You could just use a standard guidebook, but don't want to visit only the predictable tourist highlights. You want off-road and offbeat. You want the true story of a place and its people. And you definitely don't want your face submerged in text when you're here to see and notice and watch.
Now imagine an immersive, hands-free audio tour read by Gary Kamiya, the author of Cool Gray City of Love: 28 View of San Francisco. An expert on the history of San Francisco--from 20,000 years ago to the present day--Gary injects his personality and perspective, taking you and your group of friends, or like-minded strangers, on a curated tour of the underbelly of San Francisco. A tour not replicated by any Frommer’s guide or local tour company. It’s unique. It’s personal. You start and stop the tour at your leisure. You take as much time as you need to complete the journey. Your iPhone stays securely nestled in your pocket, with your headphones in both ears. Or one. And when you choose to pause the tour, your friends--synced with you--have their tour paused as well.
This is Detour.com, an app company born from the mind of Groupon founder, Andrew Mason. Technology powering place-based, interactive, social experiences.
We met with Andrew after his keynote...
...at Launch Festival in that cool gray city of love to talk audio journalism, oral history, experiential media, immersive storytelling. As content nerds not easily impressed, we think Detour's pretty freaking cool.
So we're building it into a new product for our enterprise clients, taking the consumer-facing idea above and mapping it into employee engagement, retail immersions, conference experiences, and more. Stay tuned.
Despite their digital DNA, videos are predominately physical vessels -- they carry an idea, a feeling, a message. And they deposit it into the hearts and minds of whoever clicks the hovering link. And like anything meant to carry a message, videos must be designed with the audience in mind.
During leisure time or work time, for productivity or play, viewers want to feel something--or, frankly, anything. Make me laugh. Or cry. Help me connect, relate, be inspired. Help me be heard and be respected.
Whether a video of a company's CEO meant to inspire a workforce, or a video projected during a nonprofit's annual gala to open wallets, a powerful video asset is a heat-seeking missile: it winds and finds its way to your viewer's beating heart.
Here's how:
A great video doesn't have to be the sexiest or the most beautiful. A team can film for days, striving for the perfect series of shots, only to create a video that inspires no one to action. What it must have is resonance: that powerful sense that it understands and speaks to what the audience already assumes.
To find that resonance:
+ Lay down your ego. (Do this in life, not just production.) What you want to say matters less than what your audience needs to hear.
+ Empathize. What does your audience hope for? What do they fear? What gives them power and agency?
+ Collaborate. Accept advice. Listen to critics, regardless of their role.
+ Build for the End Game. Whatever you want your audience to do, motivate that action. Don't fear the call to action. Like a salesperson who delivers a killer pitch and then never asks for business, too many video stick the landing and then never ask for engagement.
The cities of the future -- efficient, networked, sustainable -- won't get built on their own. Experimental sites like Seoul's Songdo, a subject of our team's immersion in South Korea last week, are equal parts fascinating and unrealistic. Computerized garbage collection. Car-free city grids. Integrated production and consumption. Nice. But for the rest of us, we have to struggle with outdated city plans built without the expectation that they'd ever have to support the human-carrying capacity now being asked of them.
Morphing from the unsustainable past to a better future takes real people on the ground pushing tirelessly for incremental improvements. We're proud to be part of this one.
RVA Rapid Transit's mission is to bring efficient, rapid transit to the Metropolitan Richmond area. Like other efforts of its kind (e.g. this recent implementation), RVA Rapid Transit aims to increase the mobility of the city's citizens, decrease traffic, increase access and integration, decrease carbon output. And much more.
Over the past few months, we've worked with the undaunted team behind this dream to create a suite of marketing and communication assets that will introduce the Rapid Transit service to the community. Tri-fold brochures, logo sets, research built on first-hand interviews with current transit riders, a community engagement strategy, bumper stickers, social media and web graphics, an email newsletter.
One small step toward our own Songdo.
What is RVA Rapid Transit?
RVA Rapid Transit is a group of Richmond citizens whose mission is to bring modern rapid transit to our city. The 7.6 mile bus route would have a dedicated lane on Broad Street, running from Rocketts Landing to Willow Lawn. The concept mirrors an above ground metro, only making 14 designated stops with the capability to change traffic lights in order to reduce standing time. The quick trip is not the only perk of this bus. Inside you'll find wi-fi, bike racks and comfortable seating.
In the end, RVA Rapid Transit had more than they could afford as a group of volunteers, and we had the satisfaction of joining the ranks of real people making a real difference. We hate business jargon more often than not, but there seems no better way to describe that than a “win-win”.
In 2015 the UCI World Road Cycling Championship is coming to Richmond, the home of our headquarters. Last year the international event was held in Ponferrada, Spain and in 2013 in Tuscana, Italy. So let’s just say there is some pressure for our fair city, recently voted the best river town in the country by Outside Magazine, to get ready for cyclists and spectators. The pressure of this looming race is great for Richmond. It motivates public officials, nonprofits, large corporations, and the community, to unite together with the mission of quickly creating a city that has cycling at its core. No one wants their town to look anything less than stellar when under an international spotlight. Many organizations are looking to immediate cycling infrastructure uplifts to answer this call. One such group is The Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. The initiative is “Go Bike!”. Go Bike! will install 30 custom designed bike racks in key locations in Downtown Richmond (affectionately referred to as RVA). Each will feature works of art created by local artists, along with a plaque paying homage to the company that funded that individual rack. 23 locations have been recognized as prime spots. Now the responsibility rests on the shoulders of local business to fund these works of art. We have joined the charge and will have a Frontier Project bike rack likely nearer to our offices in Downtown Richmond. If you're interested in doing the same, contact Chrystal.
Sometimes it takes throwing a party, to decide you need the floors cleaned, a new sofa, and some fresh paint on the walls.
Voice memos are the best kept secret in effective communication. How many times have you had a fantastic idea, a creative breakthrough, or finally wrapped your mind around accomplishing a task - in a situation where texting is inappropriate, pen and paper or inaccessible, or your computer is nowhere to be found? Sometimes our best ideas come to us at inconvenient times and at those moments, reach for your phone and record a voice memo.
An added bonus of the Frontier coveted voice memo: communication can be lost over email and text, leaving the reader confused about your intended tone. The ambiguity that can happen in written communication is remedied over voice memos.
So next time you're in the car and have feedback, an idea, or a more complex question for a colleague, record a voice memo and send away (when you're no longer driving of course).
As someone who has spent the better part of my career in sales, whether pitching to consumers or other businesses, I am well aware of the trials that face the “business development” representative. As a Frontier Facilitator it was my job this month to speak to a group of sales professionals with an international insurance company on what we refer to as “Insight Selling."
The Insight Selling curriculum follows the mindset found in a book every sales professional should read called The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon. As sales professionals we often focus on being our clients' confidant, building a relationship with them that leads them to want to work with us (even if it's just out of guilt). Insight Selling introduces a better way. One that is longer lasting and built on a more sturdy and lasting foundation.
Our Insight Selling workshop teaches participants how to create stronger relationships by challenging their clients and uncovering new insights that help them address their biggest pain points.
We start this workshop by encouraging each participant to identify a current client. By the end of the course they have a clear path toward transforming their style of selling to one based on pushing, stretching, and challenging their clients for the mutual gain of both parties.
If you’re interested in bringing our Insight Selling workshop to your team, contact Katie Lackey. We would love to hang with your group for the day and learn from one another.
So you read the article in GRID magazine and you wanted more. Welcome. Here are the full interviews with Kate Hall, Katherine Wintsch, and Carter Reid.
Kate Hall / Senior HR Project Manager, Health Diagnostic Laboratories / Founder of richmondmom.com
1. How many children do you have and what are their ages? 3. Ages 12, 9, and 7.
2. What was your #1 fear when you became pregnant for the first time? That I would miss my “me” time (which I do, but it’s still worth it).
4. The biggest negative perception of being a working mom that you have had to overcome? I think we bring most of that on ourselves, honestly, by making ourselves feel guilty. Although when I had to travel overseas for a business trip in the Philippines someone said, “Didn’t it kill you to leave your kids that long?” And I’ll admit my heart sank. Sometimes hearing things like that out loud cement the loss of time with our kids that you simply cannot get back, although one thing that taught me is what an incredible partner I have in my husband and how thankful I am for my support network.
5. One bit of advice to working women thinking of having a child or those who are currently pregnant? Don’t wait until the perfect time: there is no perfect time. There will be challenges and inconveniences and it’s all worth it—100%.
6. How do you prioritize your time? I’m a project manager so thankfully I’ve learned a lot about prioritizing and that helps me at home—making lists, estimating completion time, and now that my kids are older—delegating. It’s a beautiful thing.
7. How do you respond to the question, "Are you worried you are not there for enough of your children's lives?" Yes, but I make the quality time I spend with them count, and we talk to our kids about the benefits that having working parents brings to them—saving for college, nice vacations together, living in a great neighborhood with stellar schools, etc.
8. So many women have children and feel that they’re then solely defined by the “M” word. What words define you? It’s funny—for five years when I ran Richmondmom.com, people would see me and say, “There’s the Richmondmom girl!” So few realized that I had a corporate background and a completely different side, so it’s been fun to break down that stereotype now that I’m back in the corporate world. The truth is though, I’ve let it define me because it’s the most important role in my life. If I had to choose other words to define me they’d be: nurturer, student (all of life is a lesson in my eyes), adventurer.
9. We are only one or two generations into the idea of mothers in the workplace. Are you surprised how quickly we have progressed or do you feel the progression has been slow? Why? I think we really have progressed. There are so many more careers available to my generation than to my mother’s due to technology and growth. When my mom went to school she was funneled into either teaching or entry-level office jobs. Because I work with so much technology, it’s still tough for my mom to understand exactly what it is that I do.
10. Why is it all worth it? I’ll get back to you once I get these kids successfully raised.
Katherine Wintsch / Founder & CEO, The Mom Complex
1. How many children do you have and what are their ages? Layla is 6 and Alex is 4.
2. How has being a working mom effected your work-life for the positive? I like to think I’m giving my daughter a glimpse of how hard work can lead to an extraordinarily rewarding career and life.
3. What is the biggest negative perception of being a working mom that you have had to overcome? I travel a lot for my job and sometimes people give me a hard time about that. But, I don’t let it get to me. I focus on the positive side of business travel – like eating breakfast in bed in a fancy hotel in NYC!
4. One bit of advice to working women thinking of having a child or those who are currently pregnant? Learn how to say no. Here’s a quick and easy trick that works every time: http://momcomplex.com/blog/an-easy-way-to-start-saying-no/
5. How do you prioritize your time? In terms of my calendar management, I put the big rocks in the jar first (the most important things in my life) then I fill in the remaining time with the little pebbles (the less-important thing). I map out my calendar three months in advance with yoga classes I love, meditation courses and family vacations. Then, and only then, do I fill in the remaining time with meetings. It’s a sure fire way to keep my priorities straight.
6. So many women have children and feel that they’re then solely defined by the “M” word. What words define you? Full of life.
7. We are only one or two generations into the idea of mothers in the workplace. Are you surprised how quickly we have progressed? I’m incredibly impressed by the number of women starting their own companies these days. Everywhere I go and I meet impressive women taking the road less traveled and creating their own dream jobs. Bravo ladies.
8. Why is it all worth it? Because I’m doing what I feel like I was born to do and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.
Carter Reid / Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary
1. How many children do you have and what are their ages? My husband and I have two kids. Their ages are 14 (son) and 16 (daughter).
2. How has being a working mom effected your work-life for the positive? Being a working mom has really forced me to focus on work-life balance, which is healthy for any working person. I think we are more effective at our jobs when we allow ourselves time to focus on family and interests outside of work. It helps to manage stress, reminds us of what is really important in life, and allows us to bring different perspectives and hopefully creativity to our jobs.
3. What is the biggest negative perception of being a working mom that you have had to overcome? I think a big perception I had to overcome early in my career is less of an issue today in many workplace environments, or I hope that it is. Once you have children, you may be seen as no longer being available for travel, demanding assignments, maybe even relocation. If you want to still be considered for advancement and promotions it is important to let you boss know that, and then demonstrate it by stepping up and delivering when given a challenging assignment. In the background you are having to juggle a hundred things to make it work, but if that is the career you want, you find a way. On the other hand, you may want or need to step off the fast track for a few years. That is okay also if it's what's right for you and your family. I did it for a few years after I had my second child. I think moms need to first be honest with themselves about what they want, and then talk to their supervisors about the options.
4. How do you prioritize your time? Prioritizing time is so important. For me, I get up early before anyone else in my family so I have time to catch up on bills, emails, etc. Then when the kids come down for breakfast I can put my devices away and have a few minutes with them before they are off to school. When I am at the office, I tend to be very focused on getting my work done so I can get home at a reasonable hour. For instance, I do not go out to lunch on a regular basis or eat in our cafeteria. I also limit afterwork engagements as much as possible. That is an area that you have to be careful with—you need to balance getting your work done so you can get home to your family with taking the time to socialize and interact with colleagues, get to know others in your group, and form work relationships that can benefit you, and those on your teams, in many ways. Another area that requires careful planning is your involvement in non-profit or community organizations. I think it is an important part of a well-balanced life, but I have had to be careful not to over commitment. It is hard to do with so many amazing and well-deserving organizations we have in Richmond. I remind myself that after the kids are off to college I will have more time to devote to my other interests.
5. So many women have children and feel that they’re then solely defined by the “M” word. What words define you? Being a mother has been the best experience of my life, and one I look forward to continuing as long as I live. However, if our children are blessed with good health and things go as planned, we are only their primary caretakers for 18 years. If being a mom defines who you are, instead of just being an important component of who you are, I think that would make for a pretty tough time when you become an empty nester. I also think my children have really benefitted from my career. They understand the need to prioritize, they also understand that while we love them immensely the world does not revolve around them and we all need to make some sacrifices. I will often check in with them about my career, and every time they tell me they think it is great that I have the job I have and would not want it any differently. They know I love my career, and are insightful enough to know I would likely drive everyone mad if I was not working!
