#kirshenbaum bond & partners

[xtrablak674]

Marilyn Monroe via BK at the Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners Retrospective

I have only done drag-proper once and I was paid to, for a company party. I even had a clothing and hair and make-up budget! I had really wanted my late friend Timothy Fischetti to do my make-up but he wasn't available, it is one of my regrets of my young adult-hood because I really wanted to work with Tim on this. Otherwise it was a pretty spectacular evening, only a few bumps with tits which were stocking filled with rice, which wouldn't stay in place, and the sexual harassment by the head of the studio department who tried to reach up my dress, you weren't that damned drunk!

Y'all have to realize this is all before RPDR, I was feeling around in the dark for how to get this look together, with this rented dress and a shake-and-go wig. My favorite part of the look were the five-inch silver open toe mules that I bought at Patricia Fields. I was so pissed when their plastic asses melted in my fire of '98 which is also the same year these photos were taken twenty-six years ago, Black Jesus how time flies.

[Photos by Brown Estate]

[maaarine]

The Nurture Revolution (Greer Kirshenbaum, 2023)

"Patrescence starts as soon as a father has contact with their baby and continues in the first few months of infancy.

The introduction of the baby causes a release of oxytocin in the father’s brain and this is essential to create changes in the brain to augment special abilities for parenting.

The vast changes in fathers’ brains happen through active involvement in childcare in what we call a “dose-dependent relationship.”

The more time the father spends with the baby, the more oxytocin they will have and the more their brain will change.

More brain changes in these early days help fathers’ and partners’ parenting skills long-term.

In the early days, when many fathers and non-birthing parents may find it challenging to bond with a baby, know that being with your baby by holding, feeding, bathing, and changing their diaper is the bonding.

It is a quiet beginning on the outside, and a dramatic beginning in the brain, toward building a profound relationship of play, interaction, and connectedness.

In the first three months of infancy, oxytocin increases in fathers, testosterone lowers, and brain structures change.

The more time a father spends with their baby, the more oxytocin is present, the more testosterone is lowered, and the more the male parenting brain develops.

Similar to matrescence, the brain areas that change in men are also related to emotional bonding and nurturing babies.

One study looked at brain changes in primary caregiving homosexual fathers in families with no maternal involvement.

These fathers showed changes to their brains that were more similar to primary caregiving mothers than to secondary caregiving fathers.

This research supports the concept that brain changes are different in primary and secondary caregivers regardless of sex or gender, with more pronounced brain changes and abilities for primary caregivers.

It also suggests that contact and time with their baby in the early days will change the brains and parenting abilities of queer parents, adoptive parents, and parents through surrogacy —more evidence to support substantial parental leave for all people who become parents."

[updateparishilton]

ScreenCaps —  Saison 03 x Episode 02    “   Secretaries ”

After getting to know the family a bit, they are dropped off in the city at Kirshenbaum, Bond and Partners Advertising for their next internship. The girls first assignment is sorting the mail and putting them in the appropriate mailboxes. The girls then attempt being the senior partners’ PA’s, with varied degrees of success. The girls cater; picking up lunch for their co-workers from the sandwich bar across the street. Deciding they are hungry, they eat the food intended for their co-workers. They are then assigned to using the Xerox, but manage to even mess this up.

[wineanddinosaur]

She Doesn’t Want Your Number: When Brands Deploy Humans in Bars

Long before “influencers” proliferated our Instagram feeds with products we can’t afford, brands were getting creative — and sometimes secretive — to reach their target audiences. The strategy, known as stealth marketing, aims to raise brand awareness, often before a product is launched, so that potential consumers are already primed for its arrival.

Also called undercover marketing, viral marketing, or, appropriately in the following case, “buzz” marketing, this deceptive tactic places the product in question, be it a new gadget or spirit, in destinations where its target market might just happen to hang out. Like bars, say, or even the sidewalk.

One brand that gained national attention for staging such a stunt was BlackBerry, which promoted its proto-smartphones to straight businessmen by paying attractive women to flirt with them in bars.

Selling What’s Hot

In 2010, BlackBerry hired attractive 20-something actresses to promote its new BlackBerry Pearl. The actresses would converse with men in bars and suggest exchanging phone numbers in their oh-so-convenient smartphones. “I definitely didn’t call anyone,” Julia Royter, a “pretty 26-year-old actress” from Brooklyn, told the Daily News in 2010.

Royter describes how she and “a bunch of hot girls” were hired to go to bars in Midtown Manhattan, the land of nine-to-fivers. They “would just walk into bars, whip out our BlackBerries and try to get guys to look at them by flirting,” Royter says. “We’d say, ‘Put your number in my phone and I’ll totally call you. We’ll go out on a date!’ But we just wanted them to try the BlackBerry.”

Starting a Buzz

Of course, BlackBerry wasn’t the first to attempt such a ruse. In the early 2000s, Sony Ericsson promoted its new camera phone via an undercover campaign internally referred to as “fake tourists.” It hired 60 actors in 10 cities to approach strangers in the street, phone in hand, and ask to have their pictures taken.

Back at the bar, in 2003, the owner of a sceney nightclub poured Turi Vodka drinks for young, hip party-goers. Unbeknownst to his patrons, the bar owner was hired by Bacardi to push the vodka that night. “This is the new way of doing it,” David Elias, founder of SoulKool, the social marketing agency that ran the campaign, told CBS. “[P]eople feeling like they’re marketed to all the time, that kind of message for this demographic doesn’t work … They want to know about it from a friend of theirs that’s in the know, that keeps up with the trends. And that way, it’s very subtle.”

In the 1990s, nearly 20 years before BlackBerrys hit the scene, marketing agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners ran a five-year-long campaign that also planted attractive young people in bars. In this case, their stunt was to order a very specific drink: a Hennessy Martini. It sounds unusual now — a Martini is made with gin or maybe vodka, not Cognac — but it worked. Hennessy comprises about 70 percent of the U.S. Cognac market.

Where traditional advertising persuades us, stealth marketing fools us. “[I]t’s the trickery part, I think, that makes [undercover marketing] different,” Malcolm Gladwell, journalist and author of “The Tipping Point,” said in a 2003 interview. Advertising may be deceptive, but it has boundaries. “A line is crossed, I think, when you go outside of those normal boundaries and start to deceive people,” Gladwell said.

Whether we like it or not, buzz marketing is happening right under our noses — and maybe even in our drinks.

The article She Doesn’t Want Your Number: When Brands Deploy Humans in Bars appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/bars-stealth-marketing/

[ethicsustinvest]

PODCAST: ESG Bonds and Bond Funds, Stock Alpha, More…

ESG bonds and bond funds gaining investors. Municipal and non-profit bonds for ethical and sustainable investors. Analyst likes 25 sustainable stocks that make you feel good while making you money. ESG stocks beating S&P by 45% this year! Plant-based meat alternative food products gaining big in popularity with important knock-on effects for food stocks. More…

PODCAST: ESG Bonds and Bond Funds, Stock Alpha, More…

Transcript & Links, Episode 19, November 22, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 19 titled ESG Bonds and Bond Funds, Stock Alpha, and More… for November 22, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources.

And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links to content, and often bonus material to these podcasts at their episodes’ podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

Now to this podcast!

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ESG Bonds and Bond Funds (1)

Usually, when we think of ethical and sustainable investing we almost always think about stocks. But for most investors who prioritize personal values in investing, ESG bonds should also be a significant part of one’s portfolio. So now let’s get a little more into that.

Incidentally, later in this podcast, I’ll talk more about some new ESG stock recommendations and about ESG stock alpha! That is, how terrifically well ESG stocks are doing!

One interesting but overlooked debt asset class for ethical and sustainable investing, particularly in the US, are non-profit municipal ESG bonds. Karen Hube in an illuminating article titled, Future Returns: ESG Investing in Nonprofit Municipal Debt provides insight into this. The article appeared in Barron’s PENTA pages.

In her article, Ms. Hube quotes Buck Stevenson, managing director, and portfolio manager at Silvercrest Asset Management Group in New York. She quotes him as saying that “Municipal bonds issued by small nonprofit groups working to bring about change in their communities can satisfy investors’ growing appetite for impact investing ideas while paying yields ranging from 4.5% to 6%...

Community hospitals, charter schools, and organizations providing mental health care and veterans services are among the groups that are typically structured as nonprofit organizations with 501c(3) status, and can issue debt to raise funds for improvements, new facilities, equipment, and other needs.” End quote

And interest received by investors in this type of debt in the US is often exempt from personal taxes. So, real after-tax yields can sometimes be pretty good!

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ESG Bonds and Bond Funds (2)

Another article on ESG bonds and bond funds is titled How Advisors Use ESG Bond ETFs by Lara Crigger on the ETF.com site. Ms. Crigger interviews several ESG analysts and portfolio managers to get their picks on ETFs comprised of ESG bonds.

She first quotes Johann Klaassen, EVP & CIO of Horizons Sustainable Financial Services. Mr. Klaassen likes the VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (GRNB), the Nuveen ESG U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NUBD), the Sage ESG Intermediate Credit ETF (GUDB), and the Invesco Taxable Municipal Bond ETF (BAB).

Another interviewee, Maya Philipson, Principal of Robasciotti & Philipson recommends the PIMCO Intermediate Municipal Bond Active ETF (MUNI).

Then, Scott Arnold, Partner & Portfolio Manager at IMPACTfolio talks about how he also likes the Nuveen ESG U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NUBD). And on a more riskier level, Mr. Arnold likes the new Nuveen ESG High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NUHY).

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ESG Bonds and Bond Funds (3)

Regarding riskier ESG bonds and bond funds, ETFtrends.com ran an article titled High Yield is Making Its Way into ESG Investing by Ben Hernandez. He writes “The search for yield is certainly a global phenomenon given the low rates offered in government debt around the world. It opens the doors for ESG funds to shine by offering high yield bond options as in the case of BlackRock’s iShares € High Yield Corp Bond ESG UCITS ETF (EHYD) and the iShares $ High Yield Corp Bond ESG UCITS ETF (DHYD).” End quote.

The article also has the following quote, “’As evidence increasingly shows that sustainability-related factors can help investors build more resilient portfolios, we are moving into an era where sustainable investing will be the standard way to invest,’ said Meaghan Muldoon, head of sustainable investing EMEA at BlackRock.” End quote.

It should be noted that applying ESG and sustainability criteria to high yield bonds does have a chance to improve the quality and performance of a high yield debt in a portfolio.

However, generally, high yield ESG bonds are still riskier than better-rated bonds.

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ESG Bonds and Bond Funds (4)

For a deeper inside look into ESG bonds and bond funds of the high yield variety, I refer you to this article, Looking under the hood of an ESG-focused high-yield bond fund. It’s by Jeff Benjamin at InvestmentNews. Mr. Benjamin interviews Tim Leary, lead manager of the RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund (RGHYX). The fund’s portfolio consists of high yield ESG bonds.

Mr. Leary commenting on his fund says that “The $54 million fund, which was launched in 2012, has an expense ratio of 58 basis points and a five-star rating from Morningstar. It has gained 13.7% from the start of the year, beating both the benchmark and the category average.” End quote

Additionally, he does have this warning about his and other high yield funds – euphemistically often called ‘junk bond’ funds. Quote, “The leveraged finance markets and high-yield markets in general are a risky place to invest because they tend to be more opaque.” End quote.

Furthermore, Mr. Leary says about his fund that “From a sector standpoint, we tend to be overweight financials, as well as financial services companies, cable and media names. Both from an ESG perspective but also from an overall view, we are materially underweight energy, metals and mining, and utilities.” End quote.

Incidentally, you should know that there’s a big debate about greenwashing when it comes to ESG bonds and bond funds, most especially of the high yield variety. So, talk to your advisor before investing in them.

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Stock Alpha (1)

Turning our attention back to ESG stock alpha, John Csiszar outlines 25 Investments That Make You Feel Good While You Make Money. His article was reposted on Yahoo! Finance from GOBankingRates.

Most of his picks are typical of what you might find in most ESG stock indexes and funds. His picks are, in alphabetical order:

3M (MMM); Aflac (AFL); Avnet (AVT); Best Buy (BBY); Colgate-Palmolive (CL); Kimberly-Clark (KMB); Microsoft (MSFT); PepsiCo (PEP); Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL); Salesforce.com (CRM); US Bancorp (USB); Voya Financial (VOYA); Weyerhaeuser (WY); Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH); Hilton (HLT); Beyond Meat (BYND); Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA); Tesla (TSLA); Ecolab (ECL)’ Starbucks (SBUX); Fluor (FLR); Texas Instruments (TXN); UPS (UPS); International Paper (IP); Intel (INTC)

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Stock Alpha (2)

The following two articles talk about how our trend towards vegetarianism and veganism are having on food industry trends and food-related stocks.

The first article is Americans, especially millennials and Gen Z, are embracing plant-based meat products by Sheril Kirshenbaum and Douglas Buhler on the GreenBiz site. These researchers find that “With debate over the impacts of meat production intensifying, we have been tracking U.S. attitudes related to plant-based alternatives through Michigan State University’s Food Literacy and Engagement Poll. The results reveal a growing appetite for plant-based meat among consumers, especially millennials and Generation Z…

Our survey found that during the previous 12 months, 35 percent of respondents had consumed plant-based meat alternatives. Of that group, 90 percent said they would do so again. Among those who had not yet eaten plant-based meat alternatives, 42 percent were willing to try them, while 30 percent of that group remained unwilling.

We also identified very significant generational differences in attitudes. Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents under 40 were already eating plant-based meats, while just 27 percent of those aged 40 and over had tried these products.” End quote.

The second post comes from Interactive Investor with the title Why this $5bn stock is not just for vegans by Rodney Hobson. Mr. Hobson focuses on the extraordinary stock alpha of Beyond Meat’s stock price. It soared from its IPO price of $25 to about 10 times that and is now back to around $80. His comment, “There is no shortage of rivals making vegan alternatives to meat and competition is likely to intensify. However, those companies with a solid base and proven track record are ahead of the game. Beyond Meat has been going for 10 years now.” End quote.

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Stock Alpha (3)

And finally, here’s a story to cheer every ethical and sustainable investor! It’s by Brendan Coffey – who I’ve previously quoted talking about the remarkable stock alpha that ESG stocks are having this year. Writing for Forbes.com, his post is titled, ESG Stocks Are Beating The S&P By 45% This Year.

Yup, he says that “ESG funds are raking in the dough in 2019, pulling in $13.5 billion in new investor money in the first three quarters of the year, according to a recent report by Morningstar. But how is the ‘typical’ ESG portfolio doing? It’s handily besting the S&P 500, returning more than 32% to the S&P’s 22%, through October. That’s a 45% outperformance.” End quote.

So, as one famous stock market commentator says, ‘stay with the drill!’

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Well, these are my top news stories and tips for ethical and sustainable investors over the past two weeks.

Again, to get all the links or to read the transcript of this podcast and sometimes get additional information too, please go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode.

And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you download or listen to this podcast and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally and help create a better world for us all.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the content of this podcast or anything else related.

A big thank you for listening.

Come again! And my next podcast is scheduled for December 6. See you then. Bye for now.

© 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.

Click here to download the episode

[marcusssanderson]

Top 10 Relationships Books On Thriving Together

Top 10 Relationship Books for Healthy & Unconditional Love

As a therapist, I work with a lot of couples. While we can do important work during our sessions, they are limited to 45-60 minutes every 1-2 weeks.

There are so many tools and techniques for the couples to practice between sessions, not to mention all the additional information many of them are seeking to supplement their sessions with.

There are many resources available to help couples learn new ways to examine and strengthen their relationships. Here are 10 of my top relationship books from the last few years.

Top 10 Relationship Books for 2018 and beyond

1. The Five Love Languages: the Secret to Love that Lasts By Gary D Chapman

This relationship book by Dr. Gary Chapman looks at one of the most common issues in relationship issues, that we speak different love languages. The languages he has identified are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

Chapman is able to demonstrate each of our unique needs, and how they must be met for effective relationships. Examples from his own practice are used to illustrate his concepts. The book contains a questionnaire, questions and answers throughout the book, and a journal for further consideration

2. Couple Skills: Making Your Relationship Work By Matthew McKay PhD and Patrick Fanning

This book will demonstrate how to work effectively in your relationship. Some skills focused on are: improved communication, coping with problems, and resolve conflicts in healthier ways.

This version of the book teaches the reader acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT help each person to accept your partner’s feelings and emotions, without resorting to judgment. This book helps the couple decide what is important to them, and put these skills into practice.

Books for a Healthy Relationship

3. Deal Breakers: When to Work On a Relationship and When to Walk Away By Dr. Bethany Marshall

This book discusses emotionally unhealthy men. It has you examine the people you choose, and the patterns you repeat. It makes you ask yourself while relationships can and cannot succeed. It is based in the reality of people’s willingness to change, or likelihood to remain in their same bad habits.

The book helps women examine what their deal breakers are. What they will and will not tolerate in a relationship. When it is worth fighting for, and when it is time to leave.  They learn to set healthy boundaries, and to stick to them.

4. The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships By John Gottman

John Gottman is probably the most well know couples expert we have. He has authored numerous books that help people turn troubled relationships into positive and workable ones.

This book is based on 20 years of proven research. He discusses what a healthy relationship consists of, looks at emotional connections, and how the couple responds to each other’s needs

5. When the Past Is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds that Sabotage our Relationships By David Richo

In this relationship book, David Richo explores how being stuck in the past can destroy our present relationship. He states, “We all have a tendency to transfer potent feelings, needs, expectations, and beliefs from childhood or from former relationships onto the people in our daily lives, whether they are our intimate partners, friends, or acquaintances.”

If we can become more aware of dysfunctional patterns, we can prevent ourselves from repeating them. This can be the key to a healthy relationship in the present.

Books for a Healthy Relationship

6.  Relationships: The Ultimate Guide to Better Relationships! – Communication in Relationships to Handle Dysfunctional By Mia Conrad

This book looks at ending dysfunctional relationships. Mai Conrad wants her readers to have stronger and healthier relationships than they have ever had. She examines identifying and removing toxic people from your life. This enables a person to have relationships that give them more peace than relationships have before.

She looks at: what breaks down and ruins relationships, what makes a relationship strong, what makes certain relationships last, why certain relationships are romantic, and having healthier and happier family connections.

7. I Love You But I Don’t Trust You: The Complete Guide to Restoring Trust in Your Relationship By Mira Kirshenbaum

Mira Kirshenbaum states, “Whether broken trust is due to daily dishonesties, a monumental betrayal, or even a history of hurts from the past, it can put a relationship at risk.” This book helps the couple to rebuild mildly to severely damaged trust between a couples.

She looks at the stages if trust, and when a couple has reached a stage that is appropriate to attempt to rebuild that trusts. She shows you that you can heal and trust each other again, that there is hope for the relationship if you both truly want it to work.

8. Love, Sex and Staying Warm: Creating a Vital Relationship By Neil Rosenthal

Neil Rosenthal states that his book helps a couples to, “Reignite Your Passion, Strengthen Your Relationship, and Keep the Romance Alive.” The intent is to prevent couples from having their relationships slowly fracture and come apart over the years.

Learning to notice the warning signs before they become major concerns can strengthen the bonds of a couple. The book contains techniques and strategies that the couples can apply to reinforce their bond, and restore the passion they have for each other. Fill out a quiz, practice techniques, and examine the current state of your relationship.

9. Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out ofYou’re By Mira Kirshenbaum

Mira Kirshenbaum states that she asks the reader, “36 questions and self-analysis techniques designed to get to the heart of relationship and marriage problems.”  This book is simple and direct, and works for relationships that are at any stage.

It gets to the root of whether a relationship is worth working out, or whether it is comes to its natural conclusion. It helps the reader step back and look at the relationship in a practical manner, and offers guidance on what is in their long term best interest.

10. 47 Little Love Boosters For a Happy Marriage: Connect and Instantly Deepen Your Bond No Matter How Busy You Are By Marko Petkovic

This book addresses relationships ranging from early days, to decades old. Many couples struggle to keep the romance and passion going. The book uses couples who are successful as examples to live by and model your relationship over. It demonstrates that it literally takes only minutes per day to connect with your partner and let them know they are loved.

She uses techniques called “Little Love Boosters for a Happy Marriage.” This is due to the fact that an individual can do them, they are very time limited, they can be done without ever leaving your house, and they cost you nothing!

The book comes with an easy to use checklist, so that you can track what you have and have not done for your partner. It even comes with an audio book you can listen to on the train, or while you are driving.

Which of these relationship books will you read first?

With the help of these aides, most couples can strengthen their marriage to a state that it has not been in years, perhaps ever!

For those wanting to build awaken the passion, connection, and intimacy they once had in their relationship, it would seem the price of a book or two would be well worth it.

Which of these relationship books will you read first? Let us know in the comment section below. Happy Reading!

The post Top 10 Relationships Books On Thriving Together appeared first on Everyday Power.

[samzises]

Alumnus Profile: New York-Based Entrepreneur Sam Zises Sold His App to Budweiser, Now Leads Successful Marketing Agency & Invests in Startups

Originally posted on Northeastern’s Website on May 29, 2018.

Creative, passionate, innovative, and driven. These are just a few words to describe Sam Zises, a leader and entrepreneur who has launched several successful businesses and always keeps his finger on the pulse of marketing, branding, and technology trends. His forward-thinking mindset has helped many clients effectively tell their stories and grow their brands, and his leadership has connected, excited, and inspired other industry professionals.

Needless to say, Sam has been busy since graduating from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communications, currently running his own business, [L]earned Media, in the heart of New York City. [L]M for short is a content marketing and design agency focused on websites, content and campaigns for real estate, tech and consumer brands. As the founder and CEO, Sam lives and breathes today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving world of media and marketing – and recognizes its incredible power and value when optimized.

His team of strategists, website developers, content creators and designers at [L]earned Media focus on creating the highest quality creative content that tell a compelling brand story and deliver meaningful ROI for its clients.

“First and foremost, I love all things media, content, and technology,” explained Sam. “Whether it’s reading a great article or watching an entertaining video, content can provide an escape from daily stresses; it is powerful.”

His love and appreciation for content marketing is nothing new to Sam. During his time at Northeastern, he held several internships in media and marketing, from MTV and NBC to esteemed ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal. While at school Sam even took production classes that taught him how to shoot and edit video and manage a crew while directing a shoot from a control room. After graduation, he continued to build and strengthen his marketing skillset at Big Fuel, a social media agency, and then at Ogilvy & Mather, a global advertising, marketing and PR agency, where he worked in group marketing and business development.

In true entrepreneurial fashion, it was around this time that Sam had the idea for a new location-based events planning app called Wendr, which allows users to see what their friends are doing on any given night. Inspired by his days as an undergraduate at Northeastern, Sam wanted to find an easier way to gather friends for fun things to do together – and the app, which integrated content from Fandango, SeatGeek and HotelTonight, did precisely this.

Right after launching the app, the stars aligned and Sam spotted a call for start-ups to pitch their ideas to Budweiser at an event. Sam’s app Wendr won, launching a successful partnership with the American beer company, who ended up hiring Sam and his team and acquiring the app brand rights, along with BlackBerry in Latin America. You can learn more in this Q+A with The Huffington Post.

With Budweiser and BlackBerry as effective clients, Sam launched his own agency to help other brands and startups launch and grow their businesses. He has now been leading [L]earned Media since 2012, and describes his leadership style as one that embraces coaching, encouragement, and making his employees feel confident and comfortable.

“The way I like to run the company is to make being in the office feel like being in a living room. I find that when people are comfortable, they will be happier, more present, and of course, do better work,” explained Sam. “I lead like a coach, and always try to focus on the positives and ways to improve.”

And while leading [L]earned Media is his day job, it likely comes as no surprise that Sam is also involved in several other groups and initiatives.

Sam, along with his partner and twin brother Ben, are early-stage investors through their BS Ventures, where they have had the opportunity to get to know, advise and invest in many innovative companies. One in particular, Quip, is getting a lot of publicity and accolades, labeled by journalists as “the Tesla of toothbrushes.” It produces slim, travel-ready electric and manual toothbrushes that are attractive, functional, and convenient. As an entrepreneur and self-starter himself, Sam enjoys surrounding himself with equally inventive individuals and companies.

Sam is also the President of the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA), USA Chapter, a position he has held since 2016. In this industry networking role, he manages and works with the community of people who work in branded content. And of course, Sam loves staying involved in the vibrant Northeastern alumni community! He has helped coordinate several alumni meet-ups in the New York City area, from bowling to networking, and looks forward to staying in touch with his alma mater.

“I really value the time I spent at Northeastern, from being on such a great campus to gaining real-world experience,” Sam said. “I always say you can only get experience by getting experience. Doing internships and being able to immerse yourself in the work environment and culture as a student sets you up for a successful career.”

On that note, Sam concludes by leaving current students with some honest, practical advice.

“Think about what it is you want to do with your life and then avoid making excuses,” he said. “Life is short, so figure out what you want to do and then do it now – make it a priority.”

[societeaffaires]

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KBS souffle ses 60 bougies cette année, un chiffre difficile à atteindre dans un domaine aussi changeant qu’en publicité. Forte de son savoir-faire, la «vieille» agence s'est renouvelé à quelques reprises au fil du temps, pour renouveler sa direction générale il y  un an et demi.

C’est à l’été 2016 que Pierre-Luc Paiement s’est retrouvé à la tête de la direction de KBS Montréal après le départ d’Annie Aubert, pour former un duo avec le directeur de création principal Sacha Ouimet, qui occupe ce poste depuis janvier 2014. À son arrivée, son mandat était clair: insuffler un vent de modernité à cette agence bien ancrée au Québec.   

Pierre-luc paiement

kbs

Depuis, l’entreprise est passée de 35 employés à une cinquantaine. Parmi eux, plusieurs embauches ont bonifié l’équipe de direction: Karine Huard, vice-présidente, service-conseil et stratégie de plateformes; Alexandre Gravel Soublière, directeur de création adjoint annoncé récemment; Olivier Caron, aussi directeur de création adjoint, image de marque et design; et Sonya Bacon, directrice de la stratégie. Les membres de la nouvelle équipe ont été choisis en raison de leurs connaissances multiples. «Par exemple, Karine Huard apporte toute son expérience de vente acquise chez Rogers, puis à GroupM, tandis qu’Olivier Caron bonifie notre offre en design, de plus en plus en demande», explique Pierre-Luc Paiement, directeur général de KBS Montréal

Un esprit collaboratif

Depuis plusieurs mois, la collaboration a aussi été valorisée de manière à générer une plus grande cohésion entre les six bureaux de KBS dans le monde, mais plus particulièrement entre ceux de Montréal, New York et Toronto. La dernière campagneEveryday Monster pour la Société canadienne des enfants disparus est un bon exemple de la synergie entre les équipes de Montréal et de New York. C’est d’ailleurs dans cet esprit collaboratif que l’agence avait accueilli Locomotive et Canidé en 2016, pour profiter de leurs expertises respectives en web et en relations publiques, puis ainsi enrichir l'offre globale.

«Leur présence renforce cette idée d'avoir sous un même toit cette communauté d'entrepreneurs qui amènent de la diversité et une ambiance dynamique à notre agence», soutient-il.

Toutes ces nouveautés ont permis de mettre la main sur plusieurs comptes variés en peu de temps, notamment Keurig, Van Houtte, Agropur, St-Hubert, Subway, Société de transport de Laval, Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec et Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec. 

Cap sur les émotions

«L’enjeu au départ résidait dans la gestion de nos ambitions, explique Pierre-Luc Paiement. Il fallait jeter les bases de la vision future de l’agence et ce qu’on souhaitait qu’elle devienne, en étant moins axée sur les objectifs à court terme.» Un défi pour une entreprise ouverte, cotée à la Bourse. 

Leur présence renforce cette idée d'avoir sous un même toit cette communauté d'entrepreneurs qui amènent de la diversité et une ambiance dynamique à notre agence

«Il faut toujours gérer les objectifs à court terme tout en tentant qu'ils soient encore pertinents dans deux, trois ou 10 ans.»

Au fil du temps, le positionnement de l’entreprise s’est aussi précisé, pour se concentrer essentiellement sur la performance et la conversion. Au centre de cette approche, l’émotion. «Le rendement d'investissement doit être déplacé sur le territoire de l’émotion et du storytelling pour amener les gens à consommer», souligne le directeur général. Qu’est-ce que la marque peut faire pour moi? Cette question doit être posée durant tout le parcours consommateur afin de favoriser, d’une part, la notoriété d’une marque, mais d’autre part, la conversion des consommateurs.

L'humain avant tout

Dans la foulée de tous ces changements, l'agence a revampé son site web pour qu'il soit adapté à sa nouvelle vision et qu'il mette davantage de l'avant son côté humain.

Elle tente notamment de proposer des mandats sociétaux pour motiver les troupes, qui sont particulièrement intéressées par ceux-ci. «Pour tous nos clients qui ont des fondations auxquelles ils croient, nous leur offrons une banque d'heures pour appuyer leur cause.» D'ailleurs, pour la première fois de son histoire KBS Toronto a remporté deux Lions à Cannes en 2017 pour Innocence Canada.

Malgré la croissance de l'agence en peu de temps, le directeur général estime que le nombre d'employés actuel assure une agilité et donc, une plus grande présence avec les annonceurs. «De plus, nous pouvons profiter de tous les outils des plus grandes agences du réseau», soutient-t-il.

KBS fait en effet partie du réseau MDC Partners, qui abrite sous son aile une cinquantaine d'agences. C'est en 2010 qu'Allard Johnson, fondée en 1958, s'est associé à Kirshenbaum bond sénécal + partenaires (kbs+p), pour ensuite devenir KBS.

Photo de couverture: André Doyon (Rodeo Production)

Let's block ads! (Why?)

[xtrablak674]

[Originally published on Live Journal, Wednesday, May 24, 2000 at 12:49 am, edited mildly for clarity]

Oh I feel so out of it, I really need to start working I have way too much time on my hands. Me and Tony have not really spoken or seen each other these last two days, and of course since I am not working and have way too much time I am obsessing over it, when its probably no where as dramatic as I am making it in my head.

I decided against getting my hair done today and am going on Sunday to get it done so its fresh for work on Tuesday. I am just really aware of not wanting to sweat him [Tony], so I have deliberately not called him these last days, cause I wanted to see if he was going to call me. Even though we have only been seeing each other a month, I do not think we are ready to pursue anything more seriously, we really do not know each other and can't pretend that we do.

There is a whole lot I don't know about him, and there are an ungodly amount of things he doesn't know about me. And we still don't do very much other then hang out at his house, which I have an issue with, I want him to come to visit me, but the visits to me, sort of always end with sex. You know there are somethings we need to talk about and they can't just be left out there anymore, its really unacceptable. I am sitting at home, not really horny, but I would have sex with him, "If I could", and that is an issue in itself.

[I am just noticing that this seemed to be a trend in relationships that had started as just sexual, when I started dating these men we would get to some point where I was being denied sex, or sex was being withheld, yeah same difference. Even with all of this distance I am not sure what it was all about, the only thing I could guess is maybe there were underlying health issues that went undiscussed, that just left me feeling very sexually frustrated.]

I know he has lots of things going on in his life with his mental health etc, not to say that I am all mentally well but, still. I like to 'do or die', and not leave stuff up in the air, I have only been doing some of this to be considerate of him and his not being well, but I believe its okay to be a little more ME-oriented at this point, especially if I don't feel I am getting my needs met in certain areas. He says I should positively affirm myself, which I agree with, but if I am with someone who I doesn't give any affirmations, then why am I with them?

There are a few things, I could get a little more of from him. I know in the beginning he was very forth coming with compliments about my sexual prowess and how handsome I was, I told him, that my head is too big and not to do that too much, but that doesn't mean to cease and desist all together.

With all this dating stuff I am so out of practice, and I am not sure how I should be acting or reacting, not that my behavior should be so premeditated but its so hard for me to be in the moment sometimes, and I am making my best attempt. I am trying to focus on my website stuff but I still think of him. I get romantic like that. Deep down I am really relationship-oriented, I envision settling down to a domestic-type life, but I have to be getting certain needs met.

I know that Tony has a lot of past traumas to deal with, and I am patient but I have to feel that someone is making a little bit more of an effort with me, but the thing nagging in the back of my head is he is doing the best that he can, but I think he is not committed to anything yet. And I don't see him really putting an effort forward ever.

I don't know, I am not sure when he has therapy this week but we have to get together and chat about some of these things, and I have to hope I don't freeze up, like I have a tendency to do and forget to tell him all the things I want to tell him, I have to organize my thoughts without seeming to pre-planned, which is always my issue.

Part of the problem is I don't think we really talk about our feeling, I mean we are both the products of therapy in our own ways, I think thats part of it, interactions with Adam are like that, like your talking to a therapist and I have no desire to have interactions with anyone like that but, we need to be a little more honest with each other.

No matter what the results, I just feel I am going to get the same rejection I got from the Irish guy who said he just wasn't looking for anything more serious. [Now I am totally wondering who this Irish guy was] The thing is I am a way too passionate person and I have a tendency toward extremes and over-dramatizations, and I want to be aware of that with Tony when I speak to him. I know I can't have my cake and eat it too, and I should feel very blessed to have all the stuff going on in my life right now, good relationship with my grand parents, my aunt, change of job, increase in salary very exciting, it would be nice to balance that out with a nice relationship, but I will not settle.

What really needs to happen is me and Tony need to talk and just get shit out in the open, he may not want to put up with my eccentric behavior, it may not even be worth it to him. I am just a little anxious, cause I think he might break it off, and its been a nice learning experience for me, Mr On-the-Internet all the time. I don't know and I guess not knowing is what makes it all so scary. He is not dumb by far, which also make me think that he may break it off cause he seems to be quite aware of himself and his issues, so I don't know.

He was lightly joking, but he was also serious when he said to me. What makes you different then any other black man that I have dated? Which is a very fierce statement and very very catty. And I should be very offended by it, but I was just trying to hear it for what it was, I think we are actually good for each other to a point, cause he wont let me "have my way", which is demonstrated in the way he hasn't given me any ass. And that intrigues and excites me.

Most of these white boys fall over themselves for me, I can get them to do all kinds of ungodly things. But I am not getting away with that with Tony which is very attractive. He make me work for it, which I enjoy also. Cause some guys just give it up too easy. I don't know and I guess that is fine. Let me go work on my website some more, maybe I might do some Oculingus work too.

peace&blessings

T

[There is so many conflicting emotions in this journal entry, but I was in my late twenties so this is par for the course. I was trying to remember exactly where I was and I think I was working at the Dot-Com job at SF Interactive which I landed and left my first ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners.

It seems we may have had very little to do those first few months as we got onboarded, and I think this was triggering me, because I had left KB&P because of our work slow down, especially since the internets seemed to be popping off at this time I wanted to be in the midst of this exciting growth that would later be known as Internet 2.0.

I can see with all the clarity and of course hindsight that this relationship with Tony wasn't going anywhere. I seemed to struggle with this because I really liked Tony and I thought we could date, but even in this entry I could see that wasn't going to really work out. Curiously we stopped dating soon after this and we just friends for the next ten years or so.

The most other revealing thing about this entry was my lack of confidence, I was struggling with who I was and what I wanted, and what I could settle for or not. My self-worth hadn't gotten to what it is today, where I could have more easily seen that Tony wasn't ever going to give me what I needed from that relationship and it was best to just move on.

Albeit I edited the entry for clarity I can feel how unclear my feelings were I was attempting to process them right on the page, and still not totally sure of how I was feeling. I love the humanity in that, as we are going through things we can't always determine exactly how we feel. We have pieces of the puzzle but aren't always able to put them together to see the bigger picture. This vulnerability was very endearing to me.

Unlike some of the other entries I have shared from this time period this one is riddled with doubt, and I love this because as much as I would like to have thought it, I wasn't the fully-formed person I am today, and its refreshing to see that I had the potential for more growth.

Curiously I stopped dating all-together about twenty years ago, not too long after this entry, one thing that remained true from this time period is I wasn't someone who would settle for less, I'd rather do bad by myself than be with someone who wasn't fulfilling me in as many ways as possible. I am curious if I revisit this later if I will have any regrets about this decision. Knowing myself I am feeling confident I won't.]

[Photo by Brown Estate]

[screenchow]

KBS Scoops Up Dean Foods’ Creative Account After a Review

Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal and Partners won the creative account for Dean Foods, the U.S. food and beverage company behind DairyPure, TruMoo, Friendly’s and Dean’s.

KBS announced today that it has been named Dean Foods’ advertising agency of record, specifically as its creative and strategic partner, after a competitive review launched in September. It is not clear which other agencies were part…

[updateparishilton]

ScreenCaps —  Saison 03 x Episode 02    “   Secretaries ”

After getting to know the family a bit, they are dropped off in the city at Kirshenbaum, Bond and Partners Advertising for their next internship. The girls first assignment is sorting the mail and putting them in the appropriate mailboxes. The girls then attempt being the senior partners' PA's, with varied degrees of success. The girls cater; picking up lunch for their co-workers from the sandwich bar across the street. Deciding they are hungry, they eat the food intended for their co-workers. They are then assigned to using the Xerox, but manage to even mess this up.

[wayback-exe]

welcome to kirshenbaum bond & partners Jan 1997 view on oldweb.today

[xtrablak674]

[Originally posted on Live Journal on Wednesday, May 17th 2000 at 12:43am, edited for clarity]

When you first walk into my apartment it smells tart. I know exactly what it is, but it still feels foreign. Its the chemical reaction that this neutralizer had to the paint peeler I am using, I have burned some incense to rectify the problem. It's 12:13am and I have just returned back from the movie, and other then the entire cast of The Best Man being in it, I enjoyed it.

Now I am chilling eating a butterscotch krimpet kake by TastyKake, my fingers still a little sticky with pineapple juice from the fruit I stopped and picked up after the movie. On my list of to-do's this evening other then doing this journal entry, which I really hope is going to help me find my writing voice again. I have to finish my application to the White Institute, I think I have completed it. I am happy with it as I can get with it and pleased this time I actually completed it. YEAH!

Anastasia is waiting patiently at my left, looking for an opportunity to jump on my lap. Since I am going to be on the computer for a bit I am opening tabs for my online friends, including johncamlive, christiangrantham.com, keithcam, and Pecsjockcam to whom even though I think he hates my guts I still watch religiously. I am an obsessive voyeur, but I guess its more interesting living other peoples lives then your own. (mental note: go back and make the links live of those site you mentioned)

Anyway, I am stuffing myself of this kake you would think I have never seen food before, and its not like my waistline need it. UGH! I have to send Jeff an email about the gym and his being my personal trainer. I really need to do some exercise other then pointing and clicking the mouse and tickling the keyboard. Too bad you can't get exercise thru you fingers cause if you did I would be such good shape :)

I have so much going on I don't know what to write about and what not to, I guess I should just continue stream of conscious until I am pooped and will do something else. I wish I could say I was horny, but I am not, I have really had NO sex drive lately, I don't know what that is all about, maybe its a good thing. There is one guy I have sex drive for and thats Tony the guy I am dating. He seems to be the only one who can get me horny or get me thinking about sex. Which is upsetting to me cause then it feels like I am committing more to him and I don't sort of want to. (mental note, put picture of Tony in journal)(mental note: begin researching new web host)

But anyway, I guess part of it is I spend so much time alone, which in away I enjoy since I don't like too much drama, but in other ways it gets a little tired, and I sometimes need outside stimulation other then the controlled environment of my DSL-jacked in all-the-time internet connection.

I am chilly let me put on a jacket, hold on...

Anyway....

So much is goin on with leaving kbp [kirshenbaum bond & partners] and all... its a little anti-climatic cause I won't let anyone do any big "to do" about me leaving, I am not trying to go out like that, I just want to be out, you know what I am saying I have been at the agency like goin on 4 years and its just time to get out in creation.

Its not goin to be easy and I know that the same kind of dysfunction that I got away with at kbp I am not going to be able to get away with at SFI, and I know it, and they are paying me nice cheddar so I can't be acting up... Well I can act up a little bit...

I have to speak briefly on my protégé Rob McFarland who I am leaving to the sharks, its so funny how your life can have so many mirrors about it. Rob is like a mirror to Choan my younger brother, who I am now not speaking to after his threatening me and disrespecting me over the phone, a kind of behavior I will not tolerate.

Anyway, Mr. McFarland (thats how I always refer to him) was telling me today he was so upset with me for leaving that he could punch me, which I just find so amusing. Rob like Choan is younger then me, Rob by 4 years at least compared to the two of Chaon, same general complexion as Choan paper-bag tan brown, and hot tempered. I do hope Rob will work on his temper and his anger, he has so much in him to give. I am hardly one to talk, I am quite overdue for some therapy myself, but I just hope he will be able to work well with the next people he has too. It was a blessing to both of us to work together, his being straight and my being the queerest thing since polyester. It made for a good challenge.

I actually had doubts about whether I could work with him or not, cause he was so straight and obviously homophobic (just like Choan) But his work was very tight, which allowed me to accept his learning curve... :) I am very happy to have hired him and to allow him the voice to get a better initial offer then what I offered, the boy has got skills he just needs to focus and he will do just fine.

I hope they will challenge him more then they did me. But time will tell. I think I should wrap up cause this is a long as entry and my fingers are getting tired and I do want to wrap up a few things, like checking the IMDB for the cast list of Love and Basketball and compare it to the one for The Best Man both of which Spike Lee was the producer for...anyway till next time. Peace&Blessings

[Wow, this is twenty four years ago! #NoWords The thing that was most surprising in revisiting this entry is the fact that I deliberately hired a homophobic assistant. It speaks to how clearly I prioritized my obligations to my race over those of my sexual identity. If I recall, I think I had a huge part in the final decision of who would be working under me, and I knew that it would be someone Black. I think I also wanted to pay forward the opportunity I was given having this corporate America job, which can be a very hard space for folks of color to thrive in.

I am blown away that Mr. McFarland thought it was remotely appropriate to threaten violence towards me in the work place, but as I recount at the time I was conflating my professional relationship with the personal relationship of my younger sibling. This is probably why I gave him a huge berth to basically be rude and inappropriate.

The other thing I actually like in this post is the nuance and detail. I am talking about the smells in the room, the taste of the food also the asides about other tasks I need to do. I was hoping to find my voice and I think my voice is very evident in the way that I recorded my feelings that evening. It feels like a time machine trip to that moment in my past where my life was in turmoil as I was leaving the security of one position and taking a risk on the dot-com era career jumping.

My gamble would ultimately not pay off, me being let go with basically the entire staff of the New York office. But this would lead me to my next journey which was me running my own branded website and identity materials firm.

A couple of explanatory commas, The William Alanson White Institute was an institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists which also offers general psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is located in New York City, United States, on the Upper West Side, in the Clara Thompson building. It was founded as a protest against the mainstream of American psychoanalytic thought, which was thought to be sterile, dogmatic, and constrictive by the psychoanalysts who founded the institute. - via Wikipedia

I would soon thereafter start therapy with Dr. Anita close by in Park Slope. The therapy ultimately ended because in the corporate world I had such antagonistic relationships with whyte women, that I didn't really think I could find healing with a person who idealized for all intensive purposes my mortal enemy.

During Internet 1.0 webcam sites were very very popular along with reality TV shows like Big Brother, watching other people lives twenty-four hours a day every day was just huge. I was caught up in this trend preferring to watch other queer people, sometimes having multiple window open at a time. I have so many screen-grabs from this period, where it wasn't streaming video but more a refreshing picture every few seconds.

Twenty four years ago I had no idea what would become of this journal I was keeping. I don't even think I could visualize my future-self well enough to know if I would appreciate these missives or not. But I do, continually I am always proud of my past-self and the very good decisions I have made, I am not always saying the results were ideal, but the essence of the intention always shines through.

Photo by Brown Estate]

[xtrablak674]

INTERIM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Employee TREVOR BROWN

Title INTERACTIVE PROJECT COORDINATOR

Date of Hire 3.30.98

Date of Evaluation 7 21.98

Supervisor Amy Van Aarle

1. Taking into consideration the individual's time in this position, indicate your overall appraisal of performance to date.

Good ( X ) Satisfactory ( )Unsatisfactory ()

Comments:

Trevor has made a large contribution to the growth of the Interactive Services department at kb&p. In a very short time he has become a key member of the team • he keeps information flowing and work moving in the interactive department. Trevor has injected sense of fiscal responsibility into the department, enabling us to grow and increase our profitability.

2. To date, what do you assess to be his/her strengths?

Trevor is very organized, pro-active and self motivated, all contributing to his success in his new position at kb&p. Trevor recognizes problem areas, troubleshoots them, and implements solutions. Trevor's initiative and dedication are nothing short of extraordinary. He has the ability to teach himself new processes and technologies that help him immensely in his job tasks.

His organization and thoroughness have taken the process of trafficking and tracking work to the next level. He has the ability to see holes in a process and make it more efficient and effective. He demands much from others around him • Trevor sets standards and holds others to them.

Trevor has begun to master the trafficking process and has set out to improve these processes even further. Recently he's been instrumental in developing a more detailed and thorough format for the Client sign-off/pickup sites. This will help to streamline the process of trafficking and help to troubleshoot any discrepancies in the creative rotations from the beginning of the production process, rather than the end.

This will help to keep the jobs on schedule and improve the overall turnaround times.

3. To date, what do you assess to be the areas in which improvement could be shown?

Trevor is a highly entertaining and fun person to be around, but he must learn to moderate the fun loving side of his personality in professional situations. He is very intelligent and demonstrates his smarts via a sharp wit. Trevor must recognize that this acerbic wit can alienate people in the workplace who do not appreciate the humor or cannot compete in the wit arena.

Trevor must discuss his workplace frustrations with his supervisor, and make sure that he irons out any potential conflicts and not fester and slow down the flow of work, or workplace relationships.

Trevor's approach to communicating is often too aggressive, and could even be called rough at times. Some of this comes from the fact that Trevor takes his work very seriously. Although an aggressive approach often sets fast results, it is not always conducive to building healthy working relationships in a client based business. If people get the feeling that they are being accused of doing a bad job, they react defensively. and often partially close the lines of communication. fearing further reprimands.

Often a little understanding, a little commiseration. (even it have to grit your teeth while you do it goes a long way towards achieving the desired result ) - a healthy process and open lines of communication. If Trevor adopts a more polished approach to his communications, his ability to get things done and accomplish his goals could start to produce even better results.

Trevor must become more restrained in his e-mail communications. instead using the phone diplomatically it he is angry with someone, and generally putting more effort into the quality of his e-mail communications. By the amount of grammatical errors in his e-mails at times, it seems that Trevor writes these e-mails quickly and while in the midst of emotion. Trevor has demonstrated that he is capable of a very high quality of written communication in many of his e-mails. However, sometimes he is sloppy in his communications.

The problem with e-mail is that it is fast, impossible to un-send, permanent, and open to be forwarded to any number of people.

When Trevor communicates to the sites that we run advertising on, he is representing kb&p to people who one day may be clients. His communications must always reflect that. In the next section, We've outlined some concrete ways that Trevor can use to improve his e-mail communications.

Trevor's enthusiasm and candor can definitely be used to his, and the department's, advance. Using his natural communication and organizational skills in combination with a more refined approach.

Trevor could soon see even better results. This refinement includes communications with agency employees, outside vendors. Web sites and client contacts. both through e-mail and phone contact.

4. What specifically are you planning to do, and recommend the employee do. to help develop in his her present position?

Trevor is in a position to progress and grow dramatically along with the rapidly growing Interactive Services department. His initiative and natural talents have made him a key asset to the department, and we would like to see him continue to grow wit us.

Trevor can continue to move forward by applying himself in the same fashion that he's already been doing. With his organizational skills and attention to detail. Trevor can and must continue to refine processes for the department and make them more efficient, especially as we add on more clients. Trevor must continue to pay attention to matters financial, keeping an eye on our bottom line and exploring areas of growth and profitability. Trevor must take the initiative to learn from those around him so that he eventually can take on more and more responsibility in this area.

Trevor must pay close attention to the way he communicates with others. For the next few weeks, each time Trevor writes a lengthy e mail, he should stop and sit on it for some time before sending it. After re reading the e-mail and re-evaluating the content, he should bring the e-mail to his supervisor and ask for an objective opinion about the content and delivery of the email. That way. Trevor can begin to recognize the strengths and weaknesses in his communications. and begin to improve them.

After doing this for a while, we recommend that Trevor continue to write and then sit on his e-mails, evaluating them before sending them. This is a great way to vent frustrations while leaving the door open to revise the delivery if circumstances change. People often write e-mails that are never sent, preferring on reflection to delete them or simply call the intended recipient. The writing of the e-mail, however, lets one understand and refine what it is that one is trying to say. This technique could work well for Trevor as well.

5. Growth Path

Trevor possesses the raw talent and a level of business competence to command a post more senior than the one he currently fills. With a moderation of his sometimes appropriate attitude towards others in the workplace. Trevor will rise to an executive position.

We will consider leaving the position of Interactive Business/Project Manager unfilled and evaluate Trevor's performance and suitability for this spot over the course of the next 3 months.

- - - -

Reflecting on this performance review twenty-five years later its amazing how much truth I find in Ms. Van Aarle's words. Albeit we had a very complex relationship I find all of her words here to ring true to exactly who I was at this time. The thing I can acknowledge now is that this was my first office job, my first time using e-mail professionally and being in a lot of the situations I was put in, I was given the grace to grow because of everything I was bringing to the table and I deeply appreciate all of this at a place which for all intensive purposes was my first corporate job.

My emotions were extremely volatile and everything she said about e-mail wasn't conducive to me slowing and cooling down before responding to correspondence. Curiously nowadays I barely touch e-mail even in a work setting. When I see a misunderstanding I just get up and go visit and talk with the person and clear up everything.

I have said repeatedly to folks give me a note, give me some feedback I will make revisions. This performance review I got a quarter of a decade ago still applies to everything I do. I will never send an angry email. If I am feeling emotional I will step-away and come back later to respond, if I respond at all.

The insight into my personality is so fun to see in writing these descriptors: dedicated, efficient, organized, thorough, highly entertaining, fun, intelligent, sharp wit, acerbic, aggressive, passionate, rough, and enthusiastic. Its still unfathomable to me that I have trouble finding work because most of these words still apply and all the things she suggested have been polished and refined. But not all jobs want you to be yourself and many aren't able to see what you bring to the table and really don't want to.

[Photo by Marlene Saunders]

[xtrablak674]

#NameThatYear

I think I have played this game before, Google's algorithm in their Photos app creates these collages like a digital "This is Your Life", I loved the mix here so decided to see what I could remember of the origins of these images. From left to right starting at the top:

1. Twenty years ago was the last time I really dated, that was Paul and me, we dated for 4.5 years, 2003

2. 2011 I did the journey home with Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Art, a local museum that I have also exhibited with had a ten day trip to Ghana. This was my first and last time on the continent. I hope to get back there again.

3. 1997-2000 its gotta be a range for this image of me in a shake-and-go wig for a Halloween party at my first advertising agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, this was great time of my life. Young enough to be still figuring out what I wanted to do, but also getting a great foundation in marketing and advertising which would effect the rest of my working career.

4. 2013 - 2014 once again a range as I had recently had these suits made for a wedding that would be the end of a friendship and much later lead to a lawsuit with the guy who created these suits. Now that was extraneous information but top of mind, cause these suits now have a tainted history, no matter how good I look in them.

5. I think this is 2003 when my beau at the time Paul and my best friend at the time Adam took me out to a birthday dinner? at a local Brooklyn restaurant. I have written about Adam in another post here. He more than likely took this photo of me looking quite demure.

6. This tablet taken self-portrait I think was done in 2023, I had accidentally styled my hair in a way that I thought would be really photogenic. I am sitting in my window seat for this shot.

7. 2009, when my late brother was still alive this was at a monitored visit with the parents and their six children which they no longer had custody of. I am pictured with my niece Isis who I think is nineteen now. She is wear one of the animal mask I had bought to the visit. I was the only adult who thought to bring something for the children to do at these visits.

8. 2023 I think, I am trying to remember when I bought that red poncho from Ecuador, which curiously I have only worn in the house to-date. Its just like a nice shrug to throw on quickly if it gets a bit cold. I didn't realize I have clothing pieces that I have just worn in the house.

9. This might be 2022, but I could be wrong even with the same fabric panel in the back, I cycle the panels out all the time. But The Equalizer sweater came into my life in the winter I think cause I remember it was like two-hundred dollars less during the summer. Its such a statement piece this granny-square crotched turtle neck sweater.

10. I am going to guess this is like 1986 or so, and here I am photographed with my late great aunt Rose at Sunday school at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem. This church was a place my grandparents were very invested in. I think I was wearing all white cause I was briefly on the usher board.

11. 1991 this I can say definitively because this was my employment photo for my work-study job at Ithaca College, I worked at the Information Desk and with the A/V crew setting up for meetings around campus.

12. Also '91 and I assure you I am not smiling, Eva Matuka one of my classmates who was also a model was standing by the photographer and assisting folks in getting better graduation shots. She did or said something to get me to laugh and get this now legendary shots of it looking like me smiling. I come from a long line of folks who don't really smile, lookin' at the rest of the images here you can see this is quite evident.

13. 1981 or '82 this is a school portrait at Uriah Hill my Elementary school in Peekskill where I was raised. Its also important to note my mom was still alive at the time of this photo. I recall I really loved that shirt I was wearing it was really soft.

14. 1998 just eyes and teeth in this no flash picture where I think I am at KB&P but the t-shirt I am wearing was from my volunteer work at the New York Peer AIDS Education Committee. There was a bit of controversy because as a part of my volunteer work I handed out condoms and did so while working at Reception. But this shot makes me think I was in the Interactive Department which I would eventually end up leading before I left the agency in two thousand.

15. 2023 December, coming back from small claims court where I was suing the tailor I had mentioned earlier in this list. This was one of the shots that Google edited to remove the color from the background.

[Photos by Brown Estate]

[xtrablak674]

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

When I get there, I will tell you.

Shit, I am fully grown and I still don't have a clue how to answer to this question. It's not that I wasn't decisive as a kid or even a young adult, I just never really got to one definitive answer.

My first career was stage management. I was in a performing arts high school and though I enjoyed performing, it didn't seem like a solid option as a career. Since it was simple, I made the transition to working backstage, then stage managing in my senior year, as opposed to being on stage for our Spring drama festival, the rite of passage for all drama majors to pass through before graduating.

And like most things over the course of my life, I was very focused and thorough about this. Stage managing an off off Broadway show during my senior year, and I think I was an intern at the Roundabout Theatre Company at the same time. I wanted to get started on my resume early. Then went off to Ithaca College for their theatre program with a focus on stage craft and management.

Broadway was the pinnacle of this less than a decade pursuit, I was the production assistant on a Lincoln Center Theatre production and I had arrived! It was impossible to even consider off off Broadway again, after seeing how glorious it was working on a production with an actual budget and a full staff. As I have mentioned before I hadn't really paid attention to the nepotism thing, and didn't work my budding connections to get a more permanent place on Broadway like a contemporary of mine did. So I left theatre all together for the corporate world and never looked back.

My second career as I like to phrase it in the press releases was advertising. Albeit that is where I ended up, its not necessarily the destination I had in mind. I applied to a temp agency, and albeit I had a very impressive resume for a young person having worked in one field since they were in high school, I didn't necessarily have all the things required for working in an office setting, I wasn't that far removed. Just needed maybe a little better typing speed and a couple of more applications to learn, but I was a quick study.

My big jump-off was being assigned to an agency known as Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, at the time I was sent there initially just to set up food for meetings, subbing in for the regular person who did that job but was away. As I sat to get my timesheet signed for the day, Janet Koss my supervisor noticed me on my laptop, which I had bought really just to show off, I was so proud I had save my home pay on my European tour with Black & Blue and bought my first real Apple computer brand new!

She asked me what kind of programs I had on my computer and if I knew them, I said yet. I have Word, Excel, Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop, you know the basics. She asked do you know how to desktop publish, I said yes I had worked on newsletters and flyers for several non profits I had volunteered with, and put out my own zine to my college friends. She said why don't you come in again tomorrow.

I left this agency three and a half year later as the department head of the interactive department, with a staff of seven to ten people working under me.

Now my recent inheritance has given me the option of not working. I still sometimes go through mixed feelings about this. Because even though I always joked about a trust fund, well partly. I enjoyed working, I enjoy solving problems, I enjoyed smoothing out issues for my co-workers to make everyone's job easier. I adored shocking folks with what my hair style would be and what outfit I would be wear everyday, adding a bit of colour to everyone's day. Albeit I am not one for shallow interactions, I loved the surface level social interactions with my fellow employees.

Which is a reason the whole work from home thing isn't very attractive to me, albeit my home is beautiful and I live alone, if I am going to work with folks I want them to experience the full me, not just a 2D version on a Zoom call or my digital fingerprints in the Slack channel.

Since I am a childless bachelor, work was one the places I socialized to a point, I always drew very strict boundaries around work. When the work-day ended I was off the clock, no emails, no drinks, no going out to the club with my co-workers. I had and have a very rigid boundary there, not to say I haven't become friends with co-workers I just think appropriate boundaries are very important to a good working relationship, so no one's feelings are hurt or treated inappropriately.

But back to the start of all this, KIDS DON'T GROW UP, its a trap! And its also okay not to know what you want to be when you do grow up, there are a lot of us grown-ups who still haven't a clue what we really want to do, and some of us end up trying a little of everything or other stay with something that doesn't necessarily float their boats, but pays the bills. Find what works for you, and hopefully something that brings you joy, life is just too damned short for you to be stuck doing a job for thirty forty years that didn't bring you anything but a check.

[Photo by Brown Estate]