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Reflections on GLS: Karen
Karen Hall • September 7, 2019
Thanks for visiting the blog! This week, we’re sharing snapshots from our team as they reflect on our time at the Global Leadership Summit in August. Keep reading to hear from Karen.
I’ve been able to attend GLS for the last seven years, and I’m so glad we make it a priority here at roux.
This year’s sessions were all incredible, but I have to say, I found Jason Dorsey’s to be the most interesting. He brought in all these comparisons of millennials, baby boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y, and how we can all learn from each other.
Dorsey’s session was full of hilarious, relatable nuggets like, “All you millenials who walk in here with nothing to write with, just look over, find a baby boomer, and ask for a pen because they brought two.”
He also talked about how millennials have grown up with all the technology that baby boomers saw coming into place. Different generations have unique experiences when it comes to technology, and that’s important for us to keep in mind.
One of my other major takeaways was from Chris Voss, who wrote the book, Never Split the Difference. He was a lead hostage negotiator for the FBI for almost 25 years, and his focus was on listening, word choice, and how words can make such a difference when you’re trying to negotiate with people or communicate in general.
One thing Voss pointed out was that it’s much better to say, “That’s right,” rather than “You’re right.” He explained that when you say, “You’re right,” you’re implying that you’re ready for the other person to stop talking. Similarly, he talked about how saying, “I understand,” implies to somebody that you want them to stop talking and move on. You may not mean it that way, but it often has that connotation.
Finally, he talked about how the word ‘why’ can make people uncomfortable, likening it to a situation when a child does something and you say, “Why did you do that?” The question implies that they did something wrong, and it causes them to be fearful. Instead, you should ask, “What makes you want that?” or “What makes you think that?”
It was wonderful hearing how powerful words can really be. They have the power to help you connect with others on an emotional level, rather than just talking at them. This is something we can benefit from remembering in our daily lives, whether at home, at work, or just in passing interactions.
We are excited to announce the recipient of our most recent Food for Thought grant — the Hot Springs Food Pantry, located in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Food for Thought is a fund we created through The Community Foundation to offer grants to organizations that help feed children in our community. This isn’t just about money though. We’re also on the lookout for ways to teach kids about good food, to help them learn to prepare it, and to encourage them to love it as much as we do. We are always looking for organizations in our local communities whose mission aligns with ours and have specific needs we can provide grants for. Because our croux reaches far and wide, “local” doesn’t just mean Tennessee. In this case, the community is local to one of our core team members, Lauren. After moving back to her hometown of Hot Springs, South Dakota to be closer to family, she got involved with the local food pantry and saw a specific need there. The food pantry needed a refrigerator so they could provide more fresh produce and protein to families in the area. They were also seeing an above average need in the community due to rising costs which has depleted some of their funds. The grant received from Food for Thought will go towards these efforts and help provide fresh food for families in the area.
We’re back with another creative croux feature. Normally, these pieces are put together by one of our freelance writers, Annie Van Essen, but this time, we’re spotlighting her!
We celebrated our 10-year anniversary in July 2023, making this our tenth Mardi Gras as a krewe. We are so thankful for the many projects, partnerships, clients and friends who have been a part of our journey so far. The essence of Mardi Gras can be summed up in one lighthearted phrase, “ Laissez les bons temps rouler!” — French, for “Let the good times roll!” We’ve had a lot of good times here at roux over the last decade, and we’re excited for them to keep on rollin’. Bon Mardi Gras and merci beaucoup, friends!
Every January we like to gather as a croux and plan for the year ahead. It serves as a holiday celebration and a strategy session. We look forward to it every year. Over the last few years, we’ve also begun incorporating a “word of the year” practice, where we each choose a word that we will focus on throughout the year.
This year, we decided to take our merry-making to the streets of Nashville to see how well the average passerby could interpret some of our favorite Creole vocab. The results were… entertaining. See for yourself!
Every year, our croux puts together a roundup of our favorite Super Bowl commercials.
This time around, we thought we’d switch it up and ask for submissions of our team’s favorite commercials EVER. Whether from 2023 or 2003, we want to celebrate the advertising magic of Super Bowl Sunday.
Here at roux, we have a wonderful team of creatives supporting us, including photographers, videographers, writers, and designers.
Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Kyle Sorvick, one of the talented graphic designers we work with as part of our extended croux.
We all look forward to receiving Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones, whether it’s a social media post or a physical card to display in our house or hang on the fridge. But when it comes to company Christmas cards, corporate greetings can sometimes fall a bit flat. We love when a company spices things up and sends a message that’s genuine and fun. Videos can also be a more effective and affordable option for a company, when you consider the reach made possible with email and social media, and the savings on printing and postage. Averitt and JetRight are two local companies that knock it out of the park every year when it comes to their video Christmas cards. Whether they choose to be lighthearted and silly or share a heartwarming message, watching their videos shows you the real people and spirit behind the companies. Check them out below!