In thinking about what makes Hennessy Digital so successful at building and maintaining a positive, strong, award-winning culture, it’s just one thing. Nope, no “Top Ten” list here, or laundry list of action items. It’s just one thing.

It’s not rocket science, it’s not expensive, and it has nothing to do with useless buzzwords like “synergy,” “world-class,” or “quiet quitting.” If you are tired of never-ending vacancies and toxic personalities, let’s dive in.

Navigating the Challenges of Human Resources

It feels like every day that passes, being a Human Resources professional is more and more challenging. And if you are a business leader that has the luck, er… responsibilities of the HR function, it’s even more difficult because you are trying to do an increasingly complex job, on top of all of your other responsibilities. Keeping up with the times, the laws and the regulations, it’s time-consuming and challenging.

Here at Hennessey Digital, we call our HR team “People Success.” In my experience, many businesses and traditional HR departments forget, or perhaps don’t realize, that the goal of HR is to help the company and its people find success. Too many times, HR staffers turn into policymakers and enforcers, and focus so much on compliance they can’t see the forest through the trees. It’s easy to do and seemingly impossible to keep up. However, compliance is important, since it reinforces essential fairness and equality when handling everything from hiring and training, to benefits and compensation.

But, People Success is different. 

When People Success stays focused on career growth, robust total rewards, ongoing leadership training, and continual improvement of the team, a magical thing happens. We see our team members stepping up, going above and beyond, and staying focused on clients’ success.

I love helping people find their way professionally. I love hiring and promotions, bringing out the best in people, growing the business, and focusing on the good. And while it’s not always so rosy, I appreciate when team members become vulnerable so we can figure out what the real issues are and solve them together.

It wasn’t always easy.

And I see now this was my path to pushing for bigger and better things. I struggled in past jobs when leadership did not support the team members and related initiatives. I struggled when they were more focused on the pennies than the people, and they acted surprised at impossible turnover and open positions that couldn’t get filled.

It is simply a recipe for failure. Don’t be that leader.

The Power of a People-Centric Approach

Put in the work upfront.

For starters, we built a strong foundation first. We got the right people on the team, set the structure, and determined business goals and our Vivid Vision. We then set clear, smart goals, stayed focused on those goals, and made decisions that work toward achieving those goals.

Getting the right people in place is key. It’s true what they say, hire good people and give them space to run. Don’t hold back when you know something is not working. Give those individuals a chance to improve, but don’t settle. Lead them, but don’t micromanage, and sometimes allow them to fail.

I should note in the People Success space, competitive pay and benefits should go without saying. They are necessary and should not be considered optional. If you do not have a competitive package, even the best environment won’t keep your key players and can’t maintain a positive culture. Basic needs must be met. This can be a large investment, but it’s an investment in your people, and people are worth it.

So what is it? What is the 1 thing?

Start with a blank piece of paper, and ask yourself this one question: What does my team want? Better yet, ask your team what they want.

Do not ask, ‘What works best for the company?’ Or, ‘How do I get to the highest level of productivity?’  And do not “lead your witness” by asking things like, “Do you think more PTO is a good idea?” Always ask these questions anonymously if you can.

We host quarterly town halls because our leadership team wants to know how we are doing. Because we’re so honest and transparent with our team, we find our team shares information with us.

I promise you will be shocked by how (mostly) very reasonable and doable their suggestions are.

Empowering Employees for Sustainable Growth

If it is that simple, why don’t more companies do this?

I’ve heard much opposition.

• What if we can’t do what is asked for by employees? Asking and not responding is worse than not asking at all. I will caution, if you ask your team, be prepared to react in some way. Think about how you can get close if what is being asked is not doable for your company. How can you find common ground, or “give a little.” Exhaust all options to make it happen. Think outside the box, and maybe even offer a trial to see how it goes. In the end, if it truly can’t be done, communicate why.
• Is this going to be expensive? It doesn’t have to be. Most employees want things in their careers that are free or very low cost, such as career pathing or flexibility to attend a concert, ballet, or soccer practice. And many want things that are simply indirect costs that can more easily be absorbed, such as mental health days or additional PTO.

Some people would make the argument that those things are not free, that they negatively affect the workforce, scheduling, etc. The opposite is true with the exception of a few industries. You’d be shocked how team members pitch in to help others out with no interruption to the business. Our leadership and People Success teams know that giving people what they need will repay itself tenfold.

• I am not sure I want to know. That’s probably the most common concern I have heard because leaders are worried about what people might say. Sometimes it’s “easier” not to know. Well, guess what? Not knowing only perpetuates the issues. Facing issues head-on is the only way to resolve them. And once the issues are resolved, we can all move on and have a better environment.
• I will only hear from the complainers. Yes, you will probably get some anonymous hateful elves. Every company has them. The best way to manage this is to take their feedback seriously and see if you can get to the root of the issue. If it is anonymous, that can be tough, but it’s worth your time to show them you care. On the flip side, companies like to listen to the “yes” women/men or the “kiss-ups.” While these opinions are also valid, these voices don’t typically represent the diversity of the company.

And then repeat.

This is not a one-time initiative. At Hennessey Digital, we don’t “set it and forget it.”

I am continually, perhaps obsessively, monitoring how people are doing. We take the temperature of our company and collect feedback in many ways, both formal and informal. The most essential is our bi-annual Employee Survey, the classic Net Promoter Score (eNPS). It’s simple with just one question and room for comments. We ask during our quarterly town halls and during our exit interviews. We even ask about engagement and their feeling of value on performance reviews. I make it known that I’m always available to receive feedback and answer any questions that the team has.

If you haven’t asked your team in the past 6 months, then it’s time. The workforce changes more rapidly than we think, especially if your company has experienced high turnover.

Our Senior Manager of Learning and Development, Greg Herrman, and I were chatting recently about the tremendous success we’ve had with engagement for online learning. Team members have not only been taking numerous courses, but also seeking out information about our training system.

The key here was simple, we decided early on that our training system is the single source of information. And then we repeated it over and over. We didn’t overcomplicate it, we repeated what worked.

Repeat what works. Change what doesn’t.

Creating a Thriving Work Environment: The One Thing That Matters

The one thing that matters is, in fact, one thing that can change and transform your company culture. It takes the desire for change and the intentionality of the leadership team to prioritize the needs, growth, and well-being of your employees.

In a world where talent acquisition and retention are crucial for organizational success, investing in a people-centric approach is more important than ever. By valuing your employees, you not only create a fulfilling work environment but also position your company for long-term growth and achievement.

So, take the first step. Embrace the power of a people-centric approach and unlock the transformative potential it holds for your company culture. Your employees and your organization will thank you for it.

The post The “One Thing” that Transforms Company Culture appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

Our virtual work environment currently spans 13 countries, including Bulgaria, Ethiopia, India, Kosovo, Ukraine, Romania, Argentina, Macedonia, the Philippines, Egypt, Mexico, Scotland, and the United States. This representation empowers us to connect with top talent around the world, and more authentically with diverse audiences by bringing fresh perspectives to our search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing strategies.

Because we know diverse backgrounds and experiences enrich our agency, we foster an inclusive culture that fuels innovation, creativity, and inclusion.

“We recruit top talent, ensure our culture is inclusive, and that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Retention is a natural result, and our clients benefit from a talented and experienced team. In fact, our turnover this year is a record low,” Jill Wenk, Vice President of People Success.”

In this post, we will explore the impact that diversity plays in digital marketing and hear from team members at Hennessey Digital about what it means to them in their careers, and how it fuels innovation, expands horizons, and drives our collective success.

The Power of Diversity in SEO and Digital Marketing

Expanding: Our Global Reach & The Evolving SEO Landscape

Digital marketing is constantly changing how companies and consumers connect and exchange information – and at a rapid pace. What worked a few years ago might not be applicable today. Diversity among our team members at Hennessey Digital allows us to approach SEO challenges from multiple angles, which enables us to stay ahead of competitors for our clients and on top of the latest changes in SEO.

To stay relevant, businesses must adapt strategies and consider the latest trends or changes, such as algorithm updates and the rise of AI & ChatGPT. Incorporating unique perspectives, fresh ideas, and innovative approaches is a necessity to effectively tackle the complexities of algorithm updates. Drawing from diverse knowledge and experiences globally, this approach results in improved rankings and increased organic traffic for our clients. Embracing diversity in digital marketing ensures that our strategies remain relevant to targeted audience segments, ultimately maximizing our impact and generating superior results for our clients.

“Diversity helps in the work we deliver because it brings people with different perspectives together on how to solve a problem. This type of collaboration has shown to produce some really creative solutions.” – Stanislov, Senior Data Scientist (Bulgaria)

“Digital Marketing became my career choice because there was less pre-defined work with more experiences and things to explore that this field has to offer.” – Abhishek, Senior Local SEO Specialist (India) 

“Diversity has a crucial role in digital marketing since people from different parts of the world and different cultures think differently in terms of marketing in general. For example, creating a campaign for advertising coffee in Italy and in Turkey can be very different – the types of coffee that people drink in the two countries are different (espresso in general in Italy, Turkish coffee in Turkey), how and when they might consume coffee, and also the age limit for coffee drinkers. The way to look at the market and target audiences will not be the same. So in cases like this, having culturally diverse team members can be very helpful in developing successful marketing campaigns.” – Aleksandar, Software Engineer II (Macedonia)

“Since digital marketing requires engagement from potential customers, the background of this audience is a factor in the results. It is best to be considerate of the diversity in the world for maximum results.” – Ermiyas, Software Engineer I (Ethiopia)

Hiring the Best & Brightest: Expanding the Talent Pool

We pride ourselves on shattering geographic boundaries to find the best talent no matter their location. In order to remain at the forefront of digital marketing, our agency needs to have experts who have the skills, knowledge, and passion to drive results for our clients. This global mindset is threaded throughout the company in a very natural way which allows us to learn from each other and collectively elevate our own expertise to push the boundaries of what is possible in the digital marketing space.

Breaking Geographical Barriers

Personally, it is an incredible experience to hop on a Zoom meeting and chat with team members in Bulgaria or Kosovo, or even across the country at Hennessey Studios in Los Angeles. Removing geographical constraints allows Hennessey Digital to attract experts who bring a diverse range of skills, knowledge, and experiences to the digital marketing table.

“When recruiters only look in one city, there is a limited pool of applicants. Often managers must pick the best candidates of what is available. When recruiting globally, the size of the candidate pool is unlimited, allowing us to select the best and brightest candidates from around the world. This definitely achieves a better-qualified candidate, often with more precise experience,” Wenk notes.

“For me, marketing is connected to everything: creativity, technology, and culture. I believe diversity has a key role, particularly today, where everything is connected and people from all parts of the world are getting more together than ever.” – Salvador, Content Writer (Mexico)

Connecting Through Knowledge Sharing and Fostering Innovation

Being a smaller agency means our talented team members touch multiple projects. and many are cross-trained allowing us to provide better service to our clients. This collaborative approach means we’re continuously working with and learning across departments, experiences, and backgrounds to share best practices, insights, and emerging trends. This diversity of thought allows our creative juices to flow and sparks innovative ideas that enable each department to overcome challenges with fresh strategies and solutions that achieve success for our clients.

This collaboration has resulted in innovation and new products such as HD Translate. Ideated and developed in-house, our proprietary cutting-edge website translation tool helps reach multinational audiences while boosting SEO. Leveraging AI and ChatGPT technology, HD Translate optimizes your web pages for indexing by Google in multiple languages. This boosts your visibility in search results and ensures native-level, natural-sounding content across different languages.

“I am drawn to the competitive digital marketing industry because it offers dynamic and creative jobs, a high learning curve scope, and the opportunity to work on different projects. Moreover, digital marketing has become an integral part of every company today, and I want to be a part of it.” – Mohammed, Software Engineer I (Egypt)

“I love the creative side of digital marketing, how brands choose to represent themselves, and where I personally can explore and bring new ideas to life. The diversity of digital marketing means it’s always evolving which provides the possibility to always learn something new.” – Teodora, Content Strategist (Romania)

By embracing our global workforce in all its forms, everyone’s unique perspective is valued and celebrated, ultimately leading to inclusive digital marketing strategies that have an impact. It allows us to better understand and cater to the unique needs and preferences of our clients, drives innovation, enhances SEO strategies, fuels creative campaigns, fosters our work environment, and propels our clients’ businesses to success.

Diversity is part of who we are at Hennessey Digital, and embracing global diversity is one of our strategic advantages. Are you looking to work with the best and brightest? Harness the full potential of Hennessey Digital, a global, diverse digital marketing agency where we deliver exceptional results to our clients through digital marketing excellence.

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An area where this has become more important in recent decades not only for firms but for clients when choosing a law firm, is diversity and inclusion, including representation for the LGBTQ+ community.

In celebration of Pride Month, here’s a look at good things happening across the legal community from firms to initiatives that show their colors all year long.

LGBTQ-friendly law firms are on the rise

The number of inclusive law firms is growing both as employers and firms who support and include the LGBTQ+ audience in their client base and marketing. According to a survey by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), the number of lawyers who identified as LGBTQ+ has doubled in the past decade, up to nearly 4%. There are also a growing number of law firms such as McDivitt Law Firm and Frank Azar & Associates who serve LGBTQ+ clients in their communities, sponsor local events, get involved in Pride parades and celebrations, or promote inclusivity with content about their services on their website.

One of the ways through imagery and content the NALP brings attention to Pride month and celebrates diversity online

Resources for Law Firms

Local and national organizations in the legal industry are driving conversations and awareness with resources for lawyers that are easily accessible online. The American Bar Association does a great job of providing information and news about topics impacting the LGBTQ+ community, and ways lawyers can foster diversity or make Pride month intersectional for their firm. CLEs from the ABA or providers such as Law Practice CLE and others are available for lawyers to continue their education and expand their knowledge through CLE courses that address diversity and how to serve different populations in their community.

Demonstrating inclusivity across the industry

Positive momentum isn’t only happening inside law firms, it’s happening across the legal industry with LGBTQ+ friendly companies. As a leading law firm digital marketing agency, Hennessey Digital promotes inclusion and belonging from within, including our team member-led Diversity & Inclusion Resource Group. Our Resource Group is a safe place where team members can discuss and share knowledge and experience, and educate others as it relates to any and all elements of diversity, including LGBTQ+. Landing at an airport near you is also brand and marketing consultant Luke W Russell who travels the country sharing their passion for helping people by coaching law firms on building relationships with the LGBTQ+ community. 

Pride month is a wonderful time to celebrate progress, individuals, the equality people fight for, and the journey in our history to overcome challenges. Inclusion is year-round, and the legal industry is leading the way as an example of how service-driven businesses can put pride into practice.

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Why We Love RAK Week

One of our guiding principles is to Make It Fun; Don’t Be A Jerk. And what is more fun than celebrating each other through an entire week of kindness? Our People Success Coordinator Ilona Townsend says, “RAK Week is a time where we can show kindness to others, whether they be on our team, within our company, or in our community.” Team members around the world at Hennessey Digital are encouraged to share pictures throughout the week in our Gratitude channel on Slack capturing suggested and impromptu random acts of kindness, and for every action captured, Hennessey Digital donates $5 to a charity voted on by team members.

How We Give Back

This year, our team completed over 200 random acts of kindness, and we donated more than $1,000 to Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian initiative providing life-saving medical aid globally to people in crisis.

(Donating blood for RAK Week 2023)

What Our Team Thought

“There is no such thing as too much kindness. In honor of Random Acts of Kindness day, I’m proud to see our team go way out of their way to intentionally spread generosity, positive energy, and kindness. During RAK week, everyone wins and feels special; there are not many other employer-sponsored activities I see where every single person is positively impacted. When we talk about an award-winning culture, this is a great example of something we do differently that our competitors.” Jill

“I love RAK week because it showcases our company’s kindness and willingness to help. Being grateful always boosts my mood and RAK week made me appreciate all the great things in my personal life and professional life even more. And it was great knowing that our donations went to a good cause!” Cassie

“Endorsed 13 people so far on LinkedIn! RAK’n up that cash money for charity! $$$$” Michele

“RAK week is one of my favorite Hennessey traditions we have. In a way, it connects us more because we get to share things from our personal life like photos of loved ones, favorite local eateries, and donating/volunteering time.” Charlie

“My current volunteering is coaching the girl’s basketball team at church. I’ve got to admit – it’s fun, not work!” Rob

“I realize how easy it is to help the community and charity. I always use online reviews to determine if an establishment is one I want to visit, but I’ve never written one myself! Even by writing a short review for a business, you’re helping them grow. Donating to charity doesn’t have to be a large sum – all of these small acts of kindness were just $5. Little by little it grew, so even the change in the bottom of your bag can help someone in need. This was such a rewarding experience and I’ll definitely try to perform an act of kindness every day moving forward.” Ilona

(Volunteering at church auction)

RAK Week Daily Activities That Fuel Our Workplace Culture

Team members have five days to support random acts of kindness, each day with a different theme. The themes this year were:

Monday: Kindness to your coworkers

We pride ourselves on recognizing team members internally, so we decided to take it up a notch and spread that kindness externally on LinkedIn by endorsing and recommending colleagues.

(Virtual meet-up with Finance, Sales, Executive, and Marketing)

Tuesday: Kindness to those you love

Tuesday happened to be Valentine’s day, so it was the perfect way to celebrate by sharing photos of loved ones and sending e-cards.

Wednesday: Kindness to your team

Wednesday was all about fun team-building activities over Zoom. It can be an adjustment when you’re not face-to-face every day, so teams were encouraged to get together virtually to hang out or even play games like Pictionary.

(Content team playing skribbl.io)

(Creative team meet up)

Thursday: Kindness to small businesses

Small businesses make the world thrive. And honestly, it wasn’t that long ago that we were small too. Team members were encouraged to write reviews for or shop at local businesses.

(Supporting a local florist)

(Supporting a local coffee shop)

Friday: Kindness to the community

To round out the week, team members were encouraged to take one of their days to volunteer or give back in another way like donating clothes, blood, or another act of service.

(Donating clothes)

Random Acts Of Kindness In A Remote Work Field

We’re a 100% remote company and always will be. Our CEO Jason Hennessey founded our agency this way from the start to bring together the best and brightest across the globe. Bringing together more than 100 team members across 13 countries can sometimes be a challenge, but our People Success team finds ways to celebrate team members internally and empower us to pay it forward and celebrate our communities.

How do you celebrate your community or the people around you through random acts of kindness? Tweet us at @HennesseyDgtl and tell us all about it!

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Here at Hennessey Digital, a fully-remote digital marketing agency, we take great pride in continuous improvement in our work and in ourselves. But how can we do that in a 100% remote work world?

The team, the moment, and the space are all here; now the magic of crafting a traditional digital or “tradigital” community that stands the test of time begins…

Value Authenticity

Authenticity in leadership is mission-critical. As we further integrate our digital work and home lives, showing up as our full, true selves lends itself to trust and as a result, commitment, connection, and productivity. Work is not only a place where we meet deadlines, it’s how we spend most of our life.

Inevitably, our connection with our teammates feeds into conversations outside of work hours and enters our thoughts during the most random times. When we can foster our full being and support authenticity without fear of stereotypes is where empowerment thrives.

Encourage showing up in all the ways without fear. A teammate may worry, “If I’m too upbeat, I may be seen as unrealistic, versus as a discerning strategist.” In this example, we must remember that two things can be true at once.

Employ Quality Listening

Quality listening starts by “walking the halls” in this remote work world. “Boots on the ground”-type individuals often make the best leaders, but virtual work has turned traditional leadership on its head.

Endless perspectives, connections, and building of bonding beliefs can be found anywhere. Speak directly with as many team members as you can, including your direct reports, superiors, and team members outside your direct sphere.

Actively acknowledging bids for attention builds strong teams. Everyone wants to be seen and heard. Take the time to proactively strengthen your perception awareness and book time to meet with team members across your organization.

Taking the time to listen and acknowledge your team member’s bids for attention lends itself to situational leadership.

What’s most inspiring and illuminating for one team member may have the opposite effect on another. This is why quality listening through acknowledging bids for attention is essential, particularly for a global remote company.

Me with Jason Hennessey and Jill Wenk at our December 2021 leaders’ retreat at Hennessey Studios

Maintain Curiosity

Curiosity is the cure. As Rumi said, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” There are no bad ideas in brainstorming. In this stage, the importance of saying yes vs. no is to keep ideas percolating.

The word “no” shuts down the creative process in the brain and the best idea may not even be “on the board” yet. Cultivating this sense of wonder also makes work feel like play again. Good brainstorming sessions should truly be feel-good sessions; the time for weighing decisions comes later during a strategic stage.

Encouraging ongoing learning is also critical to maintaining a culture of innovation and curiosity, which is why we invest in and follow trends in learning and development at Hennessey Digital. We proudly invest in continuing education for our team, as the Finance team thrived together at a continuing education conference this past summer.

Avoid Over-Functioning

“Over-functioning” refers to consistently executing rather than consistently coaching. Avoid over-functioning as a leader because this enables under-functioning in your team.

As a leader, your goal is to engage your team so that they can elevate their own skills. Asking questions before giving answers or directives is a proven way to create long term skill growth.

Asking “What do you think is important here?”, “What do you think is possible here?” and “How would you approach this task?” are a few intentional frameworks to inspire critical and strategic thinking on even the smallest of decisions.

Coach Your Team Through Mistakes

Coaching people through their mistakes is powerful. Accountability can feel like an attack when a team member may not be equipped to own their own role and appropriately pivot.

This is why it is important as a leader to cultivate honesty and without fear of owning their mistakes. This way, at least there will be a takeaway in creating a solution for future-proofing.

Learning through the sensory pain of a mistake already stings. As they say, “a minute of pain lasts longer than an hour of glory.” During a hard day, remember to encourage the concept that it’s just a tough error, not a terrible performance, so you can grow through the mistake together.

Propose Timelines

Leaving project timelines open-ended could amplify needless worry and divert productivity on other important tasks. And similar to how water takes the shape of any container it’s in, Parkinson’s Law stipulates that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

It’s tick-tock (not TikTok) on timelines for teams. When delegating to team members, always propose specific time parameters on projects, especially new or ad hoc projects. In support of this, research has shown providing tighter timelines, with perfectionist slack, increases throughput.

A simple statement such as “spend about two hours or less on this and let’s review it next Tuesday” gives information on the level of priority on the project and how detailed the deliverable should be.

Mitigate Unforced Errors

Prove yourself wrong before putting a stake in the ground. We do this to mitigate any unforced errors on our part, not to say an idea shouldn’t be implemented.

It’s important to always ask yourself, “What are we missing? and “What if we’re wrong?” so the team can adjust and iterate on an idea. This is the strategic stage that follows the brainstorming stage, and it’s an important long game skill to encourage in your team.

If you further entrench yourself in your own opinions by trying to only prove yourself right, this often leads to short-sighted outcomes. Janet Yellen, the first woman treasury secretary, goes by this as well, steadfast in her belief that the ability to build consensus around these two questions is critical.

Lay Your Cards on the Table

Allow people in to improve on your own growth goals as a leader. Be transparent in what you as a leader are improving on within yourself and your work.

Vulnerability and awareness of our own areas of improvement build towards the concept of a “we” rather than “you vs me.” It highlights that we are equally invested in improvement and it’s not a top down one way directive.

As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” It could be said that creating a functioning global remote team isn’t sustainable, but we’ve been proving that wrong at Hennessey Digital since 2015.

Take these core traditional leadership skills and consistently foster them in your team to craft a strong culture in a virtual work environment that stands the test of time.

(And the cover image for this post is of me, CFO Michele Patrick, Senior Director of People Success Jill Wenk, and Senior Director of Marketing Cindy Kerber Spellman. Because we’ve intentionally cultivated “tradigital” leadership consistently, we love getting together in person whenever we can, like we did in St. Louis for dinner!)

The post “Tradigital” Leadership: Why Collaboration and Inspiration Matter More in a Remote Work World appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

Start by learning Pride history

Pride Day is the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, often cited as the beginning of the gay liberation movement. It’s a celebration of the progress we’ve made, and a sobering reminder of the sacrifices made to get to the relative safety we enjoy today. There’s a lot to celebrate and be proud of!

Same-sex marriage was a huge win, and we are seeing more positive representation in media than ever before. The fact that I can be out at work and write this article is something to celebrate. As evidenced by the hundreds of rainbow logos you’ve seen this month, the winds have changed, and appealing to the LGBTQ+ community is a smart business move.

Things have been getting better, but increased awareness has come with backlash, especially for trans people. Anti-trans attitudes and violence are on the rise, and with new legislation that targets trans folks, hateful people are feeling emboldened to enact violence against us, especially against trans women of color.

Trans folks now have to not only battle ignorance, but rampant disinformation. In industries that don’t specialize in helping LGBTQ+ people, navigating the complexities of genuine ignorance versus obstinance is difficult, especially since many hateful people are well-practiced in hiding their bigotry by feigning ignorance.

My experience when I needed a lawyer

I recently found myself in need of legal help. Sometimes I find myself freezing up in fear when searching for professional services like medical specialists, realtors, accountants, and of course, lawyers. I’ve experienced people’s tones changing dramatically when they discover I’m trans, and received poorer service from that point on.

Navigating the current climate of simultaneous support and backlash is especially difficult while seeking services that require a more personal relationship with a professional. Anyone who requires access to my legal documents will have access to my assigned sex and my deadname. I need professionals who will acknowledge and respect the fact that these documents won’t match how I want to be addressed, and I also need to be able to trust that the professional I’m dealing with is aware of, or willing to make themself aware of, the potential challenges that come with being trans.

In the end, I did find someone willing and able to help me, but it took me months to work up the courage to even seek out the services I need. The fear that has crept into my mind from years of being exposed to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric reaches its claws into the deepest parts of my mind, and follows me everywhere I go. It’s a fear that keeps me from traveling where I want, and seeking services that I need.

My experience is unfortunately common in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s something all of my trans friends are feeling right now. With that said, businesses that make me feel safe and welcome doing business with them will quickly earn my loyalty and my dollars.

How lawyers can support LGBTQ+ clients

If you’re a lawyer, what can you do to make potential clients in the LGBTQ+ community feel safer?

Your website is a powerful way to signal real support for the LGBTQ+ community. Here are three things lawyers can do to make trans potential clients like me feel safer filling out that lead form and becoming a new client.

1. Have pages on your site that explicitly mention the LGBTQ+ community. These pages should speak with authority on the specific issues and hardships that different members of the community deal with. Name changes, adoption, divorce, custody battles, criminal defense, and immigration (just to name a few) all have unique obstacles for LGBTQ+ people. A lawyer who demonstrates knowledge, compassion, and experience dealing with those obstacles will always be my first choice.
2. Have openly LGBTQ+ people on staff; the higher up the better. You can’t always tell who’s LGBTQ+, but sometimes you can. For example, if I see an employee bio that refers to someone with “they” and “them,” I know that someone at that office is comfortable enough to be nonbinary every day they go to work (and coming out at work is hard enough). If they can be out every day, then being out as nonbinary as a client shouldn’t be difficult.
3. Join your local LGBTQ+/Lavender Bar Association. When I first searched for an LGBTQ+ affirming lawyer, I found the LGBTQ+ Bar. They are a national association of legal professionals and activists. They have local affiliates across the country. However, there are 23 states, including my own, that have no affiliates. I would love to see this change. Where LGBTQ+ people are less accepted, it’s even more imperative that services like this exist. If you are in one of those 23 states with no affiliates consider starting one.
   
4. Represent other types of diversity in their staff and leadership. If one and two aren’t present, this is the next best thing. Even if I don’t see any openly LGBTQ+ people on staff, or any content that refers explicitly to LGBTQ+ issues, other types of diversity represented in the company are a good sign that the law firm is on board with DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). People in minority groups, in my experience, are more likely to understand social and legal obstacles and do the research required to tackle them.

What to consider moving forward

Implementing these suggestions for law firms on how to support the LGBTQ+ community isn’t easy. It requires lawyers to be educated on LGBTQ+ issues, to hire LGBTQ+ lawyers, and to take diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace seriously.

Many companies want to have their cake and eat it too by painting their logo with rainbows during June while continuing to financially support anti-LGBTQ+ policy. They want to have a fun Pride party while continuing to perpetuate the violence and discrimination directed towards us. Because of this, I cannot trust a business just because it celebrates or even sponsors Pride Month.

The bottom line is that LGBTQ+ people deserve legal representation that understands and respects them. They deserve to do business with professionals who understand the legal and social obstacles they face just by being who they are. It takes more than empty platitudes and Instagram posts to show your support and ability to help the LGBTQ+ community.

As we move forward in the ever-changing world we live in, LGBTQ+ people will continue to need legal representation. I hope there will be lawyers everywhere to fill that need.

The post How Can Lawyers Support the LGBTQ+ Community? appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

They’re all successful introverts.

You might find that surprising. I did, until I started to experience firsthand that some of the best leaders, from mid-level management to the C-Suite, aren’t always extroverts.

A decade into my career, a CEO at a publicly-traded company I worked for declined my recommendation to speak to the press (even off the record) or keynote an event. This shattered tried-and-true best practices in corporate communications and marketing. I pushed back to understand his thinking, assess how that decision aligned with our business goals for that year, and to ensure he understood the value of the strategies I recommended. I’ll never forget him telling me, “I’m not comfortable with that,” and the insightful conversation that followed. Yet he committed to always being there for anything we needed to achieve our goals – through the written word.

No company can succeed with management like that, right? Well, ranked at the top of the industry globally, I’d say things went pretty well. I also spent a day with Yahoo’s former CEO Marissa Mayer and witnessed her business savvy and communication style. In 2013, employee satisfaction at Yahoo hit a five-year high under Mayer’s leadership. Her feature in Vogue went on to catch many by surprise and spark a debate about the perception of female CEOs.

These moments changed my perception of what it takes to be a leader and forever inspired inventive thinking and confidence to break free of the status quo.

What does it mean to be an introvert?

Introversion is a personality trait. People commonly (and mistakenly) use the one-word textbook definition of the word to describe an introvert: shy. But that’s not always the case.

In reality, an introvert is simply someone who is more internal with their thoughts or ideas. Not all people are the same, so it goes without saying not all introverts are the same. Yet they often share common traits – such as being less apt to express themselves less freely, or feel overwhelmed in social situations and need their personal time to recharge. In a business setting, they may prefer small groups over large groups and are often analytical thinkers, good ideators and listeners.

Sounds like a recipe for business success to me. Yet introverts tend to face misconceptions and challenges in the workforce. An article in Harvard Business Review on the hidden advantages of quiet bosses notes “65% of senior corporate executives viewed introversion as a barrier to leadership.” The data’s a bit dated and I hope the ability to knowledge share and cultural shifts in recent years have lessened that perception.

Often the quieter ones among their peers, introverts may seem less invested or less interested. Declining an after-hours outing can be misinterpreted as not being committed. Not contributing during a meeting or following up after listening and analyzing their thoughts may lead to someone being overlooked for opportunities.

But this is like saying a person can’t run a race because their shoelaces are tied differently. This is where awareness and leadership skills of management become career-changing for others.

My experience as an introverted leader

About five years into my career, I called my #1 business mentor – my dad. As a CFO for hospitals and corporations, he has seen it all when it comes to business. I explained the excitement of my career but how I found parts of it draining. I described dreading the anticipation of networking events and feeling mentally exhausted after social settings. I admitted sometimes feeling this way in my personal life, something few around me would ever believe. He caught me off guard when he said, “I’ve always known this about you.”

Was it possible that someone often described as a leader and an extrovert was, in fact, an introvert? Undeniably, yes.

My career has taught me about myself, most importantly revealing that throughout my childhood and into my career, I learned to cope and adapt as an introvert to the expectations and opportunities around me – something many professionals can relate to.

I’m definitely not shy. But coming from a family of nine kids, having committed parents who often exposed us to diverse social settings, and having changed schools five times, adapting, making friends, and taking interest in things and others became survival. I coped and I pushed myself – and still do – because I knew what I wanted.

It didn’t mean I wasn’t adventurous, bright nor creative. I excelled in school and found my outlets in piano, theater, writing, performance, sports and community service. Is it easier for me to perform in front of a crowd of thousands, speak on stage, negotiate in the boardroom or lead a press conference than it is to work a room or attend an event solo? ABSOLUTELY. Can I explain why? Not a chance.

Raising kids isn’t much different than the skills needed to manage teams with diverse personality traits. It’s giving trust and space to be who you are, listening and knowing one size doesn’t fit all, and creating opportunities in areas where someone excels. Because of that experience back then, I’m capable now of arriving knowing no one in the crowd and will walk away from an event having had genuine networking conversations, enlightening moments and new relationships. And I still use my outlets to refuel.

From sharing these experiences with others, I know I’m not alone in the workforce when it comes to this.If you find this relatable, cheers! You’re doing great.

Raising an introvert: A hands-on master class in empowering others

Midway through this outgoing lifestyle I had grown into, life threw me for a loop raising a quiet, genuinely shy, introverted daughter – who is one heck a leader. She started talking at 10 months old, reaching five-word sentences by the time she turned one. But from a very young age, she showed the common personality traits of an introvert. Situations that feel normal and natural to many of us don’t always feel comfortable to her yet – something we don’t often recognize about one another, especially among colleagues.

When she was a toddler, my observant and intuitive mentor (now affectionately “Papa Lou”) commented, “She may be quiet, but she knows what she wants.” And he wasn’t wrong. It’s a trait that makes introverts effective.

It wasn’t until an outing together that my daughter’s and my eyes met and I was struck from her glance with a very familiar sense of what my then-kindergartener was feeling. Without saying anything, we knew each other understood – how one can be in the experience where they want to be, but sometimes it takes a lot inside to be there. From that day forward, with that new understanding and relatable connection, I knew from her sense of adventure, the way she’d take things apart and put them back together, and her unending curiosity, planning, and creating, that there was nothing stopping her.

I’ll admit, raising a bright, adventurous, introverted child has been the most challenging experience as a parent. It’s taken learning, problem-solving, pivoting, and empowerment skills that in turn have strengthened my business and management skills.

A few years into serving as her Girl Scout troop leader, I witnessed a quiet young girl discovering courage and coping skills, developing confidence, and emerging on her own as a leader because she was given space to try and fail, opportunities to lead or follow, and guidance with an open book to explore her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

My daughter has taught me a lot about introversion: the wheels in her mind are always turning, and her analytical mind breaks things down and emerges with solutions. She embodies a desire for adventure, listens with intensity, envisions the big picture, shows compassion for others, and each action has intention.

Witnessing this reminded me of the CEOs I had worked with, and I realized before my eyes, once again, that some of the most effective, brightest leaders are indeed introverts.

A few weeks shy of becoming a teen, she’s still navigating the balance of feeling comfortable in the doors that have opened and experiences she desires. And she has a promising start on what her future will look like as she serves her third year on Student Council, quenches her competitive nature on the soccer field, and generates meticulous ideas for experiences and small businesses. She knows what she wants – including quiet nights at home. Ahh, the life of an introvert.

Tips for tapping into introverted leadership

Active awareness of our personal management style and leadership skills creates a growth culture where all personality types can thrive. This practice is especially valuable in helping introverts on your team reach their potential.

For inspiration and fresh perspective about leadership or workplace dynamics, turn to Wharton’s organizational psychologist Adam Grant, and buckle in for a few “a-ha!” moments. (And as I was writing this article, this post appeared in my feed. How timely!)

Here are some tips to empower introverts at work and avoid overlooking high-impact leaders on your team:

• Lead with intention. Your job as a leader is to empower others. Expand your understanding of personality traits, make purposeful decisions, and ask questions with intention to create forums where introverts are comfortable sharing their ideas and having their voices heard.
• Invite quieter colleagues to the table. Include colleagues who are more reserved to meetings, brainstorms and small lunches. Initiate conversation with them or pause and ask the individual for their feedback and ideas. In his book Meetings Suck, author and executive coach Cameron Herold identifies four personality traits in meetings: Dominant, Expressive, Analytical and Amiable. Awareness of these traits and drawing engagement out of your employees who tend to think longer before speaking will reveal ideas and solutions that propel your business forward.
• Give introverts ownership. Delegate and hand tasks over to introverts on your team, or appoint them to lead projects that compliment their skill sets or give them a fresh challenge. They may not always raise their hands, but more often than not, they’re up for the task and their skills will develop and shine.
• Allocate time for passion projects. Work innovation into your culture. Encouraging employees to allocate 10 hours a month toward passion projects may reveal a golden egg that moves your business forward or a standout thinker who isn’t on everybody’s radar.
• Recognize effort and great work. Recognition waters your garden. It keeps employees invested and is an opportunity to highlight the contributions of those you may see or hear from less, making others aware of their strengths and impact on the organization. A mention during a meeting will go a long way, as do internal awards or shoutouts on a dedicated #recognition chat channel like we have here at Hennessey Digital.

Not everyone has a leadership mindset, nor the desire for responsibility. But we must be aware of biases and the talent we’re surrounded with. The next Albert Einstein might be on your team.

The post Introverts at Work: You Might Be Overlooking Your Next Best Leader appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

At Hennessey Digital, we really do live out our values through our work. Clients rely on our work and expertise to grow their businesses, and we take that responsibility seriously.

So when we came together as a leadership team to brainstorm tactical ways to fulfill our 2022 OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and company revenue goals, we had a tall order to fill. How do we keep growing and expanding while remaining true to who we are?

With our Hennessey Digital culture in mind, I thought I’d frame our 2022 initiatives and goals from the perspective of our four core principles.

Be honest and transparent

As VP of Operations, I make sure that we’re operating efficiently, delivering results, and ultimately making our clients raving fans of our agency. The HD Platform, one of our primary initiatives for 2021, is a manifestation of our honesty and transparency when it comes to clients’ deliverables and results.

The HD Platform exists to give clients insight into the ROI of working with us. In the Platform, we show cost per lead, organic leads trends, ranking keywords, and organic traffic value, our content pipeline, and other key metrics that empower our clients to make data-driven decisions for their digital marketing efforts all under one roof.

When we initially tested the HD Platform in beta with a small group of select clients, we were excited to share it with them. We were anxious to get our users’ thoughts and opinions.

Our first piece of feedback arrived: “The Platform is impressive because I’m easily able to see all my data. It’s nice to see how transparent everything is and how you hold yourself accountable for our deliverables,”  said our first client.

Then the next client: “Big time love the Platform – it really sets you apart from other agencies.”

We joke about this next one because it came from a hard-to-please client, but we’ll take it: “It’s fine.”

snapshot of the HD Platform

Now that we have the HD Platform to improve efficiency and transparency, we’ve taken additional steps to overhaul client communications and enhance our level of service.

Coming out of the December leadership retreat, I formed a “task force” of department heads to lead the effort in enhancing our client communications and output.

We’ve refined our client meetings based on the lessons we’ve learned from years of spending time with clients to make the most use of our time together. We know if we provide too much information, it can be overwhelming and confusing. On the other hand, too little information can raise more questions and cause skepticism.

We’ll soon be rolling out an automated post-meeting survey to each client asking two simple questions so we can get instant feedback:

1) How do you feel the call went today?
2) What could have made today’s call better?

We’ve also recently integrated a video feature into the HD Platform so our Account Managers and SEO Team Leads can record short videos to clients. These video updates are sent right to our clients’ inboxes and are available on-demand in the HD Platform.

Stay nimble; never stop learning

Continual improvement is something we emphasize, and not just for the work we do for clients (although this is crucial!) We’re always looking for ways we can improve how we work with each other.

Hennessey Digital prides itself on our best-in-class SEO. We have multiple case studies demonstrating the results we get for clients and how our approach helps law firms dominate their markets in organic search.

But one thing we were missing was an SEO philosophy; a statement of what we believe about SEO, where our focus areas are, and what makes our approach to SEO different from our competitors.

Together with our founder and CEO Jason Hennessey, we created an SEO philosophy that unifies the team. It’s our SEO North Star, and along with our updated client meeting agendas, we’ve got the tools to make more clients happy in 2022.

Speaking of making clients happy, Director of Client Services Kristine Hyman and Director of Content Jessica Rowe are leading the charge in white-glove service for our clients. And Director of Communications Liz Feezor is tying everything together with internal comms to educate the team and ensure we’re all in sync with the right information.

Do what’s right, always

Honesty and transparency inform our actions. But always doing the right thing isn’t always what we see, especially from competitors who may hide behind data or claim results for their clients that shouldn’t be attributed to them.

“Do what’s right” means more to us than just data transparency and proactive communication, although these are imperative for a solid client/agency relationship. It means turning down potential business if we don’t think we’ll be able to move the needle for a potential client.

Doing what’s right also means showing our work and sharing what we know. We released our proprietary career pathing tool to the public earlier this year. Originally created as an internal tool for current team members to grow their careers at Hennessey Digital, we also wanted to show potential employees what we’re all about.

(And if you’re a digital marketing all-star looking for a team, check our Careers page for current open positions!)

Finally, doing what’s right means opening up about mistakes we’ve made. We’re vulnerable about our human failures and candid about slip-ups, because they happen. But what makes us who we are is always learning from our mistakes and taking actionable steps to prevent them from happening in the future.

Because when something goes wrong for one client, we own it. We fix it. And all our other clients benefit from the solution we create.

Forgive us for a mistake; fire us for a pattern. 

Make it fun; don’t be a jerk

This one is easy. Making things fun comes naturally to us because we’re a team of good people who encourage each other to succeed. (Our 127 Code of Honor spells out our commitment to character, clients, and each other.)

We believe competence is important, but character matters more. We can train for skills when the drive to learn and the right attitude is there.

SImply put, we don’t allow jerks on the team. And we like to have fun with each other. How many teams do you know who put .gifs on their team members’ bios, or put out a gag press release for April Fools’ Day?

We also believe in making things fun for our clients. We like working with each other, and we love integrating how we do things into our client communications. If you’re already a Hennessey Digital client, you know what we mean. And if you’re looking for a new digital marketing partner, you won’t find a more dedicated group of people who are also a ton of fun to work with!

Values at work: looking beyond 2022

These 2022 initiatives are just the beginning for this all-star team. Our Vivid Vision illustrates what Hennessey Digital will look like at the end of 2024—and where we’re going after that.

We have big plans for Hennessey Studios and building an internship program to teach college students the ins and outs of digital marketing.

It’s vulnerable to share big plans. We never know what might materially affect our business or the digital marketing industry in the future. But we’ll continue sharing what we know, own our mistakes, and stay optimistic about what’s to come.

The post How We Live Our Values at Work appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

What is RAK Week?

Random Acts of Kindness Week, or “RAK Week,” as we called it, is five consecutive days of giving back to our loved ones, each other, and our communities.

RAK Week came about because our Senior Director of People Success Jill Wenk was brainstorming ideas on how to have a fun, interactive week in a creative way. We wanted to incorporate the spirit of our Day of Giving where we learned how to give back as a remote company into a full week of giving back and spreading kindness.

There are many purposes to RAK Week. First, it gives our team a good excuse to get to know one another better and to perform acts of kindness for each other. We wanted this event to bring our teams closer together. We know that many of our employees care deeply about the world around them, and we want to support them in their mission to help their communities.

After mulling over ideas, we came up with several ways to bring kindness and care to those around us. We believe this event is a step towards Hennessey Digital becoming cultural leaders and showing how much we care about our team members and the world around us.

RAK Week daily activities

Every day of RAK Week had a theme to it, and for every recorded Random Act of Kindness, Hennessey Digital donated $5 to a cause or organization voted on by our team members. For example, each time someone sent a Valentine or left a review for a favorite local business, they would take a photo and upload it to our #gratitude Slack channel. At the end of the week, we totaled up our team’s Random Acts of Kindness and made a donation.

These were our daily RAK Week themes…

Monday: For Those You Love

Monday just happened to be Valentine’s Day! What better way to celebrate those you love than to send them a Valentine. For RAK Week’s kickoff, we sent virtual and physical Valentines to those we love.

Tuesday: For Your Coworkers

On Tuesday, we gave care and kindness to our fellow team members through LinkedIn endorsements. This boosts our LinkedIn profiles so when clients or prospective team members look at our LinkedIn pages, they can see they’re working with some of the brightest minds in digital marketing.

Wednesday: For Your Team

We loved this one because we got to meet with our team and talk about things other than work! The Engineering team got together and played Two Truths and a Lie, and a combined team played online Pictionary together. It’s important to have moments like this to laugh and just have fun together to create bonds among the team.

Thursday: For Small Businesses

As a growing company, we know what it’s like to be a small business and how important a good review can be. We wanted to spread the wealth to small businesses in our local communities, so we left positive online reviews for small businesses, shopped local, and went out for a meal to our favorite local restaurants.

Friday: For Our Communities

To cap off RAK Week, we had a Day of Giving where team members were encouraged to take up to 4 hours of paid time off to volunteer in their communities. (I decided to donate blood and it was incredibly gratifying!)

Our team chose a cause or organization they’re passionate about and gave back in many different ways. And at the end of the week, the whole Hennessey Digital team was surprised with an Employee Appreciation Day! On March 4, each team member gets 2 hours off work and $50 to go treat themselves.

People Success’ role in RAK Week

RAK Week came about as a way to build on the Day of Giving we did in 2021. People Success was in a team meeting, and Jill came up with the idea to spread a day of giving back into an entire week.

We call Human Resources at Hennessey Digital “People Success” because we are truly committed to seeing our people succeed here. We invest in learning and development and are continually looking for new ways to engage our team, focused on employee satisfaction, retention, and work/life balance.

I brainstormed some ways we could collaborate and celebrate RAK Week as a remote team. Once we compiled our ideas, the People Success team came together and chose the best ones to feature throughout the week.

Last year for our Day of Giving, we promoted only virtual options to give back due to the pandemic. But this year, we encouraged team members to give back in any way they were comfortable for RAK Week. We were thrilled to see people out in their communities!

Our team’s feedback on RAK Week

The Hennessey Digital team went above and beyond with their creativity and generosity for RAK Week. For Thursday’s theme of giving to small businesses, we even had a “pizza chain” going where team members around the world reviewed their favorite pizza joints in their respective cities. 

Team members also loved supporting local businesses on Thursday, as Account Manager Nathalie Pierre shares:

“Used this as an excuse to buy these gorgeous Harry Potter golden snitch earrings I’ve been eyeing from a local artist.”

Endorsing each other on LinkedIn was one of our team’s favorite activities during the week, and they had a lot to say about it…

“I’ve endorsed 15 Hennessey colleagues on LinkedIn so far: RAK ‘em up, everyone! We love seeing everyone’s commitment to building community and collaboration!” –Michele Patrick, Chief Financial Officer

“So fun! Everyone is so talented, it is easy to stand behind these endorsements too.” –Jill Wenk, Senior Director of People Success

“I literally could spend a whole day doing this. It’s cathartic, fun, and an awesome way to get our colleagues properly recognized outside our digital walls.” –Greg Herrmann, Senior Manager of Learning and Development

On Friday, team members took to their communities and volunteered their time. Their experiences inspired them—and us!

“I spent part of our RAK Week volunteer time in my daughter’s classroom this week helping 5th graders celebrate their last in-class Valentine’s Day celebration. Teachers and schools rely heavily on volunteers to make these experiences and memories possible for them, but with the pandemic, the number of volunteers and opportunities have decreased. After having to wear masks to school for the last 18 months, you could tell how refreshing it was for the kids to see each other’s faces, smile and have fun with one another again a little more carefree.” –Cindy Kerber Spellman, Senior Director of Marketing

“This weekend, I will be volunteering at an event my wife helped organize called Bling Your Prom. Every year, the library gives away free prom attire to any teenager who needs it, down to shoes and jewelry.” -Travis Brown, Paid Search Manager

Hennessey Digital did an incredible job of spreading Random Acts of Kindness throughout the week. In total, we counted 179 Random Acts of Kindness completed, and the company donated $895 to our chosen non-profit, ihatecancer.org.

(More to come on this cause: our CEO Jason Hennessey founded ihatecancer.org as a passion project and we’ve got big things planned!)

“RAK week was amazing in so many ways! From giving back to the organizations that have done so much for Hennessey Digital, showing love to small local businesses through purchases and reviews, and supporting each other through LinkedIn endorsements, we were able to make little changes in a lot of big ways. I think the most interesting part of RAK week was discovering which organizations were important to team members and why. So many of us were excited to nominate charities that had a big impact on our life so we could do the same for them. It’s fantastic being a part of a company that’s not only full of incredible people, but also willing to go above and beyond the day-to-day work life.” –Angela Gennovario, Associate Account Manager

What’s next at Hennessey Digital

RAK Week was just the first step for People Success as we build into our Vivid Vision. This event was our way to encourage the team to use their voices, leverage their personal brands, and use the new volunteer hours available to them as paid time off.

In addition to 40 additional PTO hours for team members to volunteer in their communities, we also improved our employee benefits package in 2022. We increased our employer contribution for Medical coverage, and we’ll continue to make enhancements in the future based on feedback we get from our team.

If this sounds like your kind of team, check out our open positions and apply for your digital marketing dream job!

The post RAK Week: How We’re Bringing Kindness to Work appeared first on Hennessey Digital.

And at our Hennessey Digital leadership retreat in December, I had the distinct privilege of hosting our talented team of department leaders. We sat down in small groups together at Hennessey Studios and recorded this special podcast episode together, where we talked business, personal goals, and what we’re looking forward to.

A full transcript of the podcast episode is below. Here’s the episode in its entirety, and I hope you have fun listening and learning more about our team. They’re the most gifted, dedicated leaders in the business, and after listening to them talk, you’ll begin to understand why.

Enjoy! 

Jason (00:00:10):

All right, right now I’m excited because I’ve got two guests that I spend a lot of my time with. Well, first of all, why don’t you kind of both introduce yourself and tell everybody who you are and what you do for the company?

Scott (00:00:21):

Yeah. So I’m Scott Shrum, President and COO of Hennessey Digital. I’ve been with the team for a little over two and a half years now.

Kathryn (00:00:29):

And I’m Kathryn Lundberg, and I have the best job at Hennessey Digital being the Executive Assistant to Jason Hennessey. And I’ve been here for just over a year.

Jason (00:00:37):

Making me blush here. See? All right, I’m going to start with Scott. What do you think is the most rewarding part of your position?

Scott (00:00:45):

I would say the most rewarding part that I’ve seen that I’ve experienced is when it all comes together. We’ll make a plan, whether it’s doing a particular client project or hatching an internal project or deciding we need to hire somebody new. Let’s start recruiting. We hatch a plan and then it all comes together. What is it? It was Hannibal and the A Team. He says, I love it when a plan comes together. That is the feeling. We’ll imagine something; it might be something small. It might be something huge. Like the studio we’re sitting in right now was a biggie, right? But that was like a plan, an idea you had. Then it became a plan. Then it started to become some work that we did. And then it actually comes to fruition. That is my favorite thing, seeing that happen.

Jason (00:01:34):

Got it. And so how do you think your role has grown and developed over the couple years that you’ve been at Hennessey?

Scott (00:01:42):

Other people have heard me say this before. When I started, we were a really interesting company. We were like a revenue stream that didn’t quite yet have a whole company built up, or we just had a revenue stream and we had clients, but we didn’t necessarily have some of that corporate machinery, if you want to call it that. So, especially in my first year, I think we spent a lot of time developing that, just getting infrastructure in place. A couple months after I started, we hired Michele Patrick, our CFO, getting a lot of that in place, things like culture and kind of how we set the tone. It wasn’t at all that it didn’t matter, but it was like, we were just kind of more figuring out tactical stuff. Right? It’s like we were laying the foundation and putting up the two-by-fours to build the house.

Then in the second year, I was able to get more deliberate about, okay, well who’s here doing what jobs and what kind of people do we want to have here? And that’s more of, like, we put up the drywall and we’re like, okay, how do we want to paint the drywall? And now in year three, it’s like, how are we decorating the interior of the house? What kind of culture do we want to have and who do we want to beat, not just what work do we want to do. That’s how it’s evolved for me.

Jason (00:02:55):

Yeah. Completely agree. We grow. We evolve. We fail. We fail forward.

I know we have a big international aspect of our company. Maybe explain how we kind of hire globally?

Scott (00:03:09):

You know, when I describe to somebody who doesn’t know our company, I say, you know, a lot of our developers and our SEO people are in eastern Europe. I think for some people that invokes a thought like, oh, you have some people in other countries that you sub work out to. And I say, no, no, no. They are full-blown members of our team. They’re in our Slack. They’re on our biweekly Zoom huddles. For us, being able to hire international people and work with international people and do it well, that’s a competitive advantage.

For us to be able to seamlessly hand something off from somebody in California to somebody in Florida who then hands it off to somebody in Romania who then hands it off to somebody in Ukraine, back to California, that’s a competitive advantage for us. We’re able to find really good people all over the world. A lot of people assume that there’s a massive tradeoff that comes with that, whether it’s a language barrier or just being in different time zones. And other than the time zone thing, we work with them as if they are “regular American members” of our team.

Jason (00:04:12):

Sure, sure. So are there any milestones that come to mind over the last year that you are excited about?

Scott (00:04:22):

Oh, man. That’s a good question. You know, the first milestones that come to mind are actually not number milestones. They’re not necessarily revenue or client wins, winning new clients, new business. It’s actually around getting certain teams in place. You know, at least when I started, we didn’t really market ourselves. We barely made any effort to sell ourselves. And then we hired our first business development director. And then we hired a sales director. Early in 2021, we hired a new Senior Director of Marketing. Our marketing department, 12 months ago, I wouldn’t say we did no marketing, but it wasn’t—

Jason (00:05:03):

There was no strategy. Yeah.

Scott (00:05:04):

Yeah. And I wouldn’t call it a strength of ours. Now I’m like, ho, ho, other agencies are screwed. Because we are going after it now with live events and what we do online. Those are the milestones that I’m probably proudest of.

Jason (00:05:17):

And one last question. So we are here together, as a group of leaders of the company. Why is it so important to do this?

Scott (00:05:28):

Coming together in person, it’s funny because we work together on Zoom every day. And when we got together in person, for me, it’s like it’s seamless, right? We pick up right where we left off in Zoom, but I still remember, so we did this one other time. In November of 2019, we did our first leadership retreat. Obviously everybody knows what happened in 2020, so we didn’t do one in person. We still have inside jokes and just cultural norms that started from those three days of us being together in November of 2019. And so all of everything we’re doing now, yeah: we could have done it on Slack and Zoom and this and that, but I think there’s going to be little sidebar conversations, big group conversations, one-on-one conversations over dinner that we’re still going to be referencing a year from now by doing it in person.

Jason (00:06:15):

Sure. No; I completely agree. I’m going to shift over here to Kathryn. So Kathryn and I have been working together over a year, but we too don’t really see each other in person. It’s the same thing, right?

Kathryn (00:06:26):

That’s right.

Jason (00:06:27):

And, you know, we get a lot of face time together. Tell us: what is the most fulfilling part of your job?

Kathryn (00:06:34):

The most fulfilling part of my job is the diversity. I absolutely love just the various projects that I work on, the immediate things that need attention, and then the long-term projects of just starting and might take some time, like developing the website or getting things up and running with articles and then to see it come together. And of course the best was [Jason’s book] Law Firm SEO and watching the entire process from start to finish, and just the excitement of the future projects like Honest SEO, your next book that’s coming out. So I just love that. It’s very fulfilling. Your successes are my successes. Your wins are my wins. I love it.

Jason (00:07:15):

And I say the opposite. She’s the one that keeps me successful, I guess, if we’re going to define it as success, for sure. Tell everybody: what does your day-to-day look like?

Kathryn (00:07:27):

That is a great question. It’s full, action-packed, and in general it is… I feel like a lot of my job is sort of like a firefighter, going from triaging, you know, deciding…

Jason (00:07:43):

I’m making the fires and she’s going and putting them out. [laughs]

Kathryn (00:07:47):

No. No. [laughing] I mean, yeah, exactly. Sometimes I make them. No, it’s just people have different needs throughout the day. And then, of course, I’m helping to manage your schedule and your priorities. So it’s kind of like I’m the buffer person that goes through and says, okay, these are the things that he needs to know and people who are waiting for these particular things. Generally, that starts with Slack messages that come through, emails, and really determining what’s most important for your day and who needs your attention. And then it’s the ongoing projects, so the articles that we’re writing, preparing for the retreat… just a number of different, longer-term things. And then, of course, it’s our calls. So when we chat and you say, okay, these are the things I need help with. So those quickly get inserted or moved around to be able to meet all of our objectives.

Jason (00:08:41):

And I’m so grateful for everything that you do. I’m going to talk about one highlight of the year that I am most proud of that you accomplished. So when Kathryn first started, I must have had 60,000 unread emails. It’s almost impossible for me to keep up with email. Like, I’m sitting here right now and I probably have 200 emails coming in right at this moment, right?

Kathryn (00:09:01):

Uh-huh [laughs].

Jason (00:09:01):

Because you’re going to go and see them. And so Kathryn came up with an amazing system. She organized it. Now, I just check a couple folders each day and it makes me that much more efficient and effective.

Kathryn (00:09:14):

Thanks.

Jason (00:09:14):

And it’s awesome. So thank you for that. Do you have a moment or memory from this year that kind of stands out? I know you talked about the book.

Kathryn (00:09:22):

Yeah. I would say… okay, there are two answers, actually. One is the day-to-day. The greatest and most fulfilling part, the most satisfying thing is when I anticipate something that you later ask and I’ve already done it. That is, like, the pinnacle of my happy moment. And then just day in and day out with whatever objectives we’ve set. And then when we meet goals and I get to check boxes, I just think that’s the greatest.

Jason (00:09:53):

That’s awesome. What makes Hennessey Digital unique from other companies based on your perspective?

Kathryn (00:10:02):

Without a doubt, it’s the integrity of leadership. I mean, you guys right here and Michele, as CFO, are at the top of the list. And so just having the privilege of working with you all and seeing just the consistent integrity… I’ve worked in a number of different industries, a number of different companies, and it’s just unequalled. The integrity, the transparency, the communication… it’s awesome. And then, of course, just the remote work. I feel really privileged to be able to work with all of you.

Jason (00:10:32):

I want to talk about that for a second.

Kathryn (00:10:32):

Okay.

Jason (00:10:35):

Because this really touches home with you being remote. Tell everybody kind of how your life is.

Kathryn (00:10:40):

Well, so my life took a major turn last year when Mark and I decided that we were going to downsize as we launched 18-year-olds. And so we bought a catamaran sailboat in California and for the past year, that’s been my office, my home, and my vacation place. So for the first part of the year, as long as I have a robust cellular wifi signal and data, I have been able to travel and you’ve been very gracious about just sort of letting my office float and move. And presently my office is located in Puerto Vallarta at Paradise Village Resort.

Jason (00:11:22):

Right.

Kathryn (00:11:23):

And it’s absolutely beautiful. So my day starts with walks on the beach and then I do my work and then take a little lunch break outside in the sun. And then at the end of the day, head back out to the beach and do some paddle boarding. So it’s awesome.

Jason (00:11:37):

That’s awesome. Well, I want to thank you both. Appreciate you coming in and talking about your experiences working here and looking forward to an amazing 2022 together.

Scott (00:11:48):

Thanks, Jason.

Kathryn (00:11:49):

Yes. Thank you.

Scott (00:11:49):

You too.

Jason (00:11:57):

All right, I’ve got Marketing and Communications here with me today. Thank you so much for making the trip all the way out here to Los Angeles, California. Why don’t you guys introduce yourselves? Cindy, I’ll start with you.

Cindy (00:12:12):

I’m Cindy Kerber Spellman and I’m the Senior Director of Marketing at Hennessey Digital.

Jason (00:12:18):

Okay.

Liz (00:12:18):

And I’m Liz Feezor and I’m the Director of Communications at Hennessey Digital.

Jason (00:12:21):

Thank you so much. So I know you guys collaborate a lot on projects because you’re in charge of kind of how Hennessey presents ourselves to the world. Right? How do you guys go about working together? How do you collaborate together?

Cindy (00:12:40):

Do you want to start?

Liz (00:12:40):

Constantly? Is that an answer?

Jason (00:12:44):

[laughs] Yeah.

Liz (00:12:45):

I mean, that’s my answer. I feel like we work so closely together because most of the things that we do are so dependent on one or the other, or we’re doing something so that the next person can do their thing. And I feel like we’ve established a really great rhythm of working together and working so closely and frequently with each other, it’s like, we kind of learn the rhythm and what the other person’s probably thinking.

Cindy (00:13:07):

Yeah.

Liz (00:13:08):

And so it’s helpful being in such close communication.

Cindy (00:13:11):

I think chemistry is playing a big role in our success. But I also think at the beginning we identified a clear ownership because there’s a lot of overlap.

Jason (00:13:22):

Sure.

Cindy (00:13:22):

But that doesn’t mean we don’t support one another, but at the end of the day, someone has to be accountable for the results and seeing something to the finish line. So we really work together to identify what makes the right balance, what are our strengths to be able to do this. And we’re always there supporting each other.

Liz (00:13:36):

Yeah.

Cindy (00:13:36):

We start our day with Liz always pings me with where she’s focusing, what we’re doing. We provide some feedback and then we normally touch base later in the day. So we’re just, we’re always in touch, but we’re playing off each other’s strengths and it’s really working well.

Jason (00:13:50):

Good.

Liz (00:13:51):

Yeah. It’s really working well.

Jason (00:13:52):

Tell me. What does a day look like for you?

Cindy (00:13:55):

Oh gosh. I think a day in life for me probably starts the night before, actually.

Jason (00:14:00):

Okay.

Cindy (00:14:00):

Because before I go to bed, I think about how I spend my first hour and a half in the office the next day, in my home office. I get up and I check emails right away. I think that’s the life of someone in PR and Comms.

Jason (00:14:12):

Sure.

Cindy (00:14:12):

Are there any fires? Are there any opportunities I missed while I was sleeping? But I normally tackle Hennessey Digital for about my first hour and then I’m on Slack for maybe the next 45 minutes while getting my family up and out the door to school. And then I sit back down at my desk and one of the things I found that’s beneficial in a role like this is I time chunk my day. So I start my day with an hour and a half of office hours. And that’s really addressing deadlines for that day, things that may have come up or what do other people need to get their job done that day.

That frees me up for like the next six to seven hours to be able to be accessible to anyone no matter where they are at our company around the world, have meetings, et cetera. And I close my day also with that other time chunk, another hour and a half of uninterrupted time. And that’s really to make sure we’re meeting the deadlines for that day. Any new work that came on the plate that day, getting that into our project management system. And that’s really allowed me to have that focused productivity time. It also opens up the day to be available to people. And as the Senior Director of Marketing, I work across new business, Engineering, Analytics, Client Services, and People Success so it’s really keeping in focus what we need as an organization to grow. But then also what role we’re playing for those other departments and meeting their needs so that they can be successful.

Jason (00:15:35):

Good. Yep. Totally agree. And I know, Liz, you also work with many people from the company. Maybe explain to those listening, what are some of the projects and endeavors that you oversee at Hennessey?

Liz (00:15:48):

Yeah. So for us and, of course, different orgs and different sizes and industries, the MarComms function will look different. And for us right now, I’m owning our blog and most of our content marketing pieces, which has been a ton of fun getting to know the different SMEs and directors in our org and pulling out and sharing a lot of the stories that we have to tell. And not just things like awards that we’re winning, and where we are and events recaps and things like that, but really tangible changes and innovations that we’re making, things like Blin’s team building our own tools so that we can really help clients’ page speed, and other deliverables with what we’re doing for clients. So it’s really fun and interesting for me to learn what we’re doing, keep up with it, and then translate it into words that are going to make an impact for our clients so that they’re paying attention to what we’re doing and that the industry’s paying attention too.

Jason (00:16:39):

Yeah. One of my favorite posts that we created was where we got really vulnerable, where we were trying to recruit an executive. And for whatever reason, even though we offered them everything that they wanted, they ended up going somewhere else. Because they were interviewing us just as much as we’re interviewing them. And so when I was talking to our executive coach Cameron Herold, he’s like, don’t take it personally. Their talent magnet was just stronger than your talent magnet. So I got on a call with you because we get our little huddles, and you’re like, why don’t we make it a blog post? Let’s just be vulnerable, right? And so then we created that post and that’s still one of my favorite posts. It’s just vulnerability. You know, we say on this podcast make your mess your message. And so I thought that was a great post.

Liz (00:17:24):

Yeah. It’s funny because I remember Scott saying that’s one of the ones that got the most engagement on his LinkedIn account in maybe ever.

Jason (00:17:32):

Mm-hmm (affirmative) Mine too.

Liz (00:17:34):

Because those are the stories that especially, you know, you were talking about talent magnet from an employer branding perspective, I feel like in the last year we’ve really done a great job of making that one of our core initiatives. And so I can only imagine as we fulfill our Vivid Vision in three years, our talent magnet is going to be so strong that we’re not going to have those stories anymore. That’s our goal. So it’s been really cool to see we take action quickly when we identify a gap or a need. And that’s, I think, a great example of that is improving benefits and making all those changes that we highlighted in that post. You know, we’re putting it out there. We make mistakes, but this is what we do, and we share it.

Jason (00:18:10):

That’s right. We’re human. We’re going to fail. We learn from our failures and we get better from it.

Liz (00:18:14):

Yeah.

Cindy (00:18:14):

And I don’t think it’s quite different from other marketing. You know, when you think about connecting with human stories, and being human, you connect with other people. And I think that’s what our company has done very well, and that post did it very well. And it’s not very different from what you do in other parts of the business of making sure your product connects with people. And I feel that an incredible part of our product is our people.

Jason (00:18:36):

Sure.

Cindy (00:18:36):

And the more we’re able to relate to that and empower and share our stories with others, they might be able to take that information and be successful in their own careers and their own businesses. Then we’re really strengthening and sharing what we’re learning from our products.

Jason (00:18:46):

Totally agree; yep. I’ll start with you, Cindy, what would you say is the most exciting part of your job at Hennessey Digital?

Cindy (00:18:56):

Oh gosh. I’m an adrenaline junkie. So I think knowing that every day is going to be a little different, you know, we have our goals, so there’s that compass, but there’s always something in a day that’s different. And that’s either working with someone in another country I haven’t worked with yet, or it’s solving a challenge, or it’s saying, hey, I’ve got this idea. And then Liz and I are like, okay, now we do this? And just prioritizing. So I think the most exciting part of our day is there’s always something different which keeps it fresh and new.

Jason (00:19:26):

Great. What do you think, Liz?

Liz (00:19:29):

Much the same. I mean, I can go into a day with my short list of things that I need to get accomplished. And I’ll give you an example. Yesterday, I woke up at the hotel and I was like, all right, I’ve got this chunk of time in the morning to focus on my Vivid Vision homework for this retreat. And people see you’re online and it’s like, oh, she’s on. We’re going to start Slacking and talking about something else. And so it’s just you have to be able to roll with whatever your day throws at you and go with the flow and adjust and pivot and learn and keep going.

Jason (00:20:00):

So we are here in Los Angeles. We’re talking through our Vivid Vision and our goals for the year. What excites you for the next year here?

Cindy (00:20:11):

We’re seeing transformation. And I think it’s a privileged position to be in to see a company growing the way we are and work with the leaders we have. But I think we’re in front-row seats right now of seeing transformation in terms of a business growing and a growth stage company really expanding, but also transforming how people typically think about digital marketing and what comprises an agency. I feel like with your leadership and Michele and Scott’s, we’re really pushing that envelope, as are the directors within our company. And looking at the next year and knowing where we’re expanding to and how we’re breaking the mold of what some of that traditional digital marketing agency looks like and feels like and what we’re able to do excites me the most. So I’m really excited to come back to you in December and say what our “wow” moment was from the last year.

Jason (00:21:00):

Good. What do you think, Liz?

Liz (00:21:02):

Totally. I mean, just the possibility of what might come because the Vivid Vision is there. It’s concrete plans for the future, but we don’t know what might materially affect our business, the industry… I mean, not just in terms of bad things that could happen, but leaving room for opportunity and possibility for amazing things to happen too. That’s what gets me excited. So even just the year and a half ago that I was hired, I was brought on in a different position. There were different people in different places. And so just seeing the evolution of what’s happened in just the 18 months that I’ve been on board, bringing on Cindy, bringing on all these people in key leadership positions, and seeing some shifting around. What’s it going to be like in a year? Two years? Three years? So I don’t know.

Cindy (00:21:44):

I don’t think when Liz and I met back in March we could have ever anticipated sitting down with you for a podcast.

Liz (00:21:48):

I know.

Jason (00:21:48):

Yeah. I know. See? I didn’t envision myself having this studio. Right?

Cindy (00:21:55):

Yeah.

Liz (00:21:55):

Yeah.

Jason (00:21:55):

I mean it’s just kind of… things come together.

Cindy (00:21:59):

So much is in store, but if you stay focused and pursue it versus just letting an idea rest, then it’s possible. And I think we’re doing a lot with ideas, so it’ll be a good year.

Jason (00:22:08):

All right. We’re going to shift the focus here a little bit. So I hear you’re a soccer mom.

Cindy (00:22:13):

[laughs] Yeah. That’s funny you say that because the other day I joked about it. I was like, I’m the modern soccer mom. I probably fit the soccer mom stereotype in that it’s on my brain constantly. And I spend a lot of time in the car.

Jason (00:22:28):

It’s not a van with the sticker?

Cindy (00:22:30):

It’s not a van, no; it’s not a van with the sticker. It’s interesting. I went from just having kids involved in sport to actually being involved in the sport with coaching and managing teams, and I’m again coaching. I think the reason I keep doing it is I realize that at some point in our lives, someone did those things for us and the more I feel like, even though I’ve been parenting for 12 years, I feel like I’m a new parent. Every week or every day I learn something new. And just when I feel like my plate is full, I realize some kids wouldn’t have these opportunities if some of us didn’t step up to do it and something just keeps drawing me to do it, but I will. I think the one thing that keeps me going, I am a soccer mom on the sidelines that gets behind their kids and where they’re going.

Jason (00:23:15):

Good. I love it.

Cindy (00:23:15):

But it’s just such a blessing to see them doing something they love and excel at for this window of time that they’re doing it.

Jason (00:23:22):

Yes.

Cindy (00:23:23):

And I feel very fortunate that they have this interest and whether their interest changes or it goes into something else we’ll support it, but I just try to be there and be present and wear the green. Unfortunately right now they’re both on teams that wear green. So my wardrobe is easy.

Jason (00:23:38):

There you go.

Cindy (00:23:40):

In case I get the schedules wrong. I did get the schedules wrong one day, by the way. I brought the wrong kid to the wrong team picture.

Jason (00:23:46):

We sometimes leave some of our leaders at the hotel too. I mean, mistakes happen.

Cindy (00:23:50):

Did that today.

Liz (00:23:52):

I’ll own that. I’m the coordinator. I’ll take the hit.

Jason (00:23:55):

For those listening: we left Michele, our CFO, at the hotel. She went upstairs real quick to get changed. And we totally forgot… it was the “Home Alone” story of Michele.

Cindy (00:24:05):

She was there at one point.Yeah. She came down and wondered where everybody went.

Jason (00:24:07):

Yes.

Liz (00:24:07):

Yeah. We left Kevin at home. It was unfortunate.

Jason (00:24:10):

So Liz is our resident wordsmith. So I’d love to know what is your favorite word in the English language?

Liz (00:24:18):

Oh my gosh. Okay; this might be cheating. But some of my favorite words to use are words that we’ve taken from other languages, like “schadenfreude.” That word is a great one. It’s a German word, but it means, and in English too, like, taking joy in the downfall of others. I love how in German they’ll just cram words together until it’s one big, long word. Yeah. So just these concepts, like, oh, I got total schadenfreude looking at this thing unfold on the street. And it basically means like, you took pleasure in that person’s downfall. Like with that one word, it’s kind of messed up.

Jason (00:24:53):

That’s awful.

Liz (00:24:53):

I know it’s a messed up concept, but it’s a cool word.

Jason (00:24:56):

And then you’re also a musician. Tell everybody, what do you play?

Liz (00:25:01):

Yeah. Well, I’m in a, I think “band” is a strong word, a duo right now in Austin with my bandmate. I play synths and keys and do backup vocals. Bobby is our guitarist and sound engineer and lead vocalist.

Jason (00:25:19):

And you play the drums, right? Didn’t you?

Liz (00:25:20):

Yeah. I started drums and percussion in the sixth grade and did marching band all through college. So yeah, it’s been a fun side activity.

Jason (00:25:29):

I like to tell the story of when I joined the band in school. It was elementary school. I was absent and I really wanted to play the drums because I thought that was like the coolest thing, right?

Liz (00:25:38):

Yep. Yep.

Jason (00:25:38):

But I was absent and all the cool instruments got assigned or got picked. And I ended up with the tuba and the problem with that is I was a walker. And so I had to walk to school with my tuba. And so that was not a fun year of school. For those that don’t know, it’s a big instrument.

Cindy (00:25:57):

You know, we’re walkers too. And I haven’t factored that when we’re getting to the point.

Jason (00:26:00):

Yes.

Cindy (00:26:01):

Now did you ever pick up the drums?

Jason (00:26:03):

I did. Later on.

Liz (00:26:03):

Oh good.

Jason (00:26:04):

I got a drum set and I played, but yeah, the tuba was bringing back some bad memories for me. So last question for you. In one sentence, how do you sum up the internet?

Cindy (00:26:17):

The internet is a place to find something about anything.

Jason (00:26:22):

Okay; very simple. One sentence. Liz, what do you think?

Liz (00:26:25):

This is my cynicism showing, but I saw this on a meme somewhere and I thought it was so funny. It’s having all the information to make you smarter, but somehow it still makes us all dumber.

Cindy (00:26:40):

I like that one.

Jason (00:26:40):

[laughs] That is classic. Well again, thank you so much for coming all the way down here to Hollywood. We appreciate it. And I’m looking forward to an amazing year together.

Cindy (00:26:48):

Thanks.

Liz (00:26:55):

Yes. Thank you.

Jason (00:26:56):

So why don’t you both introduce yourself and tell everybody that’s listening what you do for the company.

Michele (00:27:01):

Sure; I’ll go first. I’m Michele Patrick and I’m the CFO. I’ve been with Hennessey since July of 2019, so two and a half years now. And I oversee all finance, tax, and People Success issues.

Jason (00:27:16):

Great.

Jill (00:27:16):

And my name is Jill Wenk and I’m the Director of People Success, which at other companies is called Human Resources, but we do it better here. And so I oversee recruiting, training, employee development, benefits, comp, all of those types of things.

Jason (00:27:31):

Thank you both for coming down all the way to Los Angeles to be here at Hennessey Studios. Michele pays for this place and you guys didn’t meet at Hennessey Digital, right? You guys have a little history. Tell everybody about your history.

Michele (00:27:47):

We go way back. It’s funny; I actually reminded Jill of this. I can’t remember if it was when I was trying to recruit her or after you came on board, but we’re the same age. We went to college together. She was actually my RA our sophomore year of college.

Jill (00:28:02):

Yes.

Michele (00:28:02):

So I remember her as very organized and very nice and very political. Yeah. Very diplomatic. When we were looking for somebody in HR, she came up in my LinkedIn feed and we were both in St. Louis at the time and it just kind of magically worked out.

Jason (00:28:20):

That’s awesome.

Jill (00:28:20):

Throwback! I’m like, Michele Patrick; what is she up to? So I’m like, oh my gosh, this is amazing.

Michele (00:28:27):

Yeah. Just totally wrote her a LinkedIn message one day and talked on the phone.

Jason (00:28:31):

See? The power of social media.

Jill (00:28:34):

That’s right.

Jason (00:28:34):

It was funny because last night, we’re having dinner. You weren’t there. You had come in a little bit later, but we’re sitting there having dinner and I’m talking about like, yeah, man, I threw some clothes together. I’m like there’s two types of people in the world, right? There’s those that, like me, that just kind of two hours before I got to go throw some things in a suitcase and forget your socks like I did. I didn’t pack socks. And then there’s those that take…

Michele (00:28:54):

[laughs] Oh. You weren’t kidding.

Jason (00:28:55):

… weeks to plan for a trip. Right? And, Jill, would you say you’re on the latter side of that?

Jill (00:29:01):

Oh yeah. I started shopping like three weeks ago for my outfits in LA. You’ve got to look good out here.

Jason (00:29:09):

So awesome. So, Michele, I know you just went on a pretty big international trip. Where’d you go?

Michele (00:29:16):

I did. That was a big deal. I went to Dubai.

Jason (00:29:18):

And that was your first time doing that, ever, huh?

Michele (00:29:20):

It was, yeah. It was an experience. It’s just striking. Everything about it: the culture, just aesthetically. You feel very safe there, that really struck me too.

Jason (00:29:31):

Yeah, you wouldn’t think so. That’s interesting. Is it modern, a very modern city?

Michele (00:29:35):

Yeah, it’s very modern. Very modern, but everybody just seems happy and easygoing. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not… You don’t see rowdy people or loud people. You don’t feel nervous. Nobody’s approaching you for anything. Everything just feels seamless, like you’re floating at Disneyland or something.

Jason (00:29:55):

I love it. Yeah, the keyword is “happy”, right? That’s a good transition word, because I would think that the Director or Senior Director of People Success’ job is to keep people happy. So how do we keep people happy here at Hennessey Digital, and what are some of the secrets?

Jill (00:30:16):

I think that we invest in our people. And we make meaningful efforts to really ensure that they’re successful, both in their careers and also in their personal lives. We really encourage things like one-on-ones with their managers so that people feel supported. We do extensive analysis on things, like benefits and pay, to make sure that people are satisfied in that way.

And then we’re always questioning them, surveying them, trying to understand, where do we miss? Where do we still need to improve? What are we doing great, and how can we continue to improve in that? And so, just that constant communication with them, I think they feel heard. And I think they feel pretty happy.

Jason (00:30:59):

Sure. I mean, some of the keys to the success of any company is making sure your people are happy. Keeping your people happy can keep your clients happy, right? So that’s why we are putting so much time, energy, and resources into those departments. I know we’ve applied for and have even won a couple awards this year. Maybe talk a little bit about some of those.

Michele (00:31:26):

Quite a few marketing awards. You can talk about some of the People Success-related awards, but also we made the Inc. 5000 list for the third year in a row, which is a huge feat.

Jill (00:31:38):

We won Best Places to Work for Remote Workers. Yeah, it was an amazing type of award, because nowadays remote is so much more common that I feel like the competition and even the questions that they ask are so in-depth. And we could very confidently go through and say, yes, we offer this and yes, we offer this and yes, they’re allowed to do whatever.

Jill (00:32:02):

And so, it was more in-depth than the surveys that I’ve completed in the past. And so to win that award and then to have our employees feel… they have to respond to all of those questions. They have to also agree that we’re a Best Place to Work. And so to have both of those things lined up was really awesome.

Jason (00:32:18):

Yeah. So, it’s interesting: the whole remote thing, a lot of people are remote now because they were forced to be remote, right? For us, we were remote before Zoom was cool. It was a strategy for us. So, I guess Jill, let me ask you. Being that we are remote, what are some unique ways that we as a company can stay connected, being a remote company? What are your thoughts there?

Jill (00:32:42):

It leads back to communication; all roads lead back to communication. We have biweekly meetings, the all-hands meetings where we’re talking about each department and company updates. We do town halls and we really encourage questions and require everyone to attend those to make sure that they get the important pieces of information that they need for their job, and just to be a part of us. So we do that.

The one-on-one meetings are really important and we use a system as well to support those meetings where we can document, what do we talk about? Do we need to go back to it? And make sure that we’re really managing them well. But we do tons of fun things on our Culture Crew. So, our Culture Crew is a group of individuals, international and domestic, that all meet once a month and plan fun events. So the ugly sweater contest and the Halloween dress-up contest is the more standard, but then we do a little more creative-type events, like pet competitions and…

Michele (00:33:51):

Oh yeah.

Jill (00:33:51):

March Madness. That was fun, March Madness, which is March Meowness or March Moo-ness.

Michele (00:33:56):

The cow won. [laughs]

Jason (00:34:01):

The thing I love is, Apple has now recognized the word “Henniversary.”

Jill (00:34:05):

That’s amazing.

Jason (00:34:08):

What is a Henniversary, for those that don’t know? It sounds pretty self explanatory, right?

Michele (00:34:11):

Yeah. It’s a work anniversary, a one-year, two-year, three-year, etc. at Hennessey Digital.

Jason (00:34:18):

That’s awesome. So CFO Michele, tell me a little bit more about your team and what does a day look like being the CEO of Hennessey Digital?

Michele (00:34:30):

Sure. So, right now I oversee both Finance and People Success. And on the Finance team, we have an Accountant and a Junior Accountant. And then on People Success, we have Jill, she’s the Senior Director now, with the recent promotion. Congratulations to Jill.

Jason (00:34:42):

See, that’s what I said…

Michele (00:34:45):

So, it’s varied a lot. As we’ve brought new people on, it’s been amazing because I feel like I have more tentacles to get things done. Jill has just taken complete ownership of everything HR. It’s amazing what she’s been able to implement and see through that we started, before she came on board. But mostly I’m in the numbers.

So now that I’ve passed off HR for the most part, I’m in the books and doing a lot of training with our accounting team right now. And we’re constantly building out new customer reports so we get more transparent with different departments, whatever their needs are, so that they can look into client data, where we need improvement and they can see real-time financials.

Jason (00:35:28):

Sure. What Michele’s not saying is that our finances were a mess. She came here and she had to do a lot of cleaning up, for sure.

Michele (00:35:35):

Organization and budgeting and tax planning and we have several entities.

Jason (00:35:39):

All the classes that I failed in college. So, part of what we do, right, is we measure how well we’re doing with employees. So Jill, talk a little bit about what we do to measure success. What do we learn from it? And maybe some of the things that we’re going to be rolling out next year for our employees.

Jill (00:36:02):

We run, twice a year, an employee engagement survey, which is an employee NPS survey. It’s very open-ended, so employees are free to complete it however they want. They can add in any comments they want; unrestricted, anonymous, completely anonymous. And then we tally up that information and we summarize it and we look at it as a group. I look at it with the executives to say, hey, these are the things that people are bringing up. How can we address these issues?

So, that’s probably our number one measure that we use, but we have a lot of other measures that are sort of smaller measures, for example, our performance review process and our OKR system. Each year, we set goals for our team members. We measure their performance, and we also measure them based on upholding our company values. Not just are they working and achieving their goals, but are they being inclusive and are they being honest and transparent? Are they doing the right thing by the client, by other employees? And so, we actually have a measurement system in our review process that will help us understand as a company. People like me, who don’t work with everyone every day, how everyone’s doing on the whole.

And so, we can watch that progress as we check in throughout the year, where we can watch to see goals being accomplished in live time to say, okay, oh, look at that, so and so just checked off a couple of their objectives for the quarter. And then they close them out and they also get to see that, check a hundred percent, this task has been completed. So, I would think those are the main ways that we…

Michele (00:37:38):

And I think we talk a lot about our values, too. When we created that system, we wanted people to know this isn’t just on our website. We’re not checking a box. We want to be a company that values our values to the point that it’s now on our reviews, it’s part of our annual review process. So, every recognition or being, or giving recognition, also comes through on your review each year.

I think employees really appreciate that because they do want to know that they work for a company that is very mission-driven and that you have a real commitment to building community and collaborating. And I think that’s really important, in terms of building a healthy and psychologically safe—that’s a big, hot word, hot term now—workplace, because you don’t always feel totally at ease, to the point where you can truly pull out your own greatest potential.

Jason (00:38:28):

Yeah, that whole recognition channel that we put into Slack. When I was in the military for four years, I did the Air Force. And a big part of being in the military is public recognition, where they give awards and then you wear the awards on your… right here. And then people salute people. That was something that I learned from the military and we incorporated as a bunch of leaders into our company. And so now people are recognizing each other and they have to tie it to our core values. And then when somebody gets recognized, they get a spin on our wheel and we give away prizes. And so it’s really awesome to see everybody recognizing each other, in a public setting like that.

Michele (00:39:09):

And I think we’ve done a good job of constantly adding on to that. We’re constantly thinking of new prizes to give away, new incentives. This year we’re giving away an award for the person who gave the most shout-outs. So, not just who’s receiving them, but the person who’s committed to recognizing everyone.

Jason (00:39:24):

So I talked about my history of being in the military. You have a pretty fascinating history too.

Michele (00:39:31):

[laughs] I’ve lived a lot of lives.

Jason (00:39:32):

You were a former NFL cheerleader. Tell me a little bit about that.

Michele (00:39:37):

That is true. Lifelong dancer, cheered and danced in college, actually. And my senior year I tried out for the NFL because one of my friends on my college dance team had tried out. And I thought, “Oh, I should try out. That would be fun.”

Jason (00:39:52):

And which team were you trying out for?

Michele (00:39:54):

For the Rams when they were in St. Louis. And got the call, made the team, it was so exciting. It’s just a whole different level when you’re in a stadium of that size and fans of that caliber. And it’s just amazing being on a team like that too. I always loved being on a team where you were competing together. So in the NFL, we’re mostly cheering and performing, but in dance, you’re always winning together and you’re celebrating together, and everything that everybody does matters. That’s what I loved about being on a team like that.

And so you celebrate, you win together, you learn from the setbacks together. We had so many cool traditions that I feel translate into the workforce and into the business world. We practice gratitude before every performance, we would say what we were grateful for. How much we put into everything, preparing for this moment. And everything was always just catered to being together and growing together and cheering for everyone, not just us, but other teams, right? So, even in college, you’re cheering for the basketball team, the soccer team, women’s, men’s, you’re just always rooting for everybody and bringing everybody together. And I feel like that does wonders in the business world too.

Jason (00:41:03):

You answered my next question so I don’t even have to ask it. I was going to ask what are some of the traits that you learned from cheerleading as your role as a CFO? But you just answered it.

Michele (00:41:11):

Oh, how funny. Yeah.

Jason (00:41:12):

You’re reading my mind. So, I’m going to ask a final question. I’m going to ask both of you. I’m going to start with you, Jill. What is a holiday that doesn’t exist yet? If you were to create a holiday, what would that holiday be?

Jill (00:41:29):

Oh, a holiday. I’m not really the creative person on the team.

Michele (00:41:44):

I can give one. So, a special holiday is, “Team Hennessey goes to Hawaii Day.” It’s in the Vivid Vision.

Jason (00:41:49):

It is. We’re going to get a house in Maui, overlooking the ocean. See? Okay.

Michele (00:41:55):

Hawaii Day.

Jason (00:41:55):

Hawaii Day. I’m sure there’s a Pizza Day, right? I like pizza.

Michele (00:41:59):

Yeah, there’s a National Pizza Day.

Jason (00:42:00):

See, I think Hallmark is responsible for making a lot of these holidays, right? Because we sell cards.

Michele (00:42:06):

Oh, Hallmark Day.

Jason (00:42:07):

See? Yeah.

Jill (00:42:10):

Oh, I would say “National Outdoors Day.”

Jason (00:42:12):

There you go. We have to force everybody to go sleep outside.

Jill (00:42:18):

Everybody outside, yep. No screen day, something like that.

Jason (00:42:25):

That’s a good one.

Michele (00:42:25):

That’s probably what needs to happen.

Jason (00:42:25):

“No Screen Day.” I like that.

Jill (00:42:25):

That’s where our love for camping comes in, and really I’m not a camper, I’m a glamper but…

Jason (00:42:29):

Big difference.

Michele (00:42:29):

We can do “No Screen Day in Hawaii.” Ultimate holiday.

Jason (00:42:33):

There you go, let’s make those official.

Jill (00:42:37):

Right, can we get that approved? I’m kidding, that’s awesome.

Jason (00:42:40):

Well, thank you both for coming in and flying out here and being part of this retreat, and I’m really excited to grow with the both of you next year.

Michele (00:42:49):

It’s so good to see you.

Jason (00:42:50):

Likewise.

Michele (00:42:50):

In person.

Jason (00:42:50):

In person.

Jill (00:42:51):

Yes. Thank you so much.

Michele (00:42:53):

Thanks, Jason.

Jason (00:42:59):

All right: Brian Mossman and Rob Coleman. Two guys that I spent a lot of time with on Zoom and on the road, right; because we do a lot of conferences together. Rob, do you remember how we met? How did we first meet?

Rob (00:43:13):

It was a long time ago, over 10 years ago. And at the time, I was working for a nonprofit organization, the AJGA. And as I recall, it was somebody on my team who had read an article of yours in the Washington Post. And at that time, none of us really knew much about SEO, but you’d written about SEO. And we said, “This is something we should know about. Let’s see if we can’t meet Jason Hennessey. He lives here in Atlanta.” We were in Atlanta, and so that’s where we brought you into our office. And you came in and graciously shared a lot of information about SEO with us, and then I think maybe after that we went and hit the golf course.

Jason (00:43:55):

That’s right. We did, yes. And then later on you would then transition and become a client of my old agency. And then later on, an opportunity came up and I had the privilege of bringing you over to Hennessey Digital. So yeah.

Rob (00:44:11):

That was awesome. Having known you for that long, knowing the kind of person you are and having that opportunity then to come and work for you. Very cool. I jumped at it.

Jason (00:44:23):

And now, tell everybody listening, what do you do for Hennessey Digital?

Rob (00:44:27):

So I’m the Director of Business Development. And what that means is really looking at the holistic growth of Hennessey Digital. How can I help this company grow? Not just through sales, which we have Brian Mossman who’s Director of Sales; the master of sales. But even beyond sales, really looking at what are some other things we can do? Building the infrastructure. How are we going to improve our processes that we go through to meet new clients or meet new prospective clients? And then, how are we then going to go about introducing them to us? Let them see the benefits of working with us and get them right into the sales process with Brian.

Jason (00:45:12):

Yeah. So Brian, I think you found me through a Craigslist ad or something. Tell the story.

Brian (00:45:19):

Yeah. I think it was; it was Craigslist. I just transitioned to Las Vegas from Hawaii and I was looking to rent a house and saw an ad from Craigslist on a rental property. And it was a brand-new, gorgeous home. I think it was 3,500 square feet and had all the bells and whistles that I wanted in a house. And I met you and you leased me the house. And it started with just myself there at the house and then grew to me and a little puppy. And that was in Las Vegas up on the hill. I think the address was 1465 Big Bar.

Jason (00:45:54):

Yeah, it was definitely Big Bar. I don’t know if that was the number.

Brian (00:46:00):

Yeah. It was definitely a Big Bar and we had a lot of mutual friends that we uncovered through that process. And so our friendship grew over the years and we stayed in touch, through your early stages, in some of your other ventures that you did and just continued to foster a friendship.

Jason (00:46:22):

Oh, for sure, yeah. And then what Brian’s not telling you is, he was like the king of Las Vegas. Anybody that needed anything back then, and even now, Brian is your guy.

Brian (00:46:34):

For sure. Yeah, Vegas definitely has my charisma and matching the lights. They both seem to shine bright. So, it’s definitely a town where I can thrive, that’s for sure.

Jason (00:46:48):

It’s so funny because, just candidly speaking, right. Because I know we joke about this internally, but Rob and Brian, couldn’t be more polar opposites, right?

Brian (00:46:59):

Isn’t that the truth?

Jason (00:47:00):

And I like to say, so we travel a lot together and do a lot of conferences together. And there comes a point in the night, right? Around 11, 11:30, where you have two choices. There’s going to be two Ubers that pull up. And it’s going to be either the Rob Uber, that’s taking you back to the hotel, where you’re going to get some sleep and wake up at like 7:00 AM and be downstairs at the booth, right? Or there’s the Brian Uber, that’s going somewhere else, where it’s going to be a party and networking. And both are working, right? But just different times of the night and during the day. So having said that, being so polar opposite, how are you guys somewhat of the same, too?

Rob (00:47:44):

Well, I think first and foremost, I mean, both of us have the best interest of you and our agency and of our clients at heart. And honestly doing what I do, if I didn’t have full confidence that our team at Hennessey Digital can back up everything that I tell somebody in the sales process, I’d feel really bad about ever bringing in somebody new. But instead I feel totally confident because I know that we’re going to do everything we can ethically to serve every new client. So that’s why I love helping all of us grow this agency. I think that’s probably where Brian and I really share that in common.

Brian (00:48:27):

Yeah. I definitely agree with that. We definitely both have the same passion and integrity and disciplined work ethic. You know, I can send Rob an email at 12 at night and it’s 3:00 AM in Atlanta and he’s responding to me and that really weighs heavy in my role. Then I think I’ve earned some of Rob’s respect, with my work ethic and my sales techniques and tactics.

And also at the same time, I have a lot of respect for Rob, who he is as a person, as a family person, some of the community outreach he’s done and things to that nature, that are just up and above what most human beings would expect to be, a quality role model and human being. And Rob exemplifies that with his family and so on. So I have a lot of courtesy and respect for that. So, I think that allows us to interact seamlessly together, even knowing the fact that we’re on two different spectrums. Rob works the morning shift and I work the evening shift. Okay, it’s a little different deal.

Rob (00:49:23):

And Brian’s an awesome family guy too, the way he takes care of his son and what you do to sacrifice for him.

Jason (00:49:31):

Yeah, we’ll talk a little bit about that for sure. What do you think is one of the most enjoyable parts of your job?

Rob (00:49:40):

Most enjoyable parts? So, I would have to say that… well, there’s two things. One, I love analyzing websites’ SEO, just the process that goes in because I’ve always been a very analytical person. And so, really digging in and trying to figure out what’s going on with websites SEO. How can it be improved and building a strategy, love doing that. And then, probably the thing that maybe surprises me that I really enjoy, because if you go back to when I was eight years old, 12 years old, 14, I was painfully shy. I did not want to talk to anybody.

And now, I do that all day. I’m going to conferences and you’re having to really go out and just talk to anybody and everybody you can. And the fact that I actually do that and enjoy it. My 12-year-old self, never would’ve thought.

Jason (00:50:34):

Would be so proud of who you are now, right?

Rob (00:50:36):

Yeah, right.

Jason (00:50:37):

Very cool. What do you think, Brian, what do you enjoy about your job?

Brian (00:50:40):

I just enjoy… It’s been a challenge and I want to learn. I’m a perfectionist and a student of studying to master things. And so, following your guidance and all the framework that you set up when I first started has allowed me to just have this new passion for something that is exciting. I was in a rhythm in what I was doing previous to this, but I’ve had a lot of marketing and advertising experience and so it correlates to that. But I love that. And I love meeting the people within the industry.

We, of course, work with a lot of law firms, but at the conferences, I’ve really had an opportunity to enjoy some of the passion that these trial lawyers have. And some of the knowledge they have and really, it all comes down to high-level closing techniques that they utilize in the courtroom. It intrigues me, it’s exciting to me, it makes me want to get involved and be a part of that. And then to watch us, to be able to deliver and have fun with the results that we do for our clients, it’s rewarding.

Jason (00:51:45):

So now, most people that are listening might not know this about you, but you are a black belt. Not just a black belt, but a… what degree?

Brian (00:51:54):

Yes. Fifth degree.

Jason (00:51:55):

Fifth degree. When did you get started with that?

Brian (00:51:57):

I started martial arts when I was 5, did karate till I was 12, American Karate with Red Dragon Karate Schools here in California. Then I left and I went into Taekwondo, so I could go to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. And that year, I made it as far as the Olympic training camp in Colorado Springs and I got a pulled muscle. But the guy who won the gold that year is Herb Perez in ’92. And he and I would go back and forth, competing all year where I would win, he would win.

So, I was really seeded to win the Olympics and it was a dream of mine. After that, I ended up opening one of my own martial arts schools and was a partner with Jason David Frank, who’s the Green Power Ranger. I was with his brother on the show, Eric Frank, I mean in my studio, him and I. Played off the whole Power Rangers monopoly and the growth, and did a lot of stunt choreography and in a lot of different movies.

I worked on Renegades with Lorenzo Lamas. I worked on Power Rangers of course, worked on Baywatch in a fight scene one time, which was really cool. And all I cared about was the good food they had on the set. I thought it was great, it was really healthy. And then I ended up moving. I wanted a change of scenery. So I moved to Hawaii, sold my karate school, felt like I let down my students and my kids had been with me and I said, “I’ll never teach again until I have my own kid.” Well, my son ended up doing karate with me until he was about nine or 10 and he was really good.

He’s got some really cool YouTube videos on it and so on, but he wouldn’t do the moves the way I’d tell him, “Frankie, do the move this way.” He says, “Sensei Carlos told me to do it that way.” I’m like, “Carlos is my student, Frank. I think we need to identify who sensei is.” And so he didn’t want to do karate and I didn’t want to force it on him, or martial arts, I should say. And I didn’t want to force it on him. So, we transitioned from that to where he is at now. Hopefully, an aspiring professional race car driver.

Jason (00:53:55):

That’s so awesome. So now, everything that you just said, takes a lot of discipline, right? How do you think the lessons that you learn in martial arts apply to business?

Brian (00:54:09):

It’s all core values, like how we have our core values within the agency. It’s the integrity, abdominal spirit, perseverance, discipline, mindset, control, but ultimately it comes back down to the self-discipline of just… Nobody really needed to motivate me as what I had in my life with the martial arts, I was self motivated and I continued to be that way. And so, it’s any type of business, I apply all those same principles into what I do daily, because I hold myself accountable. And so, it seems to make me successful.

Jason (00:54:45):

That’s awesome. So Rob, if I was Rob growing up and becoming a man and getting married and having four daughters…

Rob (00:54:58):

Four daughters.

Jason (00:54:59):

What is life like, having four daughters?

Rob (00:55:03):

Yeah. It’s every bit as amazing as you can possibly think it is. I mean, being a dad to girls and, you know, because you’ve got a daughter, right? It’s just, I don’t know what it’s like to have a boy, but I know having girls and having four of them, is really an amazing blessing and the excitement in my house and what’s happening, and finding things to do with your daughters. I couldn’t imagine anything different, or how it could possibly be better.

Jason (00:55:42):

It’s so awesome because when he starts talking about his daughters, he glows.

Brian (00:55:45):

Lights up, doesn’t he?

Jason (00:55:46):

Yeah. Did you notice that?

Brian (00:55:47):

Oh yeah, his energy changes.Eyes, body posture, everything.

Brian (00:55:50):

It really does.

Rob (00:55:51):

Yeah. I wasn’t sure you’re going to, or I didn’t expect you to ask me about my daughters. Once you get me thinking about my family, yeah, that’s everything we do, right? I think for all three of us, being dads, that’s everything that we do in our lives, that you really do with that eye towards your kids and how can I help my kids be the best they can be?

Jason (00:56:11):

Yeah. And what would you say is, I know that we’re a remote company, right. But on the same side, we’re also a family at Hennessey. Talk a little bit about what it’s like to work for Hennessey, and other people that you work with?

Rob (00:56:25):

Well, I think it starts for me, just with how dedicated and how intelligent and just how willing everybody is, to take all of their expertise to benefit the clients, but at the same time, I just feel like we all work really well together.

Rob (00:56:46):

I’ve never met anybody here that you’re thinking, “Oh, this person…” No, it’s a really cool team of people that we work with and everybody helps everybody out. And so it’s very much the kind of family that you want to be a part of.

Jason (00:57:03):

What do you think, Brian?

Brian (00:57:05):

Yeah, I agree with that. But my biggest appreciation is, they’re all smarter than me. So, I wouldn’t say I’m the brightest person in the world when it comes to what I’ve seen with MIT grads and some of the MBAs that our employees have. But they’re so helpful to be resourceful, where I can utilize my skill set and combined with theirs. It’s masterful, it’s really successful and it’s fun. And it helps us thrive, which makes me happy. And they’re so… They’re just a neat group of people, once you meet them personally.

This week, being our first and to meet some of our employees personally, it’s special, because they’re all, what we see and what we know. But when you’re in front of them, I think… I was just given a small presentation. They’re like, “Wow, that was pretty dynamic.” And I was like, ” Well, that’s where I can thrive. And you don’t really see all that come out when- Well, that’s where I can thrive and you don’t really see all that come out when I’m talking on Zoom.

Jason (00:58:04):

Yeah, I agree.

Brian (00:58:05):

And so, I appreciate their confidence in me and it goes a long way with my respect for them, with how hard they all work. Like Rob said, their dedication to our company.

Jason (00:58:17):

I’m going to end with one question and just make it a short answer. But what is one bucket list item that you still want to complete in life?

Rob (00:58:26):

Oh, it’s got to be something to do with travel. So, I would say traveling to the other side of the world. Australia, Japan, China, anywhere.

Jason (00:58:35):

Okay, cool. What do you think, Brian?

Brian (00:58:37):

I want to get married.

Jason (00:58:39):

Okay.

Brian (00:58:39):

Yeah. Never been married, had a lot of fun.

Jason (00:58:43):

All right. So, if you’re listening out there, got this good looking guy waving to the camera right now. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I know it wasn’t a long drive for you, Brian, but you flew the furthest to be here, Rob. So, thank you. Appreciate you both and look forward to an exciting year together.

Brian (00:59:01):

Great.

Rob (00:59:02):

Likewise.

Brian (00:59:02):

Thank you.

Rob (00:59:03):

Thanks, Jason.

Jason (00:59:13):

All right. Well, I am excited to have my next two guests here with me at Hennessey Studios, both local, huh!

Steve (00:59:24):

We are.

Jason (00:59:24):

Both local. Well, let’s start with you, Jason. Tell us who you are and what you do for the company.

Jason C (00:59:30):

Yeah. My Name is Jason Covert. I’m the Creative Director of Hennessey Digital and my job entails making clients very excited about their new website, and things for the Hennessey company, Hennessey Studios, graphic-related things. And anything graphic-related or media-related you can count on me to help out with.

Jason (00:59:51):

Yeah, I think you designed the logo that’s on this building.

Jason C (00:59:53):

I think so.

Jason (00:59:54):

See, you should love it. And speaking of this building, we’ve got somebody here that’s usually in front of the microphone and not behind the microphone.

Steve (01:00:01):

That’s right. That’s right.

Jason (01:00:02):

Right. So, tell everybody who you are and what you do.

Steve (01:00:04):

Sure. I’m Steve Sanborn and I’m the General Manager for Hennessey Studios. And I look after making sure the building and the facilities operate correctly and attracting clients and making sure that we’re profitable to Hennessey Group.

Jason (01:00:16):

Awesome. So, let’s start with the studio here for a second, Steve. So, most people are only seeing the actual room, this podcast room, which is just a small piece of what happens here at Hennessey Studios. So tell everybody listening what really happens behind the walls back there.

Steve (01:00:36):

Right. So, the studio is comprised of several different types of facilities. So we have the podcast studio here that’s well equipped and then separate from this, we have a video stage that we shoot both a full-sized, pre-lit, 16×9 green screen, as well as a video stage with a black floor that’s polished concrete. And then that’s combined with a video control room that we’re able to do live shoots or we can record the shoots, et cetera. And then we have the server room where we have all the network and have all of the storage on premise as well as remote access for editing.

Jason (01:01:16):

So, tell the listeners where we’re located and why it’s so special.

Steve (01:01:21):

Sure. So, we’re in the Arts District of North Hollywood, or NoHo as it’s abbreviated to. And we’re on the campus of the Television Academy which is responsible for all of the governance and the Emmy Awards that happen around the various guilds. So, whether it’s directors or producers or shows or art directors or it’s wardrobe or hair and makeup, the Emmys look after all of those awards both locally as well as nationally.

Jason (01:01:49):

And we also share a neighbor that is special to you, too.

Steve (01:01:54):

Sure. So, we’re next door to the professional Stoma Association. And when I took the job, I didn’t know they were here, but they’re our next-door neighbors. And it’s my stepfather that’s the founder of the Stoma Association.

Jason (01:02:07):

Wow.

Steve (01:02:09):

So, back 55, 60 years ago, something like that.

Jason (01:02:13):

What are the chances of that? That’s amazing.

Steve (01:02:14):

Yeah. Very random, yeah.

Jason (01:02:18):

And so, Hollywood is not new to you, Jason.

Jason C (01:02:21):

Not at all.

Jason (01:02:21):

Right. So tell me a little bit about… Because I think you were here, you left.

Jason C (01:02:26):

Yeah.

Jason (01:02:26):

And then roads also brought you back here. Tell that story.

Jason C (01:02:28):

That’s right. I came out here when I was 17 to be a rock star, like a lot of people and loved Los Angeles. Some of the funnest times I had in my life were in LA. But life happens. Got into some other businesses and got into computers really heavily. And me and my wife actually moved to the Midwest to start a family and that’s where I had my son Miles, and he grew up. But then as he graduated from high school, we wanted to have fun again. So, we decided to move back out here to Hollywood. And we went right to the center of Hollywood. That’s our spot. We really liked that energy and it’s not for everybody for sure. But we like it. We like it. We like that enthusiasm and we like people that are trying to follow their dreams.

Jason (01:03:10):

And you and your son have a very special bond. Right?

Jason C (01:03:12):

We do.

Jason (01:03:13):

You guys have a music group together. Tell me more about that.

Jason C (01:03:16):

We make old-school hip hop like Cypress Hill and those kinds of groups. But we do that all at our house and we have a huge record collection and we have fun going through records and finding bits and putting them together. And that’s our father-son project called Funkratz. That’s the name of our group.

Jason (01:03:32):

That’s awesome.

Jason C (01:03:33):

So yeah, we do. We do that for fun and we love hanging out with each other. He’s my best friend and we have a good time.

Jason (01:03:39):

And I could tell. Great kid, by the way.

Jason C (01:03:42):

Thank you.

Jason (01:03:42):

So, tell me a little bit more about, what does a day look like as being the Creative Director of Hennessey Digital?

Jason C (01:03:48):

Yeah. We are responsible for problem-solving; using imagery and graphics to solve problems. And we go well beyond just regular graphic design, I’d say not just putting elements on a page. We want to understand what the strategy is. We want to help the clients or whoever that is. We don’t just take what we’re given and spit something out. We really want to research what’s the overall goal of the project and how can we make it come to life in an exciting way. Because we really believe in entertainment and there’s so much media and graphics and content in front of everybody these days that we really feel it’s imperative to stand out in some way. And I always talk about courage within my group because I do think there is an element of courage, just being able to walk out and maybe have a crazy idea. Maybe you’re going to get laughed at. Maybe it’s going to get nagged. I don’t know. But it’s more important to us to get people thinking than it is to stay safe.

Jason (01:04:48):

Yeah, and what does your team look like?

Jason C (01:04:50):

Team? I’ve got a great designer, Jasper, another great designer, Landon. I’ve got a girl named Roma who is in the Philippines, who’s awesome; one of our best designers we’ve had. So, yeah. Our team is coming along good and I’m the old guy on the team but they’re learning a lot and they’re great people. I’d help any of them move. I always say that.

Jason (01:05:11):

Yeah. They say that’s the key question there, right?

Jason C (01:05:14):

Yeah.

Jason (01:05:15):

Would you pull up your truck to help them unlift some furniture and bring it downstairs? And if those are three team members that you would do that for, that says a lot.

Jason C (01:05:22):

Yeah. That’s right.

Jason (01:05:23):

How does a creative director get inspired? What inspires you?

Jason C (01:05:30):

I look at companies that are a lot bigger than us, to be honest.

Jason (01:05:34):

Mm-hmm.

Jason C (01:05:34):

I look at AT&T and Pepsi and companies that have huge budgets and I try to piggyback on the knowledge that they’ve learned.

Jason (01:05:43):

Sure.

Jason C (01:05:44):

I assume that they’ve done market research and I look at what angles they’re trying to use. And I try to steal some of that for us, maybe a little bit, or borrow some of it.

Jason (01:05:52):

Interesting.

Jason C (01:05:55):

It’s the strangest thing. I started off graphic design, like a lot of people just want to make cool stuff, but as I get older, I’m accidentally learning some stuff about graphics and messaging. So, for instance we have a little project that we went through in our group where I went like, “This is what a first-year designer looks like.” And it’s got some words on a page. And then a third-year designer, oh, he’s getting fancier, he’s got some background graphics. Then a fifth-year, oh, he’s even fancier, now he’s got multiple panels and things in the background and drop shadows and all that. But then interestingly, you go to the 10- year designer, that stuff starts coming away, right? And then 20-year designer, you get what I call the McDonald’s two-for-one special sign, which is a picture of the product, limited time, $1.99 and you’re out of there. You know what I mean? Not a lot of fluff, just really focusing on the message. And it becomes not as much about graphics as it is about just saying the right thing in the right sequence.

Jason (01:06:54):

Yeah. I’ve heard and I don’t know if this is true or not but there’s something that Apple does, Right? Where the designers will create a concept of how they want to sell the iPhone, Right? The new iPhone that comes out, right? And so the graphic designers will work on the page and they’ll make it amazing, right? And then somebody will come in and say, “This is amazing. Take 30% away and make it say the same thing.”

Jason C (01:07:19):

Absolutely.

Jason (01:07:19):

Right?

Jason C (01:07:20):

Absolutely.

Jason (01:07:20):

And then they’ll do it again.

Jason C (01:07:22):

Yeah.

Jason (01:07:22):

Right? And that’s why when you go to look at Apple’s website, it’s so clean, there’s a lot of good use of white space. It’s one of the best examples of how you should do graphic design in my opinion.

Jason C (01:07:33):

Yeah.

Jason (01:07:33):

Do you believe in that?

Jason C (01:07:34):

I do. And I would say that what’s causing that is it… I don’t think any of us understood from a user perspective how negative it is when they see too much information. It’s not like they read a little bit and then go away. They just decide not to engage in any of it and so it’s really important that you give them only what they need. In fact, we’ll look at a paragraph at a headline for instance and we’ll sit there and think, how can we make this paragraph more enticing? Like, “Now, I want to read it.” Versus if you scrunch it together, “Oh, I don’t want to read that. That’s complicated.”

Jason (01:08:09):

Completely agree.

Jason C (01:08:09):

Yeah, we look for ways to make it seem easier to the user. It may not be easy but we make it seem that way.

Jason (01:08:15):

Got It. So Steve, I want to ask you, so what does a normal day look like for Steve?

Steve (01:08:23):

Sure. So, I’m on the phone with potential clients and with clients I’m on the phone with staff to ensure that we’ve got technical operations lined up and the specs are being met on site, making sure that we’ve got our production personnel where they need to be; when they need to be, looking after; making sure the equipment’s running, that sort of thing and files and that sort of thing. And just making sure that the client experience is driving the product that they want to create.

Jason (01:08:51):

Sure. Yeah, it’s interesting. So, when I had this vision because when I met you, this was just a vision, right?

Steve (01:08:59):

Right. Yes it was.

Jason (01:09:01):

I mean, yes it was. I think we had already committed to being in this place here but we didn’t know what equipment we were going to get. We didn’t know how much things were going to cost. And walk me through how you were able to listen to me and Scott with the vision and execute it. Walk me through what that all entailed.

Steve (01:09:20):

Sure. So, it was really listening to you and what you wanted to achieve and then to articulate that vision in a way that you and Scott could digest it and absorb it in the various pieces. Because it’s not just one thing like here’s vision and that, it’s just that, right?

Jason (01:09:40):

Mm-hmm.

Steve (01:09:40):

You have to take into account the facility. You have to take into account where you are in the marketplace, what the property itself can and cannot deliver. You don’t want to put in let’s just say a dollar’s worth of gear in here when really the facility is only worth putting 50 cents worth of gear in.

Jason (01:10:00):

Sure.

Steve (01:10:01):

The next step was okay, that’s the vision we’ve defined for the market. We’ve defined our position in the market. And then from there it was defining what kind of specifications on a technical basis, what are the workflows? What are the services we want to deliver and what are the services we’re not going to deliver? And then the suppliers that could help us get us there. And then of course, getting that gear in and getting it installed and getting it operated.

Jason (01:10:27):

And so, there’s three different types of audiences, right? So, there’s those that do it for themselves at home with just an iPhone.

Steve (01:10:36):

Right.

Jason (01:10:36):

And then the complete opposite spectrum. There’s the professional studios that are just a couple miles away from here.

Steve (01:10:41):

Right.

Jason (01:10:41):

That’s like Hollywood.

Steve (01:10:42):

Right.

Jason (01:10:43):

Talk a little bit about who are we trying to cater to.

Steve (01:10:45):

Right. So we defined our market as being what I would call a mid-range solution at a premium location. And so, we are targeting those that are really wanting to take their YouTube, their TikTok; those social media stars; their Instagrams, the Tumblers, et cetera. They want to take their game to the next level. They don’t really know how to do all their marketing. They want to up their production values. They want to really get serious about that and not just be sitting in their apartment all the time and really try and make a career out of it rather than just trying things out. And that’s really our first principal market. Our second principal market of course, are businesses that are looking to promote themselves in a social media environment. So, our focus here is to deliver content online in a social media environment as a deliverable for them.

Jason (01:11:43):

Yeah. So, you two just came together recently to develop a website. What website was that?

Jason C (01:11:52):

Hennesseystudios.com.

Jason (01:11:52):

Hennesseystudios.com, right? We have a live website!

Steve (01:11:57):

And Jason’s team and Jason did a great job getting it across the line and really envisioning what was going to work best for us.

Jason (01:12:03):

But I love most about that though and I agree. But what I love most about that is, so when Steve was presenting the website to me, right?

Jason C (01:12:12):

Mm-hmm.

Jason (01:12:12):

I was like, “Oh, this is awesome.” Right? And like, “Okay, I had a couple things of feedback.” Right? And then we were done. And then Steve, you were like, “Oh, that was pretty easy.” Jason said to be prepared…

Steve (01:12:22):

That’s true.

Jason (01:12:24):

… when you’re presenting this website to Jason Hennessey. Why do you say that? Yeah.

Steve (01:12:30):

No, because you’re always very honest. I love that.

Jason (01:12:33):

Mm-hmm.

Steve (01:12:33):

No reason to pull punches. Say what you think, if he didn’t like it—

Jason C (01:12:38):

You’re the one who told me to wear my flak jacket.

Steve (01:12:40):

Yeah. Yeah. But that’s okay. That’s okay. Sometimes, I’ve been working on something so long that I don’t necessarily… I may not feel a thousand percent about it but I was glad that you liked it and you didn’t pick it apart too bad. So, I thought it was successful. But we’re trying to hit the moon every time, honestly. And so…

Jason (01:13:01):

Yeah. And I think you’re doing a great job. Yeah. For sure. Well listen, this has been really awesome. I appreciate both. One final question that I have for both of you is what are you looking forward to in the next year? What are you looking forward to?

Jason C (01:13:16):

Being out of the pandemic in California.

Jason (01:13:18):

Okay.

Jason C (01:13:19):

And having more successful, happy clients. We really like making clients happy. We like blowing people away and we love it when our boss gets emails from our clients saying what a great job we’ve done on their website build and stuff like that. So, we’re really into it for the enthusiasm, I’d say.

Jason (01:13:36):

Awesome. What do you think Steve?

Steve (01:13:38):

I’d really like to see Hennessey Studios become a hit factory. So many recording studios in Los Angeles that I’ve worked in the past got really great reputations for becoming the den of music for hit makers.

Jason (01:13:53):

Sure.

Steve (01:13:53):

And I’d like for Hennessey Studios to become that.

Jason (01:13:55):

That’s great. Okay, and thank you both for traveling not so far to be here today but it’s been a pleasure.

Jason C (01:14:03):

Thank you.

Steve (01:14:11):

Thank you.

Jason (01:14:13):

All right. Well my next two guests, thank you so much for coming all the way here. We’ll start with you, Jessica. Tell those listening who you are and what you do.

Jessica (01:14:24):

Great. Well, I am Jessica Rowe. I am the Director of Client Services at Hennessey Digital. So, I started at Hennessey about two years ago. Started as an Account Manager, worked my way up to Director. So now I oversee our client services team which interfaces directly with our clients, providing them all of the updates, guidance, everything we’re doing on their account. And also talk to clients about what their priorities are and making sure that the internal team also has all of the information they need to craft the best and strongest strategy custom for our clients.

Jason (01:15:01):

Yeah. How you summarize that in just a quick little synopsis when you do so much more.

Matt (01:15:08):

That was impressive.

Jason (01:15:09):

That was impressive. And Matt, why don’t you tell everybody what you do and who you are.

Matt (01:15:13):

I’m Matt McLean, Vice President of Operations. I oversee the operational functions of client accounts and campaigns as it relates to efficiencies and results for clients. I work with a lot of our department heads on implementing different ideas and helping them with projects so that we can get those results for our clients.

Jason (01:15:40):

So you and I have a little history.

Matt (01:15:41):

Yeah. So, Jason actually hired me about 10 years ago at his agency in Atlanta that he founded and started. I don’t even know if I’ve ever told you this but you were the reason, because I interviewed with about 10 people there, but you were the reason why I decided to leave my agency to join the new agency.

Jessica (01:16:04):

What!? Meant to be.

Matt (01:16:11):

And so yeah, I was excited to work with Jason. Just personality-wise and vision-wise and yeah. So, we’ve been working together in some capacity for almost 10 years now.

Jason (01:16:22):

We sure have, yeah. It’s one of those things both of you in the room, right. There’s those that are complete rock stars and you want to try and handcuff them to the company. So, Jessica, I want to know a little bit more about what does an average day look like for you?

Jessica (01:16:39):

Zoom meetings. [laughs] How many in a given day? So, last week I was actually on 45 Zoom meetings.

Jason (01:16:47):

Oh my God!

Jessica (01:16:48):

Last week. But it was not a normal week/ We were also onboarding a lot of clients; a big push before the holidays and also this leadership retreat, which is exciting. I love discovery calls. Those are actually my favorite calls; getting to meet a new client, get all the information from them. It’s just endless possibilities that come out from it.

It’s always really exciting and then getting to pass it onto the team, announce good news that we’ve got another client that we’re going to be working with. But yeah, an average day is working with the Account Managers; what meetings they’re going to be on, what interactions we’re going to be having with the clients. And when I’m not on Zoom calls, just in my inbox, in Slack, talking to people, coordinating, answering client inquiries, following up on tasks. So, there’s a lot of movement and a lot of moving parts but it keeps it interesting.

Jason (01:17:36):

Yeah. And you have lived through a lot of our growing pains.

Jessica (01:17:39):

Mm-hmm.

Jason (01:17:39):

Right?

Jessica (01:17:40):

Yep.

Jason (01:17:41):

It’s okay to be vulnerable, right? I mean, we’ve made mistakes; we’ve failed.

Jessica (01:17:46):

Failed forward every time.

Jason (01:17:47):

We sure have. Yeah, tell me a little bit more about living through some of those and where we are now.

Jessica (01:17:52):

Yeah. The growing pains were pretty natural with any agency when you scale or when you grow so quickly. The first issue is scalability and that’s a big thing for me because I’m all about efficiency and processes and spreadsheets. That’s my thing. When I first started, it was just the previous Director of Client Services and me, and it was… I think we had at that time maybe 45, 50 clients. And the two of us were managing all of it. At the end of 2019, which was the first conference season that I was at the tail end, we onboarded a ton of not just a lot of clients, but also some big priority accounts that are still big priority accounts. We’re the front lines of the clients.

Jason (01:18:38):

You sure are.

Jessica (01:18:39):

So, when frustrations come up or deadlines are missed, we’re the first ones to hear about it. So I said for the first about six months I called myself a professional nag because my job was just to follow up, follow up, follow up and figure out like, “Hey, where’s this deadline.” I felt so bad. And I’m still learning on the job. And because there was a lot of growth and a lot of roles were shifting. So, I would go to one person for, like, “Hey, I needed this article. Where is this?”` And one week it would be into one person and the next week it would be another person who was in charge of it. So, it was that kind of stuff. And I think that’s something we’ve worked really hard over the course of really, the past two years.

Jason (01:19:18):

The past two years.

Jessica (01:19:18):

Is to shore up and provide a really strong structure.

Jason (01:19:23):

So Matt, we’ve been working together like we said, a long time. Part of what my mission is is to give our clients radical transparency, right? Because it’s so easy for an agency that does something so nebulous and confusing as SEO to hide behind data and put together an agenda that talks about positive news. Right?

Matt (01:19:49):

Yep.

Jason (01:19:49):

We want to basically have radical transparency and part of that radical transparency is holding ourselves accountable with what we’re referring to as our Platform.

Matt (01:19:57):

Yeah. I mean, that was one of our big pushes this year and it’s something we’ve all had in the back of our mind to build. I know you have as well. And there’s some other agencies who have platforms like this but we wanted to make it a little bit different. So that was our big initiative and we’ve developed and built and launched our new Hennessey Digital Platform this year. And just the first week of launch, just rolled it out to some of our beta clients and talking to some of our clients. The feedback that we got was exactly what we were looking for.

Matt (01:20:37):

Just like, they couldn’t believe how transparent we were, how we hold ourselves accountable for the deliverables that they pay for. We show all that in the Platform. And it’s really only in version one right now. We wanted to get it off the ground to solve a few pain points in terms of our content pipeline and just easier reporting to understand. From my perspective, I know a lot of questions that clients are going to ask and some of the pain points that they normally have when it comes to visibility and reporting back what we do. So the goal was to build all that into the Platform so that we don’t have to answer those questions on phone calls or get on a Zoom call or via email. It’s basically already built in there. So a client can just access it and get that information in real time.

Jason (01:21:30):

Yeah. So, we’ve niched down into the legal industry, right?

Matt (01:21:36):

Mm-hmm.

Jason (01:21:37):

And it wasn’t really a strategy per se, I guess. We just found ourselves in that industry and we started to cater to that industry, built a couple case studies, word got out and next thing you know, we’re getting more clients, more referrals. That’s how we’ve grown naturally to the point where I wrote a book, right? About Law Firm SEO. What would you say is an advantage of somebody that is an attorney, right? That’s looking for a digital marketing partner with someone like us that specializes in that niche versus a big agency that’s on Madison Avenue in New York City.

Matt (01:22:11):

Yeah. I mean, just the pure experience. Most law firm campaigns are localized, right?

Jason (01:22:21):

Mm-hmm.

Matt (01:22:22):

We have a few national campaigns, but for the most part, everything’s local. So we’ve done a lot of testing. We’ve failed in some markets but we learned a lot of lessons that what we know is going to work in Dallas, Texas will, for the most part, work in San Francisco, California. So if you’re in Charlotte, North Carolina, we know how to ramp things up and build things and create the right strategy from the start versus having to have that learning curve of this new industry that’s something we don’t know about.

Jason (01:23:00):

Sure. What do you think, Jessica?

Jessica (01:23:02):

Yeah, I would definitely echo that. You’re getting the benefit of all of that cumulative experience of every single client we’ve ever worked with. Because there is, whenever you deal with a new industry, I’ve worked at agencies where there’s no specialization and there is a ramp-up time of having to learn the industry, the space, the competitive landscape, the organic landscape, what keywords, are the actual priority keywords; not just based on volume, but based on real user data and what is driving traffic.

That you all have to learn and then you have to learn the client on top of that. What are their products, what are their services, what do they offer? So you’re doing double the work. Whereas, with having someone who already specializes in your industry, you don’t have that startup time. I mean, even specializing within, we mostly specialize in legal, personal injury. So, even further in that space, there are a lot of commonalities between our clients and so we can just really drill down onto the uniqueness of each firm, what they offer their competitive angle. And that’s what we’re learning. We’re learning them. We’re not learning their space. That’s what makes it easier for us to really partner with our clients not just to be an agency that provides SEO services. We’re their marketing partner.

Jason (01:24:19):

Sure. Great answers. What is a milestone that we hit maybe this year or last year that you are particularly proud of?

Matt (01:24:31):

Honestly, I mean, I worked very closely with our Paid Media department this year. I’m very proud of that team. We’ve had a few quarters of a 100% retention rate with our clients, which we never had any year prior.

Jason (01:24:46):

Yeah.

Matt (01:24:47):

So that just goes to show that we are producing results. They’re starting to trust us and they’re seeing that sort of white-glove service that they expect. Very proud of that but, at the same time, that’s helped us grow that department probably over 100% in monthly recurring revenue since the beginning of the year. So those are a couple good lessons.

Jason (01:25:14):

Paid had a good year; I love it.

Jessica (01:25:16):

Yeah. Gosh, I’m going to say, going back to my origins at Hennessey and just the growth that we’ve had with the Client Services team and what a strong team we’ve built, that’s certainly… Starting from just one Account Manager, Director of Client Services tag-teaming, and now we have a full team of Account Managers and Associate Account Managers who are all really dedicated to client success and really driving innovation because we’re able to identify gaps and efficiencies to oversee the whole picture for our clients. I’m really proud of that and proud of the growth of that team. If I had to consider a business milestone, I’m actually going to say probably one of the things… I can’t claim credit for it because you did it and drove it. But another benefit of being in a space is we did the law firm responsiveness survey.

Jason (01:26:10):

The study. Yes.

Jessica (01:26:10):

And that was such a fantastic… because that was a value add that doesn’t actually really have to do with the legal market, if you think it’s intake.

Jason (01:26:17):

Explain what that was.

Jessica (01:26:18):

So we did a… Or actually Matt, do you want to explain? Because you were the driver of that.

Matt (01:26:22):

Yeah. I’ll give you a little background on it. It was one of our clients who was concerned about signed cases. We were driving a ton of leads, but they were concerned—

Jason (01:26:33):

Which they should be, yeah.

Matt (01:26:35):

And I was talking to Jason… this was when we were using Skype instead of Slack.

Jessica (01:26:39):

That’s another growing pain right there.

Matt (01:26:43):

And I was like, “Jason, just FYI just to know you are a secret caller to a client on the form. And of course Jason’s like, “We should do that. We should survey like 1,000 law firms. He took it to another level. He ran with that and just executed. And that’s why we have the response time survey. But yeah, it started with just a simple idea and then…

Jason (01:27:09):

And it was great because a lot of times, intake people don’t get credit, right? For that. And we’ve sent awards to everybody and they’re putting it on social media, right? Because that’s such a critical part of the law firm. If we do our jobs right, we create an intake problem, that’s what we do.

Jessica (01:27:30):

Exactly. And there’s one thing we also say to every single client who starts with us, even long-term clients, is there’s three steps, and then a natural organic campaign. You have to get the keywords ranking, and then once you have the keywords ranking, you have to get traffic to the site, and then once they’re on the site, they have to convert. A lot of agencies stop with leads. They are driving leads and they gave it to you.

But we really care about signed cases and those conversions and delivering quality leads. So the responsiveness survey was one thing that allowed us to address that issue for clients who were getting leads, but not necessarily signed cases, in a unique way that showed just our competency in the legal space and the value that we are dedicated to giving to our clients. And I thought that was really amazing. I’m excited to see more of what we can do with stuff like that.

Jason (01:28:19):

For sure.

Matt (01:28:20):

We are taking it to the next level and now we’re doing that same sort of model with our current existing clients. So last year we tested 701 law firms across the country. A few of those were our clients, but this year we’re focusing on our clients so that we can benchmark.

Jessica (01:28:38):

You don’t want to tip them off, in case many clients are listening.

Jason (01:28:41):

Yeah. No, we want to. Yeah, we want to hold them accountable, I think that’s important.

Matt (01:28:41):

So, we’ll have that hopefully done pretty soon.

Jason (01:28:47):

So Matt, I’m going to go to you first. Last question. What are you most excited about for 2022?

Matt (01:28:55):

Honestly, just being at this leadership retreat, and just connecting with all the department heads and leaders and all the things we’ve been talking about, which we’ve probably heard on this podcast, which I’m excited to listen to whenever it launches. That’s what I’m excited about, but specifically just continuing to work on our Platform and building all these different ideas. I put a pause to all these new ideas as we’re building version one because it was just too much. People were like, “Hey, we should do this. We should do that.” Clients and…

Jason (01:29:30):

And there’s a reason why I’m not on those calls. [laughs] Can’t catch enough of these calls until we get v1 live, right? Yeah.

Matt (01:29:38):

So, we have so many cool things that we’re going to be adding to it this year and it’s just going to be awesome.

Jason (01:29:44):

And Jessica, you’re an award-winning writer.

Jessica (01:29:47):

Yes.

Jason (01:29:48):

Right?

Jessica (01:29:48):

Uh-huh.

Jason (01:29:50):

And this now allows me to allow you to talk about your transition to maybe a new role at Hennessey. What is that about?

Jessica (01:29:57):

Yeah, what I’m most excited about. So, starting in 2022, I’m going to be transitioning from Client Services over to Director of Content. Yes, I’m very excited about this. And I think it’s a natural transition, personally, for me. I come from a content marketing background, and you mentioned I write in my free time, but professionally I came up in digital marketing through content marketing. And at Hennessey, I feel like that is one area where there’s such opportunity for growth and improving. Our core competencies from the beginning have been more on the technical SEO side. But I think as we grow, providing even higher quality content and diversifying that content, and really focusing on user experiences.

Google is really putting that emphasis on user experience and developing all of these technologies. It is so much easier for them to identify real, natural-language conversations, like BERT and all of those algorithmic updates that they’re introducing. So I’m really excited to step over and then bridge the gap also between the client-facing side and having talked to the clients and being so entrenched with their world and bringing that over to speak about what really drives leads. What did they talk about with their clients that’s important? And bring that to the content side and the content that we’re producing. And then also help scale, and lots of stuff I’m really excited to be working on in 2022.

Matt (01:31:34):

I don’t think there’s one person at this company who’s not excited about you becoming the Director of Content.

Jason (01:31:42):

There’s nobody more suited.

Jessica (01:31:43):

My calendar is extremely excited. No one is more excited than…

Jason (01:31:48):

But you don’t have a lot of time to be creative, right?

Jessica (01:31:49):

Not so much. I mean, I’m excited to work even more with the internal team, I should say. The Zoom meetings aren’t going anywhere. I’m just going to be grabbing people. Then they might not be so excited that I’m pulling them onto all calls.

Jason (01:32:03):

Well, this is awesome. Well, thank you both. I’m excited to have an amazing 2022 together, and then beyond. I appreciate your time.

Matt (01:32:10):

Thank you, Mr. SEO.

Jason (01:32:22):

All right. Well, I am super excited to bring in my next group of guests. And why don’t we take a moment to introduce each other to each other as though we don’t know each other. We’ll start with you, Brandon.

Brandon (01:32:37):

I’m Brandon Caballero. I’m from Houston, Texas, and I am the Director of Analytics and CRO.

Jason (01:32:43):

Okay, good. Tina?

Tina (01:32:45):

I’m Tina Elghazi. I am the Director of SEO and I’m from, born and raised, Los Angeles, California.

Jason (01:32:52):

Awesome.

Blin (01:32:53):

And I am Blin Kazazi. I’m the VP of Engineering and I’m from Chicago, Illinois.

Jason (01:32:58):

But you’re not really from Chicago.

Blin (01:32:59):

No. I was born and raised in Kosovo and then moved around three, four U.S. states, and now I live in Chicago.

Jason (01:33:07):

And you had some exciting news recently. Well, a couple things happened in your life in the past 18 months-ish, right? So you became a U.S. citizen.

Blin (01:33:17):

I did. Yep.

Jason (01:33:18):

Congratulations.

Blin (01:33:19):

Thank you.

Jason (01:33:22):

What was that process like?

Blin (01:33:24):

It was interesting. I thought it would be a lot more complicated. It honestly wasn’t. I had initially hired the lawyer whom I fired because I thought they were just dragging the process and slowing it down and I didn’t really need one. But otherwise, it was easy. Just filled out a bunch of forms that were simpler than taxes, and I got called in to the interview, and it all worked out. And it was good. It was a very proud moment to become a U.S. citizen and go to the swear-in ceremony.

Jason (01:33:55):

And you remember the date?

Blin (01:33:57):

Oh gosh, I should.

Jason (01:33:59):

That wasn’t part of our script. It’s okay.

Blin (01:34:02):

I do not remember the date, but I know it was a cold winter day and I was dressed in a suit with U.S. flag socks.

Jason (01:34:09):

Probably the same suit you’ll be wearing tonight.

Blin (01:34:13):

Exactly the same suit. That’s correct.

Jason (01:34:17):

We’re going to The Magic Castle as a group. We’re going to have a little fun tonight. Well here, do you know the date of which a little miracle came into your life?

Blin (01:34:25):

That I do know. October 8th, 2020 was when Aiden was born. Aiden Mateo Kazazi. He’s the joy of our lives. Sarah and I are very proud to be parents now.

Jason (01:34:38):

That’s awesome.

Blin (01:34:39):

Aiden is turning 14 months old this week. We’re not celebrating any month birthdays anymore after he turned one. But yeah, he’s 14 months now. He’s barely starting to walk and he can say Dada and Mama.

Jason (01:34:54):

So cool.

Jason (01:34:55):

Tina, what was it like growing up in LA?

Tina (01:34:58):

Okay, I’ll be honest. I grew up about an hour east of LA, in Claremont. “City of trees and PhDs” is the nickname, so it was incredibly boring, honestly, but it was a great place to grow up, of course. It was beautiful and nice. Are you familiar with Claremont?

Jason (01:35:13):

I’m not, no.

Tina (01:35:15):

And where the colleges are.

Jason (01:35:16):

Oh yeah, yeah, okay.

Tina (01:35:18):

So yeah, at the time it was very easy to have teen angst, be like, “I hate it, it’s so boring here.”

Jason (01:35:25):

And when and how did you discover this SEO thing?

Tina (01:35:27):

So, I went to school, actually, at Tulane in New Orleans.

Jason (01:35:31):

Okay.

Tina (01:35:32):

And while I was there, I made the best and worst decision of my life to stay there for the summer. Worst only because the heat is awful. Disgusting. But I did stay for an online marketing internship for a local solar energy company. And it was very much like a “dive in, figure it out” environment. These were solar energy guys, they didn’t know much about digital marketing. So, I think my first day there was Google AdWords for Dummies on my desk. It was just starting from scratch and I just fell in love, honestly; I turned into the biggest nerd as soon as I dove into Google Analytics. I’m sure Brandon has a similar story. Also, my first experience realizing that the rest of the world’s not necessarily super into Google Analytics.

Jason (01:36:26):

Geeky like that, right? Yeah. So, Brandon, we were walking last night to dinner and one of the things that you said was, “Oh yeah, I’ve been to LA. I’ve been to a lot of big cities because track brought me there. I do track meets.”

Jason (01:36:40):

So, was that your life growing up, or what?

Brandon (01:36:42):

Yeah, pretty much all of our family vacations were to see the Olympics or the Olympic Trials, things like that. So, we’d go watch the meets and then we’d spend maybe one or two days just doing things in the city outside of the track meet, but that’s what brought us to all of the big cities.

Jason (01:36:57):

And were you a sprinter or a long distance runner?

Brandon (01:37:00):

Kind of both.

Jason (01:37:01):

Yeah, huh?

Brandon (01:37:02):

Yeah. They kind of push you into long distance, which I wasn’t very good at. If you run things like the 800, you end up running long distance, and then the 800 is pretty much a sprint. So, we ran from the 200 to the… I forget what they run these days, but all the way through the cross-country meets.

Jason (01:37:18):

So were you always the fastest kid in the neighborhood?

Brandon (01:37:20):

No, not the fastest.

Jason (01:37:21):

No?

Brandon (01:37:22):

Our neighborhood didn’t have a lot of kids.

Jason (01:37:24):

No. Huh?

Brandon (01:37:24):

We had one down the street.

Jason (01:37:26):

Just one. But you were faster than that person?

Brandon (01:37:26):

Yeah, I was faster than that guy.

Tina (01:37:26):

So, you were the fastest.

Jason (01:37:31):

I love it. So, you went to school, you ran track in college. Where’d you go to college?

Brandon (01:37:39):

A&M.

Jason (01:37:40):

A&M, okay. Go…

Brandon (01:37:42):

Aggies.

Jason (01:37:49):

So, when did you know that you had a very analytical brain and background? When did you discover that?

Brandon (01:37:58):

I don’t know. I think it was an accident.

Jason (01:38:00):

Yeah?

Brandon (01:38:02):

My first job was a Marketing Coordinator.

Jason (01:38:04):

Okay.

Brandon (01:38:05):

And then we started using analytics a lot, but I had used it previously, when it first came out, I think in 2005, on just personal websites and stuff like that. And then once I started the Market Coordinator position, we had an e-commerce store that sold magazines because I worked for Beckett, the ones that priced the baseball cards…

Jason (01:38:25):

Oh yeah, uh-huh.

Brandon (01:38:26):

So there were just lots of numbers everywhere.

Jason (01:38:28):

Okay. So now, being the Director of Analytics at Hennessey Digital, tell me a little bit about your team and what you guys do as a team on a daily or weekly basis.

Brandon (01:38:42):

Or our team is comprised of a Data Scientist, a GIS Analyst, which is a Geographic Information Systems Specialist.

Jason (01:38:51):

Yep.

Brandon (01:38:52):

We have conversion rate optimization, and then we have two other analysts that kind of do the same thing that I do. And, for the most part, we do a lot of implementation of the analytics. We do a lot of auditing, reporting, and tracking of the conversions. Stan, our Data Scientist, covers the Data Scientist things. And then we have Leeann and Kait who do the CRO and the GIS stuff.

Jason (01:39:18):

Got It. And so you work a lot with Blin and his team, right? With Engineering. So Blin, tell me a little bit more about your role. What does a day look like for you and what does your team look like?

Blin (01:39:32):

It’s definitely a very interesting team. There are about 20 engineers in my team split across three smaller teams. So, the Engineering department is split into the Systems team, which is the team that builds tools and processes for our clients and for our internal staff for other departments. They, for example, have built a platform recently, the Hennessey Platform, which we’re super proud of. And it’s a way to give visibility to our clients about everything that’s going on with their website. It makes reporting analytics a lot easier to digest, and a lot more focused on the data points that we care about. It allows them to review the content plans. It allows them to create tickets with us, and review the tickets that they have open, and so on and so forth.

Then we’ve got the Onboarding, Rebuild, Revamp Team, as well. As new clients come in, they’re the team that onboards them completely. So, they recreate their website, or create brand new websites for them if they don’t already have one. And then we have the Client Success team. This is the team that handles client requests as they’re coming in, and also requests from other departments like Account Services or the SEO department as well.

Jason (01:40:48):

Good. Love it. So, Tina, question for you. We do a lot of geeky stuff here at Hennessey from an SEO perspective, and I know you have other experience working at other agencies and stuff. On a scale of 0 to 10, how geeky are we at Hennessey Digital?

Tina (01:41:06):

Okay. So, this is a really funny question because my family and friends all joke that I only hang out with nerds, because I’m a nerd. But, I’ve been telling them recently, actually, Hennessey is extremely smart but a really cool crowd. I’m a nerd, so I can’t hate, but yeah, I’m really impressed with the people that I’ve met here. Not even just saying that. I mean, we’re very relaxed, very open and helpful. And it’s been a really, really wonderful experience so far. And I’m lucky enough to get to work with both of these two gentlemen…

Jason (01:41:50):

I think we’re lucky to work with you.

Tina (01:41:52):

… At least once. See? That’s what I’m talking about.

Jason (01:41:59):

So, we’re here at our leadership retreat, right? And we’re talking about things that we’re going to be doing within the next three years, right? What is something that stands out that excites you? I’ll start with you, Brandon.

Brandon (01:42:11):

Probably Hennessey Studios. It doesn’t really have a lot to do with my Analytics job, but I’ve loved anything that has to do with movies, or TV, or film. So, just seeing you start this is pretty cool.

Jason (01:42:24):

So, I want to talk a little bit about that because there’s Netflix and then there’s Brandonflix?

Brandon (01:42:29):

Yeah, I have a rather large collection of movies, so I don’t have to rely on Netflix if the internet goes out.

Jason (01:42:36):

If there’s ever a doomsday, right? Brandon can watch his It’s a Wonderful Life, or whichever movies you watch. It’s so funny because my wife was in a soap opera once and Brandon was like, “Oh my God.” You and your Mom or Grandma would watch that show?

Brandon (01:42:53):

Me, my mom, and my sister.

Blin (01:42:53):

What was the name of the show?

Jason (01:42:53):

I think it was The Young and the Restless.

Brandon (01:42:54):

Yeah, The Young and the Restless.

Jason (01:42:58):

Yeah. And I actually paid for my wife to be… I didn’t really pay for her to be on it, but it was one of those silent auctions, and L.A. has the most interesting silent auctions. Like, be a guest star on this TV show, right? I’m like, “How cool would that be?” It was one of her favorite shows, and her parents watch it religiously. So, I don’t know, I bid a hundred bucks and didn’t think anything of it, and I ended up winning, right? And so, “Hey Bridget can come down.” And they gave her the whole VIP experience, put her in a room, gave her makeup treatment. It was cool. She got to meet some of the stars. And so, Brandon was just as excited as my wife, which was pretty awesome.

Tina (01:43:36):

That is cool.

Brandon (01:43:38):

Took you a while to track it down.

Jason (01:43:39):

Yeah. And before, Blin, I asked you that same question about what you’re excited about. One thing that’s interesting about you that most people might not know is that you’re a Guinness World Record holder.

Blin (01:43:51):

Oh, yes.

Jason (01:43:52):

Tell me a little bit more.

Blin (01:43:53):

So, the previous job I had was an education company, and they had the largest attended online class. Live online class. It’s not a prerecorded class. This was a live class that got 65,000 students to attend it.

Jason (01:44:09):

Oh my God.

Tina (01:44:10):

That you taught?

Blin (01:44:11):

I did not teach it. I was one of the people who implemented the technology that handled that many students.

Tina (01:44:17):

How many?

Jason (01:44:18):

65,000.

Blin (01:44:20):

I grew up in a town of 50,000, and I live in a town that has 10,000 people.

Jason (01:44:24):

Bigger than both.

Blin (01:44:26):

I don’t actually live in Chicago. I’m in the suburbs of Chicago.

Jason (01:44:29):

Huh.

Blin (01:44:31):

Yeah, there were quite a few hiccups, a few things crashed, but there was no way we could have stress-tested it for 65,000 people. And we weren’t expecting that many people, to be honest, but it was a fun process.

Tina (01:44:42):

It would be crazy if nothing went wrong with 65,000 people attending.

Jason (01:44:46):

Yeah. Well, that’s pretty impressive. So, again, within the next year, or two years, or three years, what are you excited about?

Blin (01:44:55):

You know, we’ve been talking about plans a lot, especially today, and it’s amazing how many of those plans involve my department.

Jason (01:45:03):

Yeah.

Blin (01:45:03):

And I absolutely love that, of course. It just seems like no matter what a department presents, and they tell us about our plan, how to scale up the business to 10X, they all, in one way or another, involve my department.

Jason (01:45:15):

Engineering.

Blin (01:45:16):

Yep. We need to build for them or, I told the people who already built, that we need to improve on. That’s pretty exciting.

Jason (01:45:24):

Yeah, we’re…

Blin (01:45:25):

Obviously, I’m a huge advocate of the Platform and want to see it adopted by, not only our clients, but maybe even allowing external people to use our Platform to monitor their websites that are maybe created using our theme called WP Attorney.

Jason (01:45:40):

Yeah.

Blin (01:45:42):

That would be pretty exciting. Hennessey Studios… excited about all of them.

Jason (01:45:47):

Yeah. I mean, in our Vivid Vision, which we display publicly right on our website right now, we’re about 120 full-time employees. In the next three years, we’ll be at, I think, 350, right?

Blin (01:45:58):

Yeah.

Jason (01:45:59):

And a large part of that will be continuing to grow out the Engineering team. And talk a little bit about how our team is just not in the domestic United States. We’re an international team. Talk a little bit about that.

Blin (01:46:10):

So, we’ve got team members from Europe, from South America, and from the U.S.. It’s pretty challenging to manage all the time zones, but I think we’re getting used to it.

Jason (01:46:20):

Yeah.

Blin (01:46:21):

And it’s always fun to see the people I work with in person, but we’ve really gotten used to this “working remotely” type of environment and have become really good friends. Some of them I haven’t met yet, although I’ve been working with them for a year and a half now.

Jason (01:46:36):

Yeah.

Blin (01:46:37):

But yeah. We’ve become friends, we play games with each other, we do trivia. We hang out, basically, on Zoom.

Jason (01:46:45):

Yeah, I mean even this trip, right? Brandon and I have met each other before, right? You and I have not met, right? But we’ve been working together for over a year…

Blin (01:46:54):

Yep.

Tina (01:46:55):

And I was lucky to meet you week one.

Jason (01:46:56):

Yeah, right? Which is because you’re in L.A., right? But that’s it. We see each other in these squares, but behind the squares, there’s people with families, and children, and lives and it’s so cool to get together like this.

Tina (01:47:15):

Yeah. Something to be said about that face time.

Jason (01:47:15):

Yep. I didn’t even ask you: what are you excited about?

Tina (01:47:15):

Now this podcast is going to last half an hour. There’s so much that we’ve gotten over today that I’m really, really excited about. I think, from an SEO perspective, the idea of working closely with Jessica on content and making sure that there’s that alignment, and that cohesive, or seamless team that we’re working together with. Side note, by the way. When we had our interview, you mentioned that we have an in-house Dev team and I remember that was a selling point for me.

Jason (01:47:55):

Oh yeah?

Tina (01:47:57):

I forgot to tell you that, Blin. I think it’s the coolest thing. Seeing how articulate your vision is, I think is really impressive. I think seeing those specific numbers that you’re tying to the future, and us having that really clear understanding of where we’re heading, is refreshing. And I’ve had the opportunity to work at a lot of really cool agencies, but I’ve never experienced this level of transparency, and this invitation to join in on building that future, or defining that future. So I’m not even sure that I could pinpoint one or two things.

Jason (01:48:39):

Hey.

Tina (01:48:39):

I think everything that we’ve covered in that Vivid Vision is very exciting. Okay, I’ll pinpoint one. Digital PR.

Jason (01:48:47):

Oh, yeah. That’s a whole new area that we’re going to move into, for sure. So, in closing. Personally, professionally… more personally, I think, what’s a bucket-list item that you want to still complete in life? Who wants to go first?

Blin (01:49:05):

I can go first. I’ve been working on my pilot’s license for 13 months now.

Jason (01:49:11):

Okay.Blin (01:49:12):

No, actually. Sorry, 15 months. Right before Aiden was born, I realized that if I ever wanted to get my pilot’s license, I’d have to start before he was born because then I wouldn’t have a choice but to continue with it.

Jason (01:49:22):

Yeah.

Blin (01:49:23):

So my dream is I will become a pilot and maybe even own my…

Jason (01:49:29):

Own your own plane?

Blin (01:49:29):

… A small Cessna, or something.

Jason (01:49:31):

That’s cool.

Blin (01:49:32):

That I can take my family shorts flights on.

Jason (01:49:35):

Awesome. Love it. What do you think, Brandon?

Brandon (01:49:40):

Name in movie credits. Doesn’t matter what it’s for.

Jason (01:49:43):

Name in movie credits.

Brandon (01:49:45):

Guy who emptied trash, or somebody who helped clean the set afterwards. Just at the very end, that’s it.

Jason (01:49:51):

You’re in Hollywood, baby. We can make this happen, right? Let’s make that happen. You want an IMDB link.

Brandon (01:49:56):

Yeah.

Jason (01:50:01):

Awesome. Love it. What do you think, Tina?

Tina (01:50:05):

What’s my bucket list? My initial thought went to SEO-related stuff. I was like, “Okay, no.”

Jason (01:50:11):

Rank number one for…

Tina (01:50:15):

I would say maybe get up on stage and rap with one of my favorite rappers.

Jason (01:50:23):

That’s cool. Okay. And who would that rapper be?

Tina (01:50:26):

I was going to say, “Not that that hasn’t happened before.”

Jason (01:50:29):

Yeah. Who would that rapper be?

Tina (01:50:32):

I mean, I’m thinking Tupac so, that doesn’t really count as a bucket list item because it can never happen, right?

Jason (01:50:37):

I don’t think that’s going to happen, no.

Tina (01:50:38):

Let’s go with, honestly, my bucket list item would be any of my favorite rappers. So, I’d love to get up there with Kendrick.

Jason (01:50:47):

Okay.

Tina (01:50:48):

I’d love to get up there with Kanye, if he was only performing College Dropout.

Jason (01:50:53):

There you go.

Tina (01:50:54):

Sorry, Kanye.

Jason (01:50:54):

See? Love it. Love it, love it. I’d say my bucket list is I’m going to take my family on an African safari. I think that would be kind of cool. Yeah. So, let’s see if we can make some of these bucket list items happen in the next three years, guys.

Tina (01:51:10):

You can renew your vows. That’s all the rage for honeymoons right now.

Jason (01:51:15):

Yep. Well again, thank you so much. I know that some of us have traveled short distances to be here. Others have traveled a little bit longer, but we appreciate it. And I’m looking forward to an amazing year together.

Blin (01:51:28):

Likewise. Thanks for having us here.

Brandon (01:51:32):

Thanks.

Jason (01:51:32):

Thank you guys. Yes.

Tina (01:51:32):

Thanks so much, Jason.

Jason (01:51:39):

This has been the Jason Hennessey Podcast. This show is produced by Whitney Welch and Jenna Kirshon, engineered and edited by Josh Fisher, and recorded at Hennessey Studios. Please be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening.

The post The Hennessey Digital Leadership Team Podcast Episode appeared first on Hennessey Digital.