We all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or buy into rigid stereotypes of a group of people, but spending five minutes on introvert forums reveals that many introverts feel stereotyped everyday.

We started wondering where these stereotypes originated. Are they just more extrovert hokum or are there the tiniest nuggets of truth behind the myths? Tune in to learn the truth* behind the following introvert stereotypes:

• Introverts have social anxiety
• Introverts love cats (and have cats)
• Introverts are more sensitive
• Introverts like being alone and are never lonely
• Introverts are more intellectual
• Introverts are more likely to wear glasses
• Introverts read more books
• Introverts are more creative
• Introverts are nerds and geeks
• Introverts are nurturing
• Introvert’s can’t be leaders.

*we’re using this term loosely.

In part one, we talked about the introverted feeling authors. If you didn't get a chance to tune in, you can find it here. In the second, and final, installment of our discussion on introverted authors, we're talking about the introverted thinkers – INTJ, ISTJ, INTP, and ISTP.

The list of famous authors in this group is impressive, with many of them being considered legendary. These folks aren't feeling their way through the murky middle, they're charted their course and are plotting to shatter conventions, propose new theories, and build elaborate worlds. We discuss the pros and cons for each introverted thinking type, and try to provide a few tips for leaning into your type so you can take your work to the next level.

Kari and Rebecca also compare and contrast their writing styles as they relate to their respective MBTI types.

Things We Talked About

● Plotter or Pantster?
● The INTJ Writing Personality
● The INTP Writing Personality
● The ISTJ Writing Personality
● The ISTP Writing Personality
● Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament

As an INFJ and an INTJ, Rebecca and I have very different processes when it comes to writing, which led us to wonder how our MBTI types influenced our writing. We expected to learn about pantsters and plotters, but we never expected to discover that there are some MBTI types that may be more suited to writing fiction versus non-fiction. Rebecca’s cat Goomba also weighs in as an MBTI prodigy and scene stealer.

Welcome to the Introvert Book Club

In the first of a two part series exploring the Introverted MBTI authors, we’re diving into learning more about the introverted feeling authors – INFJs, ISFJs, INFPs, and ISPFs – who they are, what makes them tick, and tips on how to get over what might be holding you back in your work.

Things We Talked About

• Plotter or Pantster?
• Which intuitive authors have your persoality type?
• MBTI types and famous authors
• The INTP writing personality
• The ISFJ writing personality
• The ISTJ writing personality
• The INFJ Writing Personality
• The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the World's Rarest Type

Instead, birth order seems to be the one theory we love to assign to other people rather than announce to the world where we fall in our familial units.

“Hm. Typical only child. Their such a loner.”
“Oh man, youngest kids are so lucky - my little sister got away with everything.”
“He seems very insecure, I bet he’s a middle child.”

So where did the birth order personality theory come from, anyway? Around the early 1900s, Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist, first hypothesized that birth order could have a lasting effect on a child’s personality.

Later, fueled by several popular books published in the 90s and 00s, birth order types became a popular topic of discussion at watercoolers and in living rooms around the world. But do the theories about birth order really hold up or is it just another pop-psychology fad that won’t die? And if birth order personalities are accurate, how do they correlate up with the reigning Queen of all personality tests - the MBTI?

Tune into this month’s podcast as we dig into the stereotypes of birth order personality and how they correlate with Myers-Briggs type (MBTI). Do first-born kids really all resemble Type A personalities like Alex P Keaton ? Do middle children just need a hug? Are youngest children really magical unicorns (Rebecca says, bwa ha ha, neigh, neigh, neigh).

Calling All Introverts

Are you an introvert who loves to talk about your MBTI type? As the hosts, we only represent about a quarter of the introvert MBTI types and we'd love to be able to include more diverse opinions! Join our "Hush" of Introverts Facebook Group and weigh in on upcoming show topics, polls, and more!

Not into Facebook? No problem. Join our email list or send us a note at introvert360podcast@gmail.com

Stuff We Talked About

• Does birth order affect a person’s personality?
• Born to learn or born to win?
• Birth Order Traits
• Birth Order INFJ Personality
• Birth Order Personality Study

Okay, that’s a little sarcasm there. Listeners will, of course, know that we throw these four-letter combos around like they’ll mean something to you. And, chances are they do. While there are over 2,500 personality tests out there, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the one that seems most deeply entrenched in our personal and professional lives. We introverts proudly declare our MBTI types on Twitter and Facebook as a friendly nod to our tribes, as well as a warning to those (cough, cough, extroverts) who can’t possibly understand why we behave the way we do.

As introverts, we spend an epic amount of time in our own heads. So, for a change, we thought we’d get into other people’s heads instead. No, nothing as fun as brain surgery! Simply put: we have decided to spend time on our podcast delving into the lives of famous introverts.

Given our zealous allegiance to our MBTI types, we figured there was no better place to start than with the grand dames of navel gazing: Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, the creators of the MBTI?

How did this mother and daughter—neither of which had formal education in psychology—create a self-assessment tool that resonates with so many? Sure, they both read a lot of Carl G. Jung—in fact the MBTI could be considered a practical application of the theories Jung outlined in a work titled Psychological Types. But there’s a big gap between reading a book and creating a cultural touchstone as pervasive as the MBTI.

Listen to the podcast to learn about these two remarkable—yet decidedly flawed—women who spent decades guiding the MBTI to maturity. And, based on what you learn, see where you stand on the ethics of liking something that was created by a not-so-likeable person.

References

• Uncovering The Secret History Of Myers-Briggs
• Isabel Briggs Myers wikipedia
• Katharine Cook Brigg wikipedia
• The Myers & Briggs Foundation website
• The Remarkable Story of the MBTI®: How Two Unlikely Theorists Created the World’s Most Popular Personality Test

But networking is important, especially as we transition careers. In our latest podcast, we take the top advice for introvert networking, package it up, and put a bow on it. We also put some cat ears on it. But that’s to be expected, isn’t it?

Step 1: Figure out why you hate networking

This was an area of “learning” for us. Despite a fifteen-year friendship, Kari was under the impression that Rebecca was an expert at networking. Unfortunately, this is not the case; Rebecca just has different types of social anxieties. While Kari struggles to feel worthy of participating in a conversation, Rebecca can’t quite figure out how to identify and conform to networking expectations. So while Kari says nothing, Rebecca says nothing of significance—choosing instead to make people smile and laugh.

Yes, people might remember Rebecca as the goofy redhead who compared the appetizers to different video game characters. But is anyone going to want to hire someone just because they talked about how the Goombas in Super Mario games were modeled after mushrooms? Likely not.

Our conversation also meandered into a discussion of the differences between introversion, shyness and social anxiety, highlighting that even extroverts can be shy (gasp!). So, chances are that only outgoing extroverts are really comfortable in networking situations. The rest of us? We need to muddle through.

Step 2: Setting yourself up for networking success

One piece of advice is to expand your definition of networking to include other relationship-building activities that don’t require awkward conversations and name tags. But when you need to jump in to the deep end of a networking event, there are definitely tactics to help you succeed. These may or may not include:

1. Choosing your event wisely
2. Planning ahead
3. Setting a goal
4. Creating an elevator pitch
5. Gushing on and on about your obsession with Simon Sinek
6. Wearing cat ears
7. Developing preset conversation starters
8. Transitioning out of conversations by farting (seriously, Kari! What were you thinking?)
9. Using power poses
10. Fact-checking anecdotes about Mark Hamill's facial scars before sharing them in a public forum.

Tune in to learn about proven networking strategies for introverts as well as ones that likely won’t take off, despite the obvious potential. Come on, people! Wearing a cat shirt to a dog convention is clearly networking gold.

Stuff we talked about

We looked at gobs of articles to prepare for this cast. Here are some of our top sources:

1. Shy people aren't always introverts.
2. How to survive parties as an introvert.
3. Kick-butt tips for introvert networking you've never heard.
4. Millennials Network Differently.
5. Networking for the socially anxious.

1. You're probably of a certain age
2. You think applicant tracking systems are synonymous with black holes
3. You've heard about video interviews and decided you hate them on principle
4. You think robo-recruiting only happens in sci-fi movies

The hiring process may be broken, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t figure out a way around it. In this episode, we talk about the ways that introverts can tackle the ins and outs of the modern hiring process, and even though Rebecca is the one advocating for snails to return to their former glory as postal workers, Kari’s the real reason why this podcast went off the rails (not).

So what’s the big deal about referrals?

If you’re looking for a new job, there’s a good chance you’ve heard that the best way to find one is by networking to get a referral. For introverts, hearing the word networking might just be the equivalent of scraping your nails across a chalkboard. In this podcast, we talk about the pros and cons on hiring by referral—and getting hired as a referral.

Are job seekers part of the problem?

Today we can apply to a job with a click of a button from LinkedIn, forcing companies to wade through hundreds of applicants for a single job posting! It’s no wonder that a referral from a current employee can help get you in the door – it saves recruiters time sifting through oodles of data. The whole conversation leaves Rebecca daydreaming about snails carrying the mail until Kari squashes them and gets the podcast back on track.

Do interviews really matter?

While most introverts may dread interviewing, many companies are waking up to the fact that even with a referral, one interview isn’t always enough to ensure a good fit. This is ultimately good news for anxious or nervous introverts who don’t perform well under pressure or have trouble connecting on a personal level with an interviewer. Knowledge is power! Tune in to hear about the research and learn about ways introverts can circumvent the issues of the modern job search—without using snails or applicant tracking systems.

Stuff we talked about:

• Eight Most Important Employee Referral Statistics
• The Truth About Employee Referrals
• 60 Hiring Statistics You Need to Know
• "Death by HR" HireVue, Video Interviews, and AI Job Searches

Before you get any bright ideas, there are apparently rules against using a stand-in for the interview, even if they are Helen Hunt and share your haircut. And, while hiring a Introvert Interview Advocate seems like a good idea, you may end up offending people when they say something like, “What Rebecca clearly knows is that you obviously have no influence on her future career prospects and therefore will not be able to help her provide shareholder value.” Just listen to the episode; Brutus is kind of a tool.

While this cast doesn’t provide the introvert’s guide to taking over the world—or even providing shareholder value—you should walk away with a few interview tips for introverts as well as some laughs. Here are the top things we covered:

The Challenge of Being Authentic

We often discuss the value of authenticity in developing and strengthening relationships. Ironically, the interviewing process seems to encourage people—especially introverts—to be anything BUT true to themselves. Only a narcissist could be authentically excited about bragging on themselves for an hour, right? We discuss how a strong personal brand can help you communicate your value and survive interviews.

Digital Interviews - Introvert Friendly?

Like it or not, digital interviews are here to stay. The question is: do digital screenings provide an edge for introverts? Maybe just the ones that are half robot—AKA INTJs—like Rebecca? In the episode, Rebecca gives a blow-by-blow of her digital interview experience and shares some insights as to how digital interviews work and ways to prepare if you’re one of the “lucky ones’ selected to participate in this form of impersonal interaction.

Job Auditions - Letting your Skills Shine

We discuss our thoughts on practice assignments. One the one hand, they can be great for people that don’t interview well. On the other hand, if the process isn’t set up to allow two-way communication, it can be challenging for people who value collaboration as part of the development process.

INFJ vs. INTJ Face-off

We also do our first INFJ vs. INTJ face-off on the topic of civility as a goal for department teams. It would be ironic if we weren’t civil when discussing this topic. Alas, we didn’t come to literal or figurative blows. Perhaps there will be a future topic that inspires Kari to push Rebecca down. Perhaps the matter of cats vs. dogs?

Intro theme by Salty Bits.

• Choice 1 - Stick with it. You're not getting any younger and there's no guarantee that the next job will be any better.
• Choice 2 - Stick it to the man. You're not getting any younger and it's guaranteed that a new job couldn't be any worse.

Or maybe you were recently downsized and find yourself wondering what you really want to be when you grow up. What do you do?

• Choice 1 - Don't be dumb. You're too old to change the course of your life.
• Choice 2 - Throw caution to the wind, buy unicorn onesie pajamas and work on personal projects.

Didn’t you just love skipping back and forth in those old choose your own adventure books trying to figure out which choices led to the best ending? It’s too bad that in life – and your career—it isn’t as easy as skipping ahead to see how our decisions turn out.
For many introverts, career or job transitions can be hard. It’s not uncommon to have conflicting feelings about it, regardless if the transition was planned or not. In this episode, we talk about our recent career transitions and explore how we’re navigating our individual creative crossroads.

Dust off your old hobbies

Both of us are spending time exploring our creative inclinations. But where do you start? Many of us have lists of things we’d like to do if we had the time. Start there. Don’t have a list? Looking to your past can be a great way of re-discovering old interests or passions you’ve set aside over the years. Whether you made intricate portraits of soap opera stars with elbow macaroni, wrote fan fiction for your favorite movie characters, or spent your weekends on an intramural basketball team, consider reconnecting with some of your old hobbies.

Okay, so maybe you can’t commit to an entire intramural season anymore, but you could spend some time shooting hoops during open court times or maybe organize a regular game with some friends. The point is, be curious. Take that class you’ve always talked about. You may be surprised how pushing your comfort zone can jumpstart your transition.

Look forward

While we’re spending time looking into the past to rekindle our creative spark. Spending time obsessing about how life would be different if we’d zigged instead of zagged may not be productive. Who knows what would have happened? We’re focusing on what sounds interesting and fun now and in the future, and letting that guide our path.

Oprah Winfrey, aka the goddess of wisdom, says “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different, it’s accepting the past for what it was, and using this moment and this time to help yourself move forward.”

Get focused

Of course, being unemployed isn’t all about rediscovering your love or macramé and finally perfecting your macaroni and cheese recipe. After all, there are bills to pay.

• Set a daily goal and meet it – Whether or not you’re the type of person who needs structure, setting a daily goal for your job search (or your next endeavor) keeps you accountable for how you spend your time.
• Join professional organizations – Maybe you want to tap into the underground job market or just keep up with your industry, professional organizations offer a variety of resources to help you find new opportunities.
• Consulting – According to research the gig economy is still rising. What skills and knowledge can you offer to companies who are looking for short-term or project based help?
• Volunteer – Helping others can be a gateway to finding clarity in your own situations. Plus, it feels good!
• Give yourself a time limit – If you’re lucky enough to be able to truly take some time off to reconnect with your passions or you want to give consulting a go, give yourself a time limit to get the job done. Successful creatives and business people know that limits are one of the best ways to spark creativity and innovation.

Stuff we talked about

• Mel Robbins 5 second theory excerpt, (full interview here).
• SCBWI
• Jobscan

Introducing the Introvert 360 Podcast

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we launched the Comm Capers Podcast. In the course of putting together the content for each episode, we realized that we had a habit of framing each topic from an introvert’s perspective. For 2019, we’ve decided to finally put on our introvert-colored glasses and rename the podcast The Introvert 360 Podcast.

We’ve got some fun topics coming up, like how referrals can jump start your job search, surviving the networking and interviewing process, the introvert’s guide to creative brainstorming, and more.

We’ll see you in 2019!

The truth is that until employee engagement isn’t equated with being a company cheerleader during forced festivities and a thoughtful written response is equally valued as a half-baked verbal one, introverts need to sit on the sideline and and let extroverts take all the credit. Or not.

From Zero to Sixty in 10 Years

Historically, my number one strategy for gaining respect at work has been time. Give me a decade and I can get practically anyone to like me or at least respect the value I bring to the team. However, it seems many people now view jobs as mere pit stops. Before I get to the point of caring whether “Josie” and “Jimmy” are someone’s garden plants or children, that person has driven off, their resume sporting a couple of shiny, new bullet points. And then, a new person parks their butt in the recently vacated chair and I’m left wondering how I can quickly get this new make and model up to speed on the value I provide.

Rule the Road

During this episode we talk about three strategies to make your value more visible at work. These include adapting your communication style to extrovert expectations (Kari insists that Klingon fluency is not required), leveraging the power of internal influencers (all those extroverts are good for something) and finding ways to let your work speak for itself (I mean beyond asking Siri to read your latest novel). The bottom line is that both extroverts and introverts provide value to an organization — it’s just that extroverts are just a bit louder about it.  So the next time you have something share, rev that engine and let everyone know that you rule the road. You might feel like you shouldn’t have to do it but sometimes that’s the only way to get people to pay attention.

Favorite Things

Kari let the cat out of the bag and revealed that she has betrayed all of dog-loving kind by ordering a print of a cat by Etsy artist Bo & Friends.  In her defense it is pretty cute. That being said, you wouldn’t catch me buying a dog print.

My favorite thing was a note left on my chair at work. It read, “Can you please throw you trash in the boots thank you boats!” I have no idea what it means. I love the mystery and the randomness of it all.  While I would love to address whatever issue prompted this note, I also love not knowing. Will tomorrow be the day that there will be boats in my boots?

Stuff We Talked About

• INFJs
• INTJs
• Business leaders have psychopathic traits
• Note: the three introvert strategies are adapted from this article

While we may not all be able to influence the programs that our companies put into place, we can definitely impact our teams on an individual level. This week, we’re talking about the ins and outs of showing your colleagues a token of your appreciation.

Speak The Right Language

Everyone has different preferences and biases for what types of recognition they prefer – you might even call them languages. According to authors Paul White and Gary Chapman, there are five languages of appreciation: 

• Tangible Gifts
• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

Be Aware Of Your Blind Spot

With the best of intentions, we appreciate others in the way we, ourselves, would like to be appreciated. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, right? If your primary language just happens to be your team member’s least valued language, you might be wasting your time. They key here is to appreciate someone in the language of appreciation THEY prefer.

Chart Your Course

If you want to avoid the pitfalls of personal bias, start with getting to know your own language first before diagnosing others. Reading the book and a little self-reflection is all that’s needed here. Everyone has a language preference. Before reading the book, I guessed my language incorrectly and Rebecca didn’t think she had one (she does), so we both learned something this week!

Stuff We Talked About

• The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, by Paul White and Gary Chapman
• More information about the languages of appreciation and an online test can be found at http://www.appreciationatwork.com
• Pitbull (the artist)
• More on acts of service here
• Practicing Daily Gratitude

Favorite Things

• I’m really into a new Photoshop retouching class by Lisa Carney
• Rebecca just wanted to take a moment to shout out a little appreciation to the people in her life who love and support her. We all need people in our lives to lift us up!

For every employee of the month award lovingly displayed, there’s another performance award gathering dust in some forgotten corner. What’s the difference awards destined for the spotlight and ones destined for the garbage?  Hint: it’s not the prestige of the award. Heck, at least one Oscar ended up in the trash. During this episode of the Comm Capers we discuss the deficiencies of many workplace award programs and the difference between appreciation and recognition.

Do I hear $100 for this performance award? Going once …

At the end of the day, it’s about the value the recipient attaches to the award.  And, I’m not talking about $100 bills taped to the award’s shiny bottom. For recognition to be effective, it should highlight something that the recipient is proud of, even if it’s not what the recognizer values most. It’s not that difficult of a concept. If you give a 10-year black belt an award for being the prettiest princess, she likely will kick your butt.  Literally. Likewise if you recognize a coworker for creating a logo they think is ugly, they won’t truly appreciate it and they may actually respect you less.

This is your brain on serotonin. Any questions?

While recognition missteps can result in bruised relationships (and possibly bruised ribs), get it right and both the recognized and the recognizer get a powerful knife-hand strike of the brain chemical serotonin. Those perpetually high on the words of Simon Sinek (I’m looking at you Kari), will immediately know that serotonin is a “selfless” brain chemical that impacts how we feel about people. However, if your brain is not steeped in oxytocin (the love chemical) for Simon, this episode provides an overview of key brain chemicals and explains why poor recognition systems actually trigger “selfish” brain chemicals such as endorphins and dopamine.

The workplace MVP is always authentic appreciation

If a company has a broken culture, putting together a recognition program is a visible way the company can show it’s taking steps to fix things. However, as a stand-alone tactic, it can do more harm than good. More important than shiny trophies or bonuses is having a culture rooted in authentic appreciation. And unless you’re Meryl Streep and have won three Oscars, authenticity is not something you can fake. While leaders really need to lead the charge in shaping cultural change, there are things that employees at all levels can do that may or may not involve cake.

Stuff we talked about

• Ferrets as an ineffective way to boost employee morale
• Common ways to screw up employee recognition programs
• How employee recognition programs can reduce productivity and increase absenteeism
• Selfish and selfless brain chemicals – as described  by Simon Sinek
• Optimism tea – Of course it exists!

Favorite things

My favorite thing for this episode is shameless self promotion x2.  Kari created a cute logo for my freelance writing business — The Write Meaning.  

Kari’s new favorite thing is painting with acrylic inks.  She used the results as a background in the day planner/bullet journal she made for herself.  Isn’t she one talented gal?

It’s really about connection

While you might just want someone to eat lunch or catch happy hour with, consider a broader perspective. In his book, LEADERS EAT LAST, Simon Sinek talks about the concept of developing circles of safety – a group of people we trust, share values with, and look out for at work. Circles of safety give us a much needed sense of belonging. It is our willingness to look out for the people we work with that helps teams really thrive. And when the going gets tough, you’ll know who you can count on.

Fill your inner circle

It’s gets harder to make friends as we grow older! If you think you’re ready to up your friend game with a potential kindred spirit at work, keep in mind that workplace friendships can thrive as long as you are able to set boundaries to ensure your work gets done. And lastly, don’t despair if you haven’t found someone from work to join your Star Trek themed bocce ball league. Some people just like to keep their work and social lives separate. Shift your focus to building positive and working relationships. After all, professional distance can be beneficial, too.

Stuff We Talked About

• Having Work Friends Can Be Tricky, but It’s Worth It
• Psychologist shares the secret to making friends at work
• How Important Your Workplace Friendships Are Depends on Your Age
• Toxic Colleagues: Nine Coworkers To Watch Out For
• This American Life Podcast – Episode 587 The Perils of Intimacy
• This is how to make friends as an adult: Five secrets backed by research
• Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last TED talk
• Zukey’s World Mews

Favorite Things

• Kari’s late to the party and is currently binge watching The Office on Netflix.
• Rebecca’s conquering Cat Quest with her will power-wielding cat!

Whether your team is small like a hacky sack circle or large like a soccer team, there’s a project management tool out there that will work for how your group manages projects. Need a to-do list? A workflow? Milestones complete with gantt charts? Time tracking? Collaboration or communication tool? This site for sorting project management tools can help you narrow down which tools could meet your needs.

Project Status: Unicorn

For the Comm Capers, customization and design are key elements in project management tool selection and adoption. During the episode, we talk about how we love that both Slack and Dapulse … err DaMonday … err monday.com are happy apps. They are so cute and friendly (I think Slack Bot like, likes me, if you know what I mean). Monday.com allows you to create endless boards for your projects and track whatever you want. On monday.com, you can even to do things like set your statuses to unicorn, elephant and sock. Slack allows to you to create streams for topics (we do this for our different podcast ideas) and share video and audio files. The mobile Slack app is also great; if you were part of my team I could “slack you” at any time, day or night.  

Project Tracking: It’s Personal

People who are good at managing projects tend to double-up on tracking methods — using the company-designated project management tool and their own special way (i.e., bullet journal, day planner, post-it notes, cat telepathy, etc.). However, we all know people who do not see the value in sharing information about project status. Ensuring compliance with a communal project management tool requires management support because, at the end of the day, people are going to do what works for them or what their managers make them do.

Stuff We Talked About

• Site for sorting project management tools
• How to play hacky sack (great animations!)
• Slack for team communications
• Dapulse, err DaMonday, err Monday.com for task management
• Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
• TeuxDeux, a simple designy to-do app for people who like to like to be queen of their world (and sound like it too). Tea anyone?
• Don’t follow Debbie’s Twitter account (@delighteddebbie)

Favorite Things

Excel Saga Manga – The discovery of this manga series delighted Rebecca and her ears. If you are not aware of Excel Saga, here’s the description of the series from Wikipedia: “Believing the world to be corrupt, the secret organization Across plans to conquer the world. The first step in the plan for world domination is to begin by focusing on one city in order to minimize setbacks. Across consists of the leader of the organization, Il Palazzo, and his young adult officers: the enthusiastic and energetically devoted Excel and the soft-spoken and prone to spitting out lots of blood and fainting Hyatt.”

Webble Ergonomic Office Footrest– With this new footrest, Kari’s feet can now Webble (wobble) and not fall down. While Kari presents as mild mannered, she clearly has pent-up aggression that comes out of her feet resulting in the destruction of countless reasonably-priced footrests.  While her Webble was (gasp) $150, all footrests can now rest easier knowing that they will not suffer injustice at the hands of her … uh feet.

It’s All About The Recipe

Does your plan lack substance? Is it really just a me-too plan with color sprinkles that match your corporate color palette?  Did your exciting new tactic fall flat? What a good marketing plan really comes down to is finding the right recipe. So, grab a cruller and your favorite cup of coffee and join us as we share our recipe for baking up a better marketing plan.

Stuff We Mentioned

• SWOT analysis
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Simon Sinek’s START WITH WHY
• Simon Sinek’s Start with Why TEDtalk
• FIND YOUR WHY (book) by Simon Sinek
• Outback Steakhouse app
• Make your very own pepper donuts
• They do exist! chili cheese donuts
• Paula Deen’s Krispy Kreme Donut Burger
• Donut Pool Floatie

Favorite Things

• ApPeel Journal. They’re made from apples and smell like them too!
• THE BEASTLY BONES (a Jackaby Novel) by William Ritter. Number 2 in the series. Cat eating shapeshifters are on the loose in New Fiddleham, New England (and other fun stuff).

Feeling Boxed In?

Finding a new job is probably the most obvious way to go.  But as you look out into the big ol’ world, how do you set yourself up for success, especially if you career “box” is different than the norm? During the episode we discuss personal branding as a great way for people to highlight the value of everything that is contained in their career box. And, if a new job isn’t something you can wrap yourself up in, how else can you define success?

We like Big Boxes (Sir Mix-A-Lot Homage)

We like big boxes and we cannot lie.
Neither Kari nor I can deny
That when the company has an itty bitty need,
There’s no one to help? Well that’s our speed.
We jump up fast. We get it done .
It’s not in our JD, but we think it’s fun.
Padding up our resumes,
For when we’re gonna leave one day.
Oh baby, let’s make it work,
Make it better, go bezerk.
My coworkers try to warn me
But an itty box makes me so orny.

Stuff We Mentioned

• Pew Research: Millennials don’t switch jobs any more than Gen Xers did
• Debbie Millman’s Creative Live series: A Brand Called You
• Liz Ryan: How to Write your Human-Voiced Resume
• Ladders: 7 Ways to Move Up by Moving Over
• Harvard Business Review: Generalists Get Better Job Offers Than Specialists
• What people think graphic designers do
• Alfalfa
• Poop/chocolate icecream emoji

Favorite Things

• Person in Lotus Position episode from the 99% Invisible podcast. 
• Munchlax Lunchbox