Sparking - Moving you forward

Narrate Newsletter


Do you want to show up more creatively for your clients and your colleagues, your family, and your friends?

Do you want to default to thinking about opportunity versus focusing just on problems?

Discovering Hope is full of proactive steps you can take right now, to achieve a more positive mindset or to help maintain the positivity you already have

Getting Positive reveals that more optimism is close at hand

Buy Books by Stuart Parkin at Amazon
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Trusted Advisor

Parkin Empathy Award Winner – Trevor Kroon

Congratulations to Trevor Kroon, ‘Derek Parkin Empathy Award’ recipient.
The ability to work seamlessly and effectively, starts with a determination and ability to effectively understand others. This learned ’empathetic’ ability is key for effective strategic problem solvers as it is for a functioning society!
It was a pleasure talking at length with all the students at the latest Miami Ad School Planning Bootcamp on Friday, and to announce the award winner.
I’m very much looking forward to working with Trevor, who will receive $1500 and three one-hour coaching sessions.
This award is judged by the students on the course as well as the instructors, not by the school or SPARKIN.

Congratulations to all of them for all their effort and notably Manolo Garcia for making the course seamlessly happen.
Around a Father’s Day weekend it was also a great personal gift to be able to present this award, in honor of my/mjjx&c’s father.
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Rekha Yadav

Parkin Empathy Prize Winner – Vicoria Aldecocea

The ability to work seamlessly with creatives or for that matter clients, (or consumers) starts with a ‘determination’ and ability’ to effectively understand others. This ’empathetic’ gene is key for effective strategic problem solvers as it is for an effective society!
Many congratulations to “Victoria Aldecocea,” the newest (and 24th) Parkin ‘Empathy’ Award winner. ($1500 cash prize plus $500 coaching).
The award is judged by the students on the course as well as the strategists that teach the course; (Not the school; Not SPARKIN)
It was great to be able to individually zoom with each of the 15 students: Victoria Aldecocea, Blair Baker, Ben Berlin, Raphael Bussy, Leslie Collin, Jewelian Griffith, Anastasia Montoya, Dasha Ovsyannikova, John Pillsbury, Todd Reichman, Tierney Riccitelli, Marti Rosenberger, Nicholas Schneider, Vanessa Van Der Keyl and Emily Woodward. Thanks to all the teachers who also voted: Vanessa Cameron, Marta Insua, RP Kumar, Chris Kwak, Alejandro Oszust, Christopher Owens, Eric Pakurar, Carlos Roncajolo, Pete Scanlon and Patrick White. Finally, thanks to dynamic Manolo Garcia, Director of the San Francisco school.
#MiamiAdSchoolSanFranciscoAccountPlanningBootcamp #ParkinAward #CareerOptimisation #Careers #LifeSkills #SparkinSearch #Inclusive

Better Q’s = Better Answers

Basic facts are must haves, but better questions demand thought, from interviewor and interviewee alike and ‘often’ lead to better understanding. Try:
Don’t ask her how much she wants to make, ask her how she wants to grow
Don’t ask him where he wants to work, ask him what he wants to experience
Don’t ask them about a typical day, clarify which skills they want to focus on using
Don’t ask me what I’m looking for. Ask me what a dream scenario might be.
#Betterquestions + #BasicFacts = #Cleardirection

Great Strategists are Empathetic. What inhibits empathy?

A core ability of the most effective strategic planners is empathetic ability. So, why are some less empathetic than others?
a) Lack of life experience? It’s certainly easier to understand someone if you’ve experienced their lot.
b) Prejudice – We all have biases, but the more we have or the stronger they are, the harder it is to empathise. Strong curiosity can be a helpful counterbalance.
c) Lack of emotional intelligence? (EQ) – EQ is not formally taught and some who might have great intellect don’t neccsarily have high EQ.
d) Ego out of balance? – Narcissists are only interested in themselves.
e) A combination of the above
f) What do you think?
#careerskills #strategicplanner #eqpower #empathy

The Strategist I’m Told to Identify

The ‘ideal’ strategist I’m typically asked to identify:
A true empath – so is equipped to understand/connect with colleagues, consumers and clients alike
A sense maker/connector of disparate ideas – culturally savvy
Openness – To all people and ways of thinking – is genuinely open-minded and so able to understand and incorporate the spectrum of perspectives.
#jobsearch #corestrength #employable

To Get the Job You Hoped For – Ask incisive questions at the interview

A salutary lesson for any job seekers but particularly for strategists, trained to ask the right questions for their clients and then not doing so for themselves when interviewing for a new job.

“Unfortunately, the role wasn’t what I was sold – I started there on the promise of delivering strategic work, but the other personnel and the agency leadership were only focused on delivering comm’s or worse, ad campaigns masquerading as strategic innovation! I left within three months of arriving. It was a hard lesson in really being on the same page as others in terms of what you want to achieve.”
Moral of story – To obtain a better first-hand understanding of the opportunity you’re being considered for, ask better questions, such as:

How does the agency make the bulk of its money? (tells you what the actual business focus is)
Key People in the agency – What are their primary skillsets? (tells you what skill-sets are really valued)
Awarded Work – What is the agency known for/Where is it being recognized and how?
What is the publicly articulated vision for the agency?
Your Success is defined as what? Be crystal clear what the people about to hire you believe makes you a success in your role. This will confirm whether your and their thinking aligns.
#CareerSuccess#Clarity#Questions

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