Call me by my…nickname?
Havas Lofts is exciting- but daunting.
New office.
New receptionist to greet in the morning.
All the questions:
Now what floor was I on again?
How do I make this coffee machine work?
Can I go onto that cool rooftop bar space and have a meeting in the sun?
In fact, I even panicked on my New York commute and hopped off the train too early for fear of one stop too far….Then had to walk 6 blocks.
Then there is meeting a whole new team.
Like me you might sometimes find it tough to remember the 250 people you meet on your first day of Lofts.
Here’s Lofts trick number one.
In comes Barry (my Lofts mentor)
Aka. Bazza.
He introduces me to Goose, Doc, Zorro to name a few.
Everyone has a nickname.
And every nickname has a back-story.
We all know how stories have a great way of sticking in your brain.
And this is no different.
Initially, I was a wee bit concerned that I was going to be seen as over familiar (being British).
But the team are so welcoming that this hasn’t been the case.
Here’s a fun fact.
Did you know that ex. U.S President George Bush was a big fan of the ol’ nickname. He called Putin “Pootie Poot.”
Trick number two — just say yes.
The best yes I said this week was visiting the Havas Cognitive team at Hudson.
There we met with Stuart Culpepper Group Director for Product and Experience who talked us through an incredible new tool called Arcadia. I
It’s a proprietary Havas platform that maps customer experience journeys using AI to sort through reams of data.
One of the most notable benefits is its ability to remove subjectivity and bias.
It also reveals some new insights that are often not identified through traditional research methods.
It’s rapid at processing raw data and turning it actionable insight.
Honestly — I am so excited to start playing around with it.
I’m going to have that chance tomorrow.
And this is the magic of Lofts — it gives you the chance to meet wonderful new people (and call them by their nicknames) and experience new tools and processes.
More on this next week!
