Episode 04: The One where Loops Sobs
Time’s Up! ::sobs::
Well… I cant believe 4 weeks are gone!!! I can’t believe I have to say goodbye to Madrid, to the Village and to the Village People!
Four weeks of parting myself in two, to work as hard as I could while also being the ultimate tourist (almost to the point of exhaustion)!
What am I taking from this experience?
On the Work side, I think it’s been an enlightening experience. It was a wake up call to get out of my comfort zone and to start thinking differently, even more differently than the different I thought I was already thinking!
Here in Arena Spain, approaching things from an angle that ignites imagination & innovation in a Crowd-thinking environment is what they do every single day. We had this back in Arena México in 2015, but somewhere along the line it slipped under the day to day operation flow. We need to get it back!
I think this experience has redefined my role for me. While I knew this was a big part of my work, it is now more tangible than ever that I need to be the business partner who thinks of their client’s needs before even they know what they are. I have to be the one to anticipate what comes next and to ignite all of the players inside the agency to create new proactive projects before the client asks for them.
On the personal / tourist side…
Well… getting to know another culture so deeply gives you another way to think about everything! For example, I am now a fan of Antonio Gaudí! Every time I am in front of a particular issue, I will have to look at it from a Gaudi Kaleidoscope!
In my time here I not only saw Madrid, but I visited El Escorial, Segovia, Valencia & Barcelona!
I’m just thrilled! I will forever be grateful for this experience and how it helped me in both my professional and personal life. The projects I’ve worked on, the people I met and the places I visited.. Everything has been so magical I can’t even put it into words.
Finally, thank you to my team in Arena Madrid! I greatly appreciate your time, patience and attention (especially to my coach who brought me medicine to my apartment because I was so sick). I miss you all already!
Goodbye Madrid! You will forever be in my heart & mind!!
