Getting to Know your Colleagues by Digging and Doing Real Work!

It’s all about pushing boundaries at National Geographic and it is an amazing time to be CMO of this iconic brand. We are on a journey to take this adored 130-year-old brand and its famous yellow border into the future. National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between National Geographic Society and 21st Century Fox has the energy of a startup organization, and the ambition here is palpable.

The global marketing leadership team here is as passionate as I am about the potential to inspire more people to fall in love with our renewed, forward-thinking brand. My team recently came together for a day-long offsite. We worked with one of my favorite partners, Collective Next, and used a high-touch collaborative approach to explore a long-term vision, and then to make key decisions regarding our marketing plans for the year ahead. Collective Next’s creative approach to facilitating workshops allows every participant in a working session to have representation in creating the best possible solution in an accelerated fashion.

Our enthusiastic and engaging outside facilitator John Colaruotolo led us through a series of discussions to understand the role of marketing, how it relates to our powerful brand, and identify areas for us to truly collaborate across marketing functions. With so many new faces recently joining National Geographic Partners, it was a great opportunity to get to know one another better. I am a big believer in “the more we know each other the better we will work together.” There’s no better way to get to know your colleagues than doing real work together!

There’s no better way to get to know your colleagues than doing real work together!

We came away from this experience with a clear, articulate, and agreed-upon vision for the future, both long-term and short-term. We defined what success looks like for us as a cohesive marketing team, particularly as we try to build a more consumer-inspired culture and implement our new brand strategy work later this year.

Most importantly, we walked away from the day as a stronger team. We’re invigorated and excited for the year ahead. Check out a few photos from our day and get ready for exciting new things to come from National Geographic Partners and this incredible team.