This episode was a real treat. I was joined live and in person for a conversation with Shannon Pfeffer, Lead Brand Strategist at Midnight Oil. She is one of the few guests that I didn’t find on Twitter. In fact, I saw her post an open offer to listen to people who felt they were in need of mentoring on LinkedIn. In speaking with Shannon, I learned she is doing much more than that.
I was so impressed, that I asked Shannon to write a short post to accompany this episode. Please enjoy and share.
If you are a woman in advertising or marketing looking for someone to listen, Shannon wants to try to help you. Schedule a chat here.
Transcript follows from Otter.ai. It’s a little wacky, so bear with us.
Adam Pierno 0:30
Back to another episode of strategy inside everything. I am doing something a little bit different. We have a live guest today which is unusual. Usually we record over the inter webs but today Shannon Pfeffer joins us live here in the offices. How you doing today?
Shannon Pfeffer 0:47
I’m great. I’m great. I’ve come to Arizona – I here there’s a heat wave going on.
Adam Pierno 0:52
Well, this heat wave is a weird thing to say about Arizona – not 120. So but it is I think in the That’s kind of a heat wave. Shannon is lead brand strategist at Midnight Oil and kind enough to join me here she she actually flew here not to do the show, but we just figured we tack it on since we were talking about recording together.
Shannon Pfeffer 1:19
Yeah, thanks for having me on, fresh fresh from the airport. I love it. Yes.
Adam Pierno 1:25
I think why don’t before we get started, why don’t you tell a little bit about your experience and kind of how you got where you are?
Shannon Pfeffer 1:30
Yeah, for sure. I actually started my career at a college didn’t know what to do what to NYU and did an intensive and PR and it was like this. This seems like a job I feel I can go into. And I started in tech PR and it was okay. But the whole consumer brands and building brands just kind of whet my appetite and I knew I had to get there. And so then I was in Chicago at the time and went to work at Ogilvy and loved it and works, in particular in a couple of accounts with their strategy and planning department and really wanted to find a way there is a time that was limited to like SVP and a VP, us and an eager young account executive. Was it going to be part of life with me then to Los Angeles a couple of years later, and I worked at Ogilvy office. And we had the PR side and advertising side at all combined and I was working under our chief strategy officer and got put on a ton of projects and I loved it. I was part of Ogilvy’s Rising Stars program. They select like 35 I believe, individuals from North America who are high potential employees and you go through an intense year long training program, you’re calling Yeah, it was, you know, you’re presenting ideas and IP examples that you could potentially sell into the company to the CEO, and all the senior leaders of the company and it was a wonderful experience and I loved it. I then switched to a smaller agency and LA, life, marriage, children all, you know, came into the picture. And then I ended up at Midnight Oil about two years ago. We’re a shop in Burbank specializing in entertainment and gaming and tech. I run brand strategy doing a lot of audience research and custom research for our teams kind of work across everything. And yeah, that’s my role so far.
Adam: Yeah, that’s that’s pretty good story. Yeah. I wanted we’re gonna go back to rising stars. Believe because I have a friend that is going to be germane to this conversation. So the way we met was somebody on LinkedIn shared your post or liked it or something and found the algorithm that got to me, and even written a post about mentor, you were making a concerted effort to do more mentoring. So what I wanted to think that was in January or December, and I wanted to start with that post and get your take, or just go back and what sparked you to a to do to actually take the action would be to write the post and communicate about
Shannon: Yeah, well, living in Los Angeles, I have a commute, and it’s about an hour each way and listen to podcasts. And in my listening, I listened most recently to a podcast called Second Life and it’s all about women who started doing one thing and then they they shift and switch to another and one was, I you Jen, and she used to be the editor of lucky magazine. And now she runs a division at Instagram and blue fashion partnerships. And she was talking about an idea she had 10 years ago. And she would offer a PR time to college students, current employees, past employees, and offer mentoring opportunities, anything anyone wants to talk about. But that’s, you know, one piece of it. She’s offered up her time, but she said in all the hundreds of interviews that that she’s done, maybe 10 people have ever followed up with her. And she’s like, I openly gives us people know. We’re doing research. Now.
Adam Pierno 5:40
Yeah, I’ve actually observed this before. So it’s interesting to hear that
Shannon Pfeffer 5:43
Yeah, we play out somewhere else and totally to see, you know, successful influential woman can’t even get people to follow up with her when she’s trying to give it away. Yes, it’s amazing. Yeah. And you know, that inspires me because I’ve had wonderful mentors in my career who have helped me, Probably people who didn’t even know that they were mentors but they just inspired me along my journey. And I wanted to find a way to get back and give some of my time so I made a post that a lot of people saw and responded to and offered up my time on Thursdays during my lunch hour I set up a link people can just book time and then it’s on them to keep it what happens if they don’t if they don’t show you just enjoy quiet lunch. Yeah. I people not show and I email and I text them call and then some people don’t respond. But you know, it’s a it’s a learning experience. Wherever you are in your career. It’s yours to take and shape. But the follow through is really important on both sides. So you know, the calls that I’ve had that people have joined in on our one to one conversation and we talk about absolutely thing it’s completely confidential and You know, what can bring in from? Oh, I see you’re connected to this person on LinkedIn, can you introduce me or I met this person my career? And can you help me figure it out? Is it is it?
Adam Pierno 7:12
So you don’t know sometimes you don’t know these people? Yeah, you just get a phone number or name and you say, let’s talk and then they say, Hey, I could use help on this and you know, context six and whatever they share with you. Yeah, so it’s like a dialogue therapist, almost.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I’m there to listen and help and, and offer what I know or what sounds good to me. But by no means am I a professional giving professional. He’s right. And but it’s been really interesting to see who’s come through the door. And it’s people ain’t old. IT departments of companies. I’ve worked for people that I don’t know people that I went to college with and haven’t spoken to in 15 years saw this post and yeah, did they connect with you to just reconnect the people that you have known before? Or is it or is it like because they want mentorship from you. And they want you guys on topic.
Shannon Pfeffer 8:03
They want advice. Yeah, I mean, we’re all connected like the people that I know we’re connected on so many other social channels, there’s a million ways they could reach out. But this is this inspires something and, you know, a handful of people have done this and, and the conversations have been fruitful. And it seems like a lot of people get to a place in their career and they don’t know where to go. And they they do they need someone to talk to to help figure it out. But then after each call, I follow up and you know, hear the talking points that we talked about, and you know, share the Word if you want to, and I’m always here, my doors open, like we made this connection, and I want to keep it
Adam Pierno 8:45
this is amazing to me. It’s amazing to me. So how long have you been doing it?
Shannon Pfeffer 8:49
I started in January. So it’s been something really recent, but it’s something that I’ve done not formally throughout my work life of making myself available. My, my husband has this thing where I, I often make fun of him, but in the best way possible. He calls it close personal conversations is to a day with friends or coworkers, family members just really touching base and not just surface stuff. Like Hey, how are you? You know, like how you had that problem last time we talked like, what’s the update on that? And it’s just, you know, making that human connection in a world where we’re so disconnected from each other is so important. So learning from him to have like, checking in with people making sure people are okay because we live in this world where everything’s sunny and Rosie on Instagram, right? But it’s probably not right, deep down.
Adam Pierno 9:49
No, not at all. So you’re about 12 weeks ish in Yeah. And so we don’t have a huge sample. Yeah, go on. But what percentage of people are just total strangers huh?
Shannon Pfeffer 10:02
50/50
Adam Pierno 10:03
Total strangers?
Shannon Pfeffer 10:04
total stranger are they in the industry? Are they out of strategy or no not in strategy not in advertising total people I would not come across this amazing Yeah,
Adam Pierno 10:17
so I don’t want to get personal on me the people because – none of my damn business but what do they want help with? Yeah What are those people who don’t know you what what are they looking for
Shannon Pfeffer 10:34
they’re – I think they’re looking for something universal it’s it’s like that movie with Billy Crystal the cowboy movie the end like that one thing is the secret to life they’re looking for the answer there there’s some point in their their life and their whether their relationship or friendship or you know, professional life. They don’t know what to do next they don’t know who to turn to. They don’t know what decision they should make. They don’t know if they should take a leap. You know, it’s almost like they’re looking for that eight ball to flip over to tell them what to do.
Adam Pierno 11:13
So when they call you Yeah, they’re calling like, hey, Shannon. We haven’t met. Yeah, I here’s where I am. And here’s my question and I need I would love it and Sarah would love input from you if they don’t use the first hour as a let’s get to know each other and feel each other out. And I will think about what to open up there just like here it is. Yeah. Just dropping dumping the Lego on your table. Uh huh.
Shannon Pfeffer 11:35
I have had folks in the resume in advance, which is good to but you know, context is Yeah, totally. And and it’s, it’s good to see someone’s resume. It’s better to have them walk you through their story. Yes. So I have them you know, tell me about their job history. What was a love what frustrated them but I also let me back up as a guy do start with my story a little bit too, and why I’m here live doing this a little bit about my experience. But, you know, I, I want to be that sounding board for them to help figure it out. Because sometimes it does sometimes it takes a complete stranger to shift your life in a direction that he wouldn’t ordinarily take it.
Adam Pierno 12:21
That’s true because you don’t have any judgment. No, you don’t care. No, here’s what I here’s what I’m hearing you say and based on that, here’s what I think you should do. Yeah, good. It’s easier. Yeah. You don’t have any personal investment or bias about like, Oh, I wouldn’t do that with that person. That person is no good for you. Yeah, exactly. You care? No, no, no,
Shannon Pfeffer 12:38
I’m just giving my opinion based on my experience, and what I know and maybe connections that I have, go
Adam Pierno 12:46
but let’s go back one level. Yeah. So you decided to do this in January. This will be more than one level back. You were in the rising stars program which to me is organized mentorship program where they are giving you a rigorous training curriculum. Yeah, with mentorship as part of it. So was that a something that stuck with you? That was the reason why or have there been other mentors that you’ve had that spark
Shannon Pfeffer 13:16
That shaped my career and made me believe in myself a completely different way to have the C level audience, truly listening, and respecting the ideas and giving feedback and then building that community, within my own community at Ogilvy and work there a long, long time and it was people all across North America and who works in all different divisions. So it was just kind of a wonderful moment in time where it’s almost like a grad school program, like you’re all in it together and you’re working on something on off hours and like spending this time just in the week. weeks at a time together that was wonderful and cheap so many things. As far as specific mentors myself, I have had so many so many of my career lucky Yeah, I and they’re all different levels. I kind of classify mentorship and in four different ways. You have an ally a sponsor a mentor or friends and you need one of each or many of each in a workplace to be successful. You need those people to believe in you and listen and give you that support and whatever way they can.
From Ogilvy in particular dreams Leslie Capstraw, and she was one of those first people when I worked in the Los Angeles office to truly believe in my capabilities and you know, at that time, like, I felt like she was So much more seasoned and older than me, she had two kids and she worked in our Hong Kong office and she just, you know, just was worldly and rose to the top and like, over time, like I did there with her last week and like, now we’re both moms were, you know, battling time management and figuring out how to date night. You know, and now it’s evolved to much more of like a friendship that I treasure because it’s so deep. How many more years of experience does she have? She probably has seven or eight more. Yeah, yeah.
Adam Pierno 15:34
Yeah, that’s a huge difference when you’re getting a lifetime.
Shannon Pfeffer 15:39
Yeah. And just that, you know, for listeners stories working at Hong Kong. Yeah. It’s still on jealous of hearing that now. I know. And now she’s COO of another company and just, you know, hear her, you know, how she does it, how she got there. You know, just even tips on – How to you know, function and manage well my current workplace that she can give me and then tips on life things like that that evolution of what you know from someone I really looked up to to a mentor to a friend was super important and then it might get my current job I work with Brooke Lawler she’s our Director of Business and and We’re the same age we actually had her sons at the same time but she’s someone who sticks her neck out for absolutely everyone and she has given me opportunities and push me in our in my career in ways that I am forever indebted to her so she falls more into the ally
Adam Pierno 16:45
Yeah, that’s interesting. Yeah. I kind of understand the mentor and understand the ally give me like a definition of sponsor for the people listening that are trying to trying to figure out these four yeses lead up.
Shannon Pfeffer 16:58
Yeah, for sure. A sponsor would really be someone you may be there in the HR department. Maybe it is your boss or maybe it’s somebody else on your team who recognizes that you’re doing great work. And you might serve, you know, a learning experience going to this specific conference. Or being a part of a project. Maybe you never worked on this type of client, but you’d be great for the giving the opportunity in terms of being your champion and standing by you.
Adam Pierno 17:26
So they may not be guiding us sitting one on one with you and giving you growth direction, but they are looking out for you and putting your name in for opportunities to help you climb and help you learn things. So it’s maybe just a different side of the same coin. Yeah, mentorship. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. That’s interesting that. Let’s talk about follow up. You said early on in this in this chat. The The Second Life podcast you were listening to and I’ve seen this myself that people don’t show up and put yourself out there I am on a website here, where I put my name out there for mentorship and crickets. It’s amazing. It’s amazing to me that I’m like, Hey, I’ll give you time. And not because I’m so great but because I was told there was such a need for it that I felt like I need to be annoyed I’m going to regret doing this there’s going to be a tidal wave of one person came and then she never I said, Okay, let’s do this, you know, offered some times and so what do you think drives the follow through the lack of follow through the are what makes people as a whole See, it seems like we all as as more experienced people think like, oh, when I was younger, I craved mentorship. And I know that there’s a lack of it, and especially the agency world where it’s so competitive that you’re competing with people at all different levels, and indirectly and directly. But seems like there’s no takers sometimes. Yeah. What do you attribute that to?
Shannon Pfeffer 19:08
I think when people are doing good, and they’re successful, and they’re riding this ride, they don’t worry about the future as much. And they’re not trying to figure out what’s next. Or how can I improve, like things are working pretty well. I’m just going to stick with this. And when they reach out, it’s usually a time of need, you know, I get have to find a new job I gotta get out of here or this relationship. How do I how do I break up with this person or, you know, any of those issues people face? It’s much more of that urgency factor. And, you know, we, we don’t live in a world of curious people. I went to a conference a couple of months ago. And there was a study by Heartbeat AI and it found that most people don’t care about anything in the United States like nothing, nothing,
Adam Pierno 20:06
Nothing? Even their sports team?
Shannon Pfeffer 20:08
Nope. I don’t care, man unsure. Those are the most common answers.
Adam Pierno 20:14
I’ve seen studies on that terrifying
Shannon Pfeffer 20:17
Terrified. So I think that when people are doing well, they’re very complacent. And they’re curious about other things when they’re forced to think about it, like the innate curiosity, unless your strategies may not be there. But the new follow up sucks. Like I, I’ve had people through this, you know, this call opportunity that I put out in the world that have don’t show up. And I sit there and I text them and that call and email and like, Hey, hey, I’m here, right? I’ll be here in the next hour if you want to call and then nothing, you know, not even like Oh, hey, like, I forgot. Or I’m running late. Just no response.
Adam Pierno 21:02
So that’s different than complacency. That’s almost avoidance. Yeah. What do you figured out for? I mean, if you want you can’t get in someone else’s head But
Shannon Pfeffer 21:12
Yeah, I mean, maybe the the urgency factor passed for them and they didn’t need to talk to someone or maybe there is that fear really saying like, they need something like admitting like, maybe this jobs aren’t right for me. Maybe I need to move on. Or maybe it’s just you know, not being not respecting others time. Yeah, let
Adam Pierno 21:37
Maybe asking for help is scary or –
Shannon Pfeffer 21:38
Yeah, that like that. That can be part of it to have like, really, really being open with somebody like, this is wrong. I realize it and now I’ve gotten to the point where like, it’s not just me thinking about it. I want to talk about it. And that’s a whole nother like scratching the surface level of fear.
Adam Pierno 21:57
Yeah, somebody maybe then you’re really vulnerable.
Shannon Pfeffer 22:00
Definitely, totally. And with someone that they may not know, right, or maybe they do know the person
Adam Pierno 22:06
For better or worse. Yeah, right. Well you signed up to talk to Shannon. What was I thinking about? Yeah, yeah. That’s pretty nuts. Yeah. What is your? How do you view the responsibility of – it’s Thursday? You, you do get the call, someone actually does make it to the phone, reach out talk. What’s your responsibility from there? And what kind of follow up do you do and what kind of responsibility if you feel like you should do, right?
Shannon Pfeffer 22:38
I mean, I feel that I’m offering this to whoever it is. I’m going to give them my dedicated time. I’m not on my watch on my phone and my computer checking email, like I’m there, giving them my ears, and really listening, you know, and it’s not just a man, I’ve done a modern lot of focus groups. It’s not just what they’re saying is what they’re not saying to and just figuring out and asking questions of, you know why they’re really calling and kind of get to the root of what they need and what they truly need as a next step. And then I sent a really in depth follow up email the same day, you know, offering my time
Adam Pierno 23:27
Your accounting I see your accounting roots! meeting notes.
Shannon Pfeffer 23:31
Oh, yes, very organized.
Adam Pierno 23:34
Play back to you what I heard.
Shannon Pfeffer 23:37
Yes, yes. Let’s outline this and here’s a timeline.
Adam Pierno 23:40
Love it.
Shannon Pfeffer 23:42
And you know, really like, here’s a summary. If you mean to talk about anything else. I keep this completely confidential. It’s between you and I, I my doors always open. You know, tell a friend, call me back. You have my information now. And you have a golden door. That is open for you.
Adam Pierno 24:01
Do you want to stay in touch with them? Or it’s just it hasn’t been a lot of people so the samples not huge.
Shannon Pfeffer 24:06
No sample isn’t a huge yet. There’s one person to follow up. Yay. All right, that’s pretty good success rate. But, you know, I hope that you know, I can help more people. You know, I just feel that we live in this really disconnected world and in particular, this industry is very competitive one. And I want to have an open door and have real conversations with people and try to bring people together make people happy at the end of the day, like, we just want to be happy. We work hard. Most people are asking you about indirectly Yes, right.
Adam Pierno 24:47
Yeah, they don’t just call and say I want to be happy but they’re saying I need help with this because yes, because making me not happy. Yeah. Do You – Have you made any changes to your to the way you communicate this? Or to the way you you’re not it’s not a campaign so but you are you do have a social posts that gets people to it you have a page where I can sign up, which I’m assuming is like a calendar or a doodle or something if – Have you changed or tweak the way you message?
Shannon Pfeffer 25:17
I think I’m going to next because there was great response in the beginning and it was really exciting. But I want to reach more people and I honestly I don’t know if it’s doing some paid ads or you know, another vehicle to get interested even if it’s emailing, you know, close personal friends or older colleagues and seeing if they, you know, are interested or willing to share within their networks.
Adam Pierno 25:50
Good idea. Yeah. To what end of video if you you sounds like you’re trying to scale it up one factor. And where are you? Where do you see – Do you have a vision for where it’s going or you just want to help more people and have it 52 weeks a year be the helping someone?
Shannon Pfeffer 26:08
You know, I would love to get to a point where every Thursday, I’m speaking to someone new. Because that’s, you know what I can deliver on now. But as a strategist, I’m I’m always curious, I’m curious about what’s on people’s minds and what’s really affecting them and what’s going on in the world today that’s making them feel a little bit uncomfortable or a little bit unhappy. I love to scale and do something more I love to, you know, be a coach for people or resource or, you know, help people on a grander scale. Right now, it’s all in the ideation phase, right and see where this can go. But, you know, I want to ultimately find a way to bring people together, whether it’s making connections or having people who are all kind of facing the same thing, organizing something where they can all chat and learn from each other and figure out strategies about how to be happy.
Adam Pierno 27:12
Great. Do You Have you made any mistakes there? Have you said anything or, or or done anything in any of the conversations we go with that one back on the drive home that day, that that job really sucks to quit.
Shannon Pfeffer 27:29
I think I have overextended myself.
Adam Pierno 27:33
And I mean, this whole thing. Shannon is overextending yourself by design.
Shannon Pfeffer 27:36
I’m from the Midwest, I can’t help it. But… yes, there was someone definitely in a precarious position with their job and they had a really great opportunity to were passionate about doing something else and I really push them towards a great opportunity because in my head, I was thinking of like, the financial side of it. And you know, I used to work for that company and talk to them like this is a great gig like you got to do it. Yeah. And really trying to offer that up. And it’s like, well, it’s the person’s life. Like if the other thing is going to make them really happy, then they do that. Well, you can’t know all that in one hour. Now. It’s a small window that you get. Now
Adam Pierno 27:53
Also, I wouldn’t say that’s a mistake, necessarily. I have a presentation that I that I share a lot. Where it’s it’s advice I got that someone said, if you can, if you’re in a company, and your job is to influence people, and you cannot influence the people that you report to, you quit that job, and go take another job, go do something else. And if you do, if you take three of those jobs, and you can influence people go get a new career, like go do something totally different. And sometimes I give that talk to students, and I’m like, this is I shouldn’t say this to people, but I still good it’s good advice. Yeah. If you if you’re not making impact are you doing? Yeah. Could be something else. Exactly. Sometimes I want to reel it back. I’ll stop. I’ll soften it some kids stay in school. You know what I mean?
Shannon Pfeffer 28:21
School – Burn.
Adam Pierno 28:37
Don’t do drugs.
Shannon Pfeffer 28:58
Yeah. But I still think that’s pretty valid advice. You know, you have to find your own place and in the workplace. And you know that the LA sponsor and mentor and friend are important, Dad. Yes, absolutely. If you want to rise up in an organization, if you want to be part of the senior leadership team, if you emulate those who are above you, and you want to get there, then you figure out find those four people in the organization authentically. Right, that’s another good that’s another key point
Adam Pierno 29:49
actually have to be those roles and you can’t just assign them that role.
Shannon Pfeffer 29:53
Yes. And you can’t just ask them one. Oh, hey, will you be my mentor because that doesn’t work either.
Adam Pierno 29:59
Well, that’s a question I was going to ask. I mean, you wouldn’t you can’t ask someone to be any of these things. No, you can’t say let’s be friends. No, that would be super duper weird. But mentor, the construct of what you’re doing. I had this thought so the contrary, what you’re doing is you’re putting out there, I will mentor you, or I will offer you mentorship. Yeah. And they are taking you up on that. But the mentors I’ve had, it’s always been much more organic, where all of a sudden I’m working for someone or spending time with someone and I’m just realized six months later, yeah. Oh, wow. I learned a ton from that person. Or that was an amazing lesson I got Yeah. It’s the construct of organized mentorship. Is that in your mind, is that weird at all? Or is it just Hey, this is the time I have to help and this is the most organized, organized person. So this is how I can do it.
Shannon Pfeffer 30:50
Yeah, I mean, this is a pretty cut and dry method. But what I hope is that I find people that I authentically connect with, if they authentically connect with me, maybe we have an ongoing conversation and then maybe it turns out to be a legit actual mentorship. Right now I’m much more of in the alley care like category with folks of like, they don’t know you, I believe in you because you’re coming me wanting to make a change, which is a big commitment, a big leap for someone. Yeah. And and so they’re taking that first really big step. And I’m on their side, and I’m here listen, you know, hopefully it could evolve into other things. But yes, a mentorship cannot be a permission based thing. It has to be natural, like you got it’s got to be both ways. And everyone has to want to help each other for the long term. You again, it’s it’s also not a one phone call once a year kind of thing, right? It’s not going to get anybody anywhere. No
Adam Pierno 32:00
What do you have anybody that, you know, followed suit and started doing this?
Shannon Pfeffer 32:07
No one that I know, but I’ve had friends reach out to me who’ve seen it on LinkedIn and just gotten really excited. And I’m like, tell me about Tell me and I’m like, well, that’s the privacy conversations. But you know it, it’s going well. And, you know, there’s the trend that I’m seeing, like there’s even online therapy these days where you could just talk to me don’t have to have a office visit. You don’t even have to have a video chat with a therapist. You could just do it over the phone. When it’s good for you go. And I feel like so much of our life is online and it’s hard to like go to a networking event. I’m an introvert, like, just Yeah, I don’t like I can’t go to another one. And I just like, I need to like go in a room alone afterwards to like, re enter
Adam Pierno 33:00
If you’re like me like our seven times, yes, it was like,
Shannon Pfeffer 33:03
Oh, yeah, so I’m like just the thought of like, here, everything’s going online. Any of these like helps or like they services. And then plus, like networking is a key. Like, let’s just find a way to do it better. And like it’s a work in progress. Like right now the first three months of the year, we’re like, let’s get people on board and see what’s working. And then the next three month phase is like, okay, here’s a work here’s what we’re, let’s figure out a way to make it consistent. So like, you know, there’s someone dialing in every Thursday, and you’re almost there. It sounds like yeah, almost there and then and then grow it from there of, you know, make it a thing make it something like, that’s referral based word of mouth like, Oh, you have to do this like you’re in the spine call. Here’s the link, the county link, cop. Talk to her. And, you know, I feel like at this point in my career like, I work full time job and apparently.
Adam Pierno 34:10
Yes, the food Yeah.
Shannon Pfeffer 34:11
And it’s like it. This is a way that I feel like I can get back I can share kind of what I know and then who I know, in a way that is comfortable for me too. I think it’s awesome. One more thing, and then we then I will let you go.
Adam Pierno 34:26
Because you didn’t actually fly here to talk to me, I’m just taking advantage of your trip. But agencies, you had this good fortune of being a rising stars program at Ogilvy. I wonder if they still do that. I will reach out and find out. But do you think mentorship in agencies is is it there? What’s the state of mentorship and agencies from your experience and perspective? Your experience? It sounds like a pretty good experience.
Shannon Pfeffer 34:58
Yeah, I mean, I had a Yeah, a positive experience throughout. I don’t think that people are as focused on it as much anymore. It’s not that it’s necessarily fallen through the cracks is just much more up to you to kind of figure it out like Brooke and myself started a working parents group at our company. And I feel like that’s as close as we’ve gotten to that of like, having open honest conversations, talking about change, talking about kind of what’s working and what’s not. You know, I look for it in other places. There’s a global professional network for women called elevate I’m part of, I got accepted to a Stanford Graduate School Business Women’s Leadership Program, and it’s all about learning the skills that you need to move to the next level, but also creating this network of women who are in the same career path journey is you and I think there’s just opportunities outside of the agency world to learn from others that you bring back into the agency world.
Adam Pierno 36:05
Interesting. So the answer is kind of if you want it you may find it Yeah, yeah, just sit your desk completely it doesn’t exist. You’re not going to find it. Yeah, we crap you can just go to LinkedIn and find your post. Hmm there’s somebody right there.
Shannon Pfeffer 36:19
Yeah, I’m here.
Adam Pierno 36:19
Oh, yeah. If you if you willing to I will add the link to this. Yeah, this episode. You still can set up a Thursday chat with you.
Shannon Pfeffer 36:28
Oh, please do Yeah, that’d be wonderful.
Adam Pierno 36:30
I’m looking at her face everybody. I think she means that so.
Shannon Pfeffer 36:35
I do – I’m here guys.
Adam Pierno 36:36
Is there a specialty? Do you feel like you have Is it your career that you’re happy to discuss or have you found discovered any topics that have come up or so far it’s been comfortable?
Shannon Pfeffer 36:47
Yeah, pretty comfortable so far. I mean, I’m not gonna tell you if you should marry someone or not.Or you should go gluten free like I’m not there for that. Now it’s it’s really, it’s really bad. Like, everyone life has different experiences. They’ve all experienced life differently. And based on my experiences I’ve had today, like, I’ve worked at big agency, small agencies, medium sized agencies, and on many different departments and size and I can give my perspective of like, what you should do, what you could do, and what might make you happy. No, I think that’s great. All right. I’m going to leave it here. Where can people find you online?
Adam Pierno 37:35
I will share the link obviously, but yes, can we find you
Shannon Pfeffer 37:38
I am on LinkedIn. Shannon, Rebecca Pfeffer, I know that’s a mouthful, my name didn’t get any better with marriage. And if you are interested on the personal side on Instagram, @ShannonRad R-A-D
Adam Pierno 37:55
I will link to all those places to make it easy to find you, Which I’m excited that you’re doing it. Yeah. Thank you forward to seeing how it how it goes in the next three months and see how it grows.
Shannon Pfeffer 38:08
Yeah, I’ll keep you posted on that.
Adam Pierno 38:10
I’ll bet you will, Thank you very much for coming.
Shannon Pfeffer 38:12
Yeah. Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
The Call scheduling link: https://calendly.com/shannonpfeffer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-radecki-pfeffer-8709944/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonrad/
Adam’s newest book, Related