Strands of Genius: Principle into Practice, Silent Films and Accessibility, Get Creative This Summer
plus, we need your help finding administrative support!
ASHLEY’S WRITING FROM | Grand Canyon National Park
WORKING ON | final thoughts for our engagement with The Social Element this week
LOOKING AHEAD
June 6-24 | London, UK (Rosie & Faris)
June 6-12 | Utah National Parks (Ashley)
June 9-16 | Italy (Rosie Only)
June 13-June??? | Nashville, TN (Ashley)
June 24-27 | New York, NY (Cristina & Ryan tie the knot!!)
June 27-July 12 | Wingdale, NY (Rosie & Faris)
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Sunday, I met up with a good travel friend of mine for an adventure on the road. A friend of hers and now a new friend of mine is also with us. We all met in Sedona, AZ and will be visiting Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Arches National Park — traveling by Jeep. I’m very fortunate that I’ve been to all of these parks multiple times before, but never in the summer! I’m thrilled to start the summer with an opportunity to be immersed in nature where I find my sense of calm and creativity are restored. While it will be a busy week with driving, working, and exploring, being on the road has a way of creating structure and relaxation at the same time. If you have any recommendations of hikes or biking trails along the way, hit me up!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Debbie, Denver the pup, the tasty tacos from Sol Cocina, the opportunity to explore some US national parks, reuniting with Piper and making new friends, a Jeep that’s perfect for road-tripping, my New Balance trail running shoes, Grace&Frankie, being able to wear bathing suits again, pupusas from the local farmer’s market & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
PRINCIPLE INTO PRACTICE
In this case story, Dscout looks into Lenovo’s mission to expand how product teams think about who they’re innovating for. They’re aiming to highlight diversity, access, and inclusion earlier and more consistently across the product research and insights process. Finally people are recognizing this ;) Lenovo is looking at things in two parts — from the strategic level and from the tactical level with the hopes of engaging new users and improving experiences for all current users. (dScout)
SILENT FILMS AND ACCESSIBILITY
The last couple of years has seen a surge in the efforts for more diverse representation in the media and for more accessibility and inclusion in actually accessing the media. We still have a ways to go, and over the years Deaf talent have had to push to get their stories told. Marlee Matlin almost quit in her recent film CODA until the casting directors agreed to hire Deaf actors. It’s interesting, though, to look back on history… “During the silent film era (1893–1929), Deaf and hard of hearing moviegoers did not need subtitles or other accessibility tools to enjoy the latest new film.” (JSTOR Daily)
GET CREATIVE THIS SUMMER
It’s summer! Well, in the US the end of May marks the start of summer. Summer, for me, is always synonymous with nostalgia for memories as a kid playing outside in the water with friends until the sun set, drawing on the sidewalks with chalk, and rushing to eat your popsicle before it all melted. So how can we all benefit from and get back to our summer kid selves? Creative Enso explores some of the best summer activities and habits to boost creativity and the science behind them — for those of you who need that side of things to be convinced ;) (Creative Enso)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT - A NEW ADMIN EXTRAORDINAIRE::
We have been absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with our latest hire, Valerie — however she is leaving us for a full time position in July! If you know of anyone who is a pro when it comes to scheduling in multiple time zones, is excited by organization, and has a passion for a less traditional working style… please send them our way!
We spend our days helping companies solve business problems using creativity, and our Admin Extraordinaire is the behind-the-scenes force that helps keep our business & life on track. We are looking for someone who has experience as a Virtual Assistant, and who can provide at least two references.
You might be the right fit if you are:
Self-Motivated & Proactive. You take the initiative, and anticipate the solution before the problem has arisen. You don’t need someone to guide you step-by-step; You’re adept at creating your own plan of attack. You don’t treat stop signs as dead ends: You research and exhaust all options before asking for help. You follow-up before we’ve asked you to and likely take joy in crossing items off your to-do list.
Reliable & Detail-Oriented. You don’t need to be reminded of deadlines, and aren’t expecting someone else to check your work. You consistently deliver on-time, every time. You aren’t easily rattled when it comes to scheduling calls or flights in various time zones. You check, and double check, and catch the mistakes that even we might have missed.
Communicative. You have strong communication skills, and are comfortable communicating on the phone, via email, and text. You strive to be polite and positive in your professional interactions, no matter who you’re engaging with. You take information and synthesize it into something that is visually appealing and easily understood. You must be fluent in English.
Curious. You ask questions, and look for opportunities to learn and grow. You enjoy figuring out things that don’t have easy answers almost as much as you enjoy finding out there’s a better way to do something. When you’re given a topic to research, you spend time truly investigating rather than giving Google a cursory glance.
In this role, you will be expected to:
Manage calendars, organize meetings and appointments — including reminders of important tasks and/or deadlines
Book and arrange travel, visas, transport and accommodation
Implement and maintain procedures/administrative systems (including but not limited to: managing file storage, digital subscriptions, client onboarding, client billing, etc.)
Support the team with miscellaneous personal tasks ranging from ordering gifts, to party planning, scheduling personal errands, filing insurance claims, e-mail management, family event coordination
Support the School of Stolen Genius through tasks like: helping to upload and tag content, coordinate community meetups, communicate with suppliers, schedule and send community updates, send Thank You follow-ups.
Support Genius/Steals and our clients through tasks like: scheduling, proof-reading, communicating with our guest curators, research tasks, formatting newsletter content into an existing template, partnership research, etc.
Hours & Rate | You will be hired as an independent contractor, and compensation will be based on experience. After one year, you’ll be eligible for a bonus based on your total hours worked, as well as an increase in your hourly rate. Hours will vary month to month. You will work at minimum 10 hours/month, and could work as many as 30-50 hours/month.
We will require a sample assignment prior to help aid our interview selection process. Please email Ashley@GeniusSteals.co with your relevant experience and hourly rate, and if it feels like it could be the right fit, we’ll provide you with the sample assignment.
:: AND NOW… SPENDING TIME IN NATURE ::
Grand Canyon :)
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rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)