Strands of Genius: Reinventing Sushi, Fast Food Ads vs Reality, Paprika
plus, we need your help finding administrative support!
WRITING FROM | Worcester Park, UK
WORKING ON | tying up loose ends before we head to Portugal
LOOKING AHEAD
May 1-31 | London, UK
May 31-June 6 | Portugal (Birthday celebrations!)
June 6-24 | London, UK
June 9-16 | Italy (Rosie Only)
June 24-27 | New York, NY (Cristina & Ryan tie the knot!!)
June 27-July 12 | Wingdale, NY
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Last week was particularly chaotic, but we managed to make it through! We had an in person gig, a shoot and a remote gig for teams in Kenya. Tomorrow, we head to Portugal for birthday celebrations…. so eating, drinking, reading, wine tasting, games and generally not being on our computers, which we are both excited about!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Leffe blonde, hash browns, Pished Fish (seriously one of our favorite things about being in the UK), Matt, our vacation buddies Cordelia&Oskar, Abdullah, Berna & her kibbeh, sushi, fresh flowers, zero gravity recliners, Libby the library app, & YOU.
S C H O O L O F S T O L E N G E N I U S >> H I G H L I G H T S
INSIGHTS > WHAT ARE THEY, ANYWAY??
These 10 slides will help you to frame what an insight is, and what they're for. Steal a definition, or craft your own -- but remember, insights exist because we're all looking for a competitive advantage.
:: THE LINKS ::
CAN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY RE-INVENT SUSHI?
You know how couples sometimes have silly relationship rules? Ours is around sushi. I’m such a big fan (Rosie here) that as soon as it comes up as a possibility for an upcoming meal, I get locked into the idea — and, well, *super disappointed* if it doesn’t happen. So Faris knows that he shouldn’t bring up sushi unless he’s absolutely 100% cool with us having that - ha! Anyway, I’m not alone in my love for sushi. But fish populations continue to shrink while our love for sushi continues to grow. And it’s tough because fish have specific seasons and migration patterns so it’s not easy to imagine what sustainable fish farming looks like. Bon Appetite dives into what the future of sushi might look like... (Bon Appetite)
FAST FOOD BURGERS: EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY?
I didn’t plan for this to be a food-based edition of Strands but couldn’t resist the urge to include this article from Quartz — which features photographs used in a class action lawsuit for false advertising against Wendy’s and McDonald’s - two fast food favorites. Exaggeration has been toned down, according to Fast Company, as more people have become amateur food photographers themselves. But in the instance of fast food, there still seems to be the biggest gap between expectations and reality. (Quartz)
APP RECOMMENDATION: PAPRIKA 3
Since we’re already on the food topic, I’m using the last link to throw in a recommendation for one of my all time favorite (and most used) apps: Paprika Recipe Manager. I have both the desktop and mobile apps because I’m such a fan. There’s so much to love about the app - the bookmarklet that automatically saves the recipe so you don’t have to read someone’s life story just to make dinner, the conversion feature so you can easily scale up or down in quantity, the smart grocery list feature, the ability to cross off ingredients as you use them… Seriously, it’s just the best. (Paprika)
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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.
Join a community of people looking to work smarter, not harder.
Enroll today >
http://schoolofstolengeni.us
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
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 :)