THE LOOP
Matt

Life Goals...

Make sure your life goals are pointing you in the right direction. Don't get caught up in the end results. Sometimes the journey is the best part!
Olivia

Creative Mornings

Last Friday, Andrew and I got the chance to attend Creative Mornings - a monthly speaker series hosted by chapters in assorted cities nationwide. It's geared towards creatives and focuses on broad topics that are broken down by a speaker, as chosen by the chapter. Part of the concept behind Creative Mornings is to be able to leave with valuable tidbits of new information and ideas that participants can bring back to the office to share with others! I'll do my best to give a recap of what we learned while we were there:
The topic this month was "Mystery," and the speaker was a local journalist/designer named Melody Stone who shared how she lets her curiosity influence her work. She's written a series on "Roadside Distractions," where she investigates local mysteries that everyone seems to wonder about.
For example, she investigated why there's an Ocean City, MD - 3037 miles roadside sign in West Sacramento. (The reason: Hwy 50 begins in West Sac and ends in Ocean City, Maryland). One takeaway that I had from her talk is how she is able to create interesting and relevant stories out of seemingly nothing. A lot of times I think that creatives and non-creatives alike can suffer from a lack of inspiration that stems from the belief that they need a change of pace/scenery/etc. to be inspired.
And while that's all well and good and true sometimes, it's also true that there are mysteries all around us for us to be inspired by...all we need to do is take a closer look  You can start off by taking a closer look at us trying to figure out how the photo booth works:
Courtney

Taking Feedback like a Crusader

In light of reviews, new years resolutions, new hairstyles, or whatever new is going on in your life as 2017 is off to a start, I thought I'd share some thoughts on how to take feedback like a champ. These tips are from an original article by The Muse entitled "How to Take Constructive Criticism Like a Champ," but I prefer the term feedback. Keep these tips in mind during your review, or anytime you receive feedback from anyone in your life that your knee-jerk reaction may be unpleasant to at first:

 

1. Stop your first reaction: In fact, try not to react at all. Give yourself a few seconds to remain calm and process the words being said.

2. Remember the benefit of getting feedback: whether the situation warrants to improve skills, working habits, relationships, etc. 

3. Listen: Now that you're "calm and cool as a cucumber"(as my mother would say. Don't ask where it came from because I don't know) you can receive and process the words being said without going into defense mode by instantly mapping out a plan of rebuttal. 

4. Say thank you: And this is important! If you react badly to feedback, others may not be willing to give you anymore down the road, and as tough as it may be to take sometimes, I think we can all agree that in most instances we can gain something good from it. Also, remember that a lot of times feedback is as difficult to give as it is to take.

5. Ask Questions: Deconstruct the feedback you're receiving by repeating it back to the giver, and ask questions to clarify: "I hear that I need to be writing more detailed emails, could we discuss how I might go about this in the future?"