If your idea of spending the summer in an office doesn鈥檛 quite sound like that, you should check out our summer highlights below鈥� (Warning: The following images may lead to LOTS of job envy - but don鈥檛 worry. )

We welcomed our summer interns!

Hailing from top-tier schools like the University of Virginia, Tuskegee University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and beyond, these interns are doing anything but getting coffee - they鈥檙e getting valuable hands-on career experience and working right alongside 草榴社区 business teams to innovate, create, and learn. Welcoming them to campus is one of our favorite parts of the year!

We threw our biggest party of the year.

A ferris wheel, glow in the dark putt-putt, laser tag (IN the office!), a biergarten, live music, funnel cakes, sno-cones, AND more?!?! It can only be one thing鈥� - AKA, the one afternoon a year when we turn 草榴社区 HQ into a giant carnival and welcome all our loved ones to campus! (And also a few llamas.)

We volunteered鈥�

This summer marks our 10th year hosting Bounce Out the Stigma - a traveling basketball camp (no pun intended) for children living with disabilities - at 草榴社区 HQ!! All week long, employees volunteered alongside Coach 鈥淢ighty Mike鈥� to help create a safe, energizing, and fun atmosphere for the campers. Some of our friends from the UNC Charlotte men鈥檚 basketball team - and WNBA athlete Cierra Burdick!! - even stopped by for a few games! You could say we were pretty starstruck鈥�

鈥� And celebrated our employees鈥� rich cultures, backgrounds, and communities.

In June, two of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) held campus events to celebrate observances close to employees鈥� hearts and strengthen our community. For Juneteenth, our Kindred ERG (supporting Black and African American teammates) held a Juneteenth cookout - complete with double dutch, a DJ, great food, and most importantly, connection. For PRIDE Month, our Venture OUT ERG (supporting LGBTQ+ teammates) held weekly Intersectionali-tea events, where teammates could gather to learn about the diverse makeup of the LGBTQ+ community - over free tea! Cheers to that!

We dressed for the occasion.

Meet 鈥淰ibes Shirt Thursday.鈥� It鈥檚 like casual Friday, just on Thursday - and way more fun.

Our Finserv team kept their weekly style tradition strong, flaunting timely themes like 鈥渃oastal grandma,鈥� which features soft neutral tones, stripes, and sweaters draped casually around one鈥檚 shoulders (probably to keep you warm in that cool ocean breeze. We can practically smell the saltwater from our desks!).

We got outside鈥�

From our HQ tennis and pickleball courts to the US National Whitewater Center (located just west of Charlotte!), 草榴社区 teams worked hard, and played hard, too.

鈥� And came back inside.

When the temps got too high for our favorite outdoor walking meetings, we brought the connection indoors! Nothing helps break up the workday like some air conditioned corn hole, free lunch, and giant Jenga.

We learned something new.

In early June, we celebrated the 鈥榞raduation鈥� of our 40th Management and Leadership Essentials (MLEP) cohort. MLEP is a homegrown course aimed at helping new and upcoming leaders hone their management skills and prepare to guide and develop their own teams. Shout-out to all our participants for investing in their own growth, and the growth of those around them!

Last but not least鈥�

We welcomed our 2024 LAUNCH hires! This year鈥檚 cohort of 80+ college grads spent their first few weeks learning all about 草榴社区鈥檚 history, strategy and culture as they prepared to take on new roles across the org and launch their careers. We can鈥檛 wait to see what they鈥檝e accomplished by NEXT summer鈥�

HAGS!

-草榴社区

In 2023, we celebrated major brand milestones, volunteered with organizations near and dear to us, and we learned important new skills with our peers. Also: Bunnies were discovered. Beans were grown.

Much was afoot鈥�

We celebrated

• Lonely Planet Turned 50 |Want to join their birthday celebration? Check out their , featuring 50 destinations for 50 years of travel.

• 150+ Promising Careers Launched |This year, 80+ college grads joined our team as part of our LAUNCH program, and nearly 50 college interns joined our businesses to gather hands-on career experience and valuable industry exposure.

• 草榴社区 Puerto Rico Proudly Looked Back - and Ahead | Five years ago, FWD787 was created by 草榴社区 CEO Ric Elias to provide valuable career training and development for young Puerto Rican professionals. This year, we proudly looked back at how far our 草榴社区PR team has come, and are excited to continue investing in the future of the island by creating competitive local career opportunities. Learn more in the video below!

Can one idea redefine what鈥檚 possible in Puerto Rico? Yes.

We made an impact

• We Continued Our Commitment to Road to Hire |This year, 110 草榴社区ers volunteered with and - two nonprofits founded by 草榴社区 CEO Ric Elias. Plus, 146 R2H apprentices scored entry-level tech jobs across 9 different employer partners - resulting in an impressive 92% job hire rate overall! 

• We Hosted Charlotte鈥檚 First DEI Conference | This fall, 90 professionals in the DEI space - from Charlotte, NC, and beyond - gathered at our HQ office to connect, learn, and grow together. Kudos to our 草榴社区 DEI team for leading the event and helping us build more inclusive workplaces for all.

• We Stood With Ukraine | Through our work with Stronger Than Ever - a nonprofit founded by 草榴社区 CEO Ric Elias, supporting humanitarian crises around the world - we were able to help fund a pediatric mental health center in Ukraine. Located in Lviv, the center will serve roughly 2,000 Ukrainian children and teens per year, providing free treatment for war-related psychological trauma.

• HQ Bounced Out the Stigma | This summer, more than 120 草榴社区ers volunteered with Bounce Out the Stigma (BOTS) - a five-day basketball camp for children and young adults who experience perceived limitations. 

• The Points Guy Hosted the Best Flight Ever | After several delays and one pandemic-sized curveball, The Points Guy - in partnership with Make-a-Wish, Disney, and American Airlines - was finally able to bring their long-awaited Best Flight Ever to life, sending 27 Make-A-Wish families to the Walt Disney World庐 Resort.

Read more about TPG's "Best Flight Ever" Here!

We got better every day 

• We Spent 64,941 Hours Learning | And that鈥檚 across nearly 1,200 unique learning courses & assets. 

• 134 草榴社区 Managers Became Certifiably More Skilled |Congrats to our Management and Leadership Essentials Program (MLEP) graduates!

• 42 草榴社区ers Participated in Our Two Central Mentorship Programs | The programs included 9 fireside chats with senior leaders and 20 technical sessions.

• 50+ First-Time Presenters Took Our Largest Stage |Presenting on our HQ Arena stage is no joke, but these first-timers stepped up to the challenge and handled it like seasoned pros. Check out one below! 

Two months after joining 草榴社区, Cristian delivered a show-stopping presentation to thousands of coworkers.

His topic? 鈥淧ACE!鈥�

We had some fun along the way

• We Hosted 50+ Events at 草榴社区 HQ | Including our AEM 2X, where 430+ 草榴社区 teammates flew to CLT. 

• We Made Power Moves | 9 草榴社区ers participated in our North American chess league, defeating challengers like Google, McKinsey, and more. 

• We Found Bunnies | In our elevators, on our desks, and hidden in nooks and crannies across campus. One 草榴社区er鈥檚 prank turned into an office-wide phenomenon - and mystery. Of course, we got to the bottom of this hare-raising drama鈥�

Tiny bunnies. Big deal.

HQ鈥檚 Year in Buzzwords

• Puppies | Here?!?!? Right now?!? (Yes! Future service dogs from Project 2 Heal visited campus this fall.)

• Swapping pants | A very normal occurrence at our first Earth Week clothing swap.

• Fro-Yo | IT鈥橲 BACK. WITH SPRINKLES. 

• Beans | Our Earthline group planted & harvested our first HQ community garden - in addition to starting a movement to reduce waste on campus. More on that in the video below!

Want 2024 highlights - in real time?! Follow us on social media, @RedVentures!

This is the story of 鈥淔WD787,鈥� a movement that's already disrupting the status quo in Puerto Rico 鈥� just 5 years after it began.

In 2017, Puerto Rico was battered by Hurricane Maria, the deadliest storm to hit the island in decades. In the wake of the tragedy, 70 driven Puerto Rican professionals came together to reimagine a brighter future for their island. After a crash course at a tech company called 鈥湶萘裆缜�,鈥� they returned home to prove that they could launch world-class businesses from the island. Today, the FWD movement is a collection of companies and brands 100+ teammates strong.

Against all odds, they鈥檝e reset the standard for what鈥檚 possible in Puerto Rico. (And they had some fun along the way.)

At 草榴社区, we believe that embracing diversity, promoting equity, and fostering inclusion are not just aspirational goals but essential pillars for our success. By harnessing the power of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas, we can drive innovation, creativity, and better decision-making.

We acknowledge that the journey toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is ongoing and nonlinear.

As always, our focus is on progress, not perfection, as we continually strive to enhance the experiences of our teams. By acknowledging the changes we have undergone and remaining dedicated to growth, we reinforce our commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all.

Our annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Report provides a comprehensive overview of our initiatives, metrics, and outcomes, allowing for an honest and transparent assessment of our efforts. We invite you to view the report here, and join our mission of creating a workplace and a world where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered.

Inclusion Data in Aggregate 

Looking at these measures across the organization, we鈥檝e seen a 20% decrease in favorability in our DEI index and belonging YoY. 

In the last year, we鈥檝e leaned into a hybrid work environment, combining remote and in-person work. This shift has created new challenges for fostering a strong sense of belonging among employees. It is crucial for us to address these concerns and adapt our DEI strategies to drive inclusion and community for all employees, regardless of location. 

*2022 Annual Engagement Survey data is from the mid-year pulse survey and may not include all survey questions. 

Inclusion Data by Gender Identity

We鈥檝e continued to close the gap in favorability in the DEI index across gender identities. Most notably, we鈥檝e reduced the difference in favorability between those who identify as men and women by 62% since 2021. 

While favorability is fairly comparable across gender identities, it鈥檚 important to continue building a culture that supports and includes our non-binary teammates in our DEI work.

Inclusion Data by Race and Ethnicity

In addition to making progress on gender inclusion, we鈥檝e reduced or closed the gap in favorability between white employees and those who identify as Asian or Two or More Races.

While this is progress in the right direction, since 2021, we鈥檝e also observed a 9% increase in disparity in favorability between those who identify as Black or African American and those who identify as white. 

Inclusion Data by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

When examining the crossroads of race, ethnicity, and gender identity, we understand that both BILAP and white Women report lower favorability in the DEI index than men 鈥� with BILAP women reporting the lowest favorability across all groups. 

We must continue to create opportunities to connect those who may have been historically excluded with opportunities for growth and spaces where they can find community among employees with shared identities and experiences. 

Data unavailable for the intersection of non-binary and race and ethnicity

LGBTQ+

Employees may choose to self-identify if they are members of the LGBTQ+ community. Employees are not required to disclose this information or identify their specific sexual orientation. Data related to sexual orientation is only used in aggregate and never tied back to an individual employee.

LGBTQ+ employees report lower feelings of belonging and inclusion, with favorability falling between 10% and 12% below the organization. 

Conclusion

Annual data enables us to track our progress, maintain accountability, and gain insights into areas that require further attention. Our aspiration is not perfection, but continuous improvement  towards fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome, respected, and empowered.

As we reflect upon the past year, we acknowledge the unique challenges that have impacted our organization, whether it鈥檚 navigating a hybrid work environment, adapting to the changing macro landscape, or exploring new business opportunities. Each of these challenges has made a significant impact and demanded that we remain nimble yet focused on our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Moving forward, we remain steadfast in our commitment to actively listen to the voices of our employees and to adapt our approach to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Three pillars will be our north star in doing this work:

1. Leveling the Playing Field: By ensuring equal opportunities and addressing disparities, we create a workplace where everyone, regardless of background or identity, can contribute and thrive. 

2. Shared Purpose: When we center on a shared purpose, we bring a vibrant mix of perspectives, weaving a tapestry of ideas that are uniquely ours. 

3. Connectedness: Through open dialogue, respect, and shared understanding among us, we break down barriers to build meaningful relationships, foster a work culture that enhances our well-being, and promote collaboration and innovation.

With optimism and determination, we embrace the future and look forward to continuing this journey together.

Empowered 鈥� 鈥� strives to foster a community that inspires, supports, empowers, and educates all women and allies of all gender identities. And one of our favorite ways to inspire and empower our community is simply by sharing the wisdom of the amazing 草榴社区 women we get to work with every day.

On this month鈥檚 Empowered leaders feature, we spoke with the Senior Vice President of Digital Content for Lonely Planet, Nitya Chambers about her day-to-day, her favorite ways to recharge, and advice she'd give to women just starting out. Check out her conversation with the Empowered Communication Team below.

Empowered: Walk us through a day-in-the-life of an SVP and executive editor on the Lonely Planet team.

Nitya Chambers: To keep it totally real, a day in the life of an SVP & Executive Editor starts with the glamour and dazzle of my husband and I getting our surly 11-year-old and even surlier 8-year-old out of bed, making a breakfast that makes no one happy but, ironically, packing lunches that I鈥檓 told are the envy of the lunch table. 

Once I get to the office, every day is different 鈥� and it鈥檚 a huge reason I love my job. The other huge reason I love my job is getting to solve complex and creative problems with a team whose commitment, heart, and compassion is unparalleled. 

Some days that鈥檚 brainstorming what kind of content experience would attract a paying customer; other days that鈥檚 thinking about what kind of content and contributor strategy across books and digital will help fulfill our mission.

And almost all days it鈥檚 talking to and learning from the passionate team members around the world who push the work in their diverse functional areas to help more, different kinds of people experience the joy and wonder of travel.

Empowered: What was your path to Senior Vice President? Is travel something you've always had a passion for?

NC: I came up on a pretty traditional media trajectory: working at the ABC News Washington bureau in a variety of production roles in the early 2000s, making the shift to the digital team in 2006 in a pre-iPhone world, covering a bunch of elections, eventually making the shift from politics to special projects across news and lifestyle verticals.

The two things that earned my seat at the executive table (before I was actually an executive) were: 1) Seeing and celebrating success cross-functionally. I learned early on that the coolest and most enduring things were more than just what one team could accomplish 鈥� bringing content, design, engineering, PR, marketing, business teams together to go after a goal and then making sure it was celebrated that way became my north star. 2) Approaching projects as opportunities to create more efficient processes for the business. Using singular efforts and calendar moments to pilot innovative content experiences that drove new ways of working were opportunities to create lasting cultural change.

I鈥檝e always had a passion for storytelling, for building content products that help people live more informed and empowered lives, and for travel and traveling. The three came together powerfully for me when I went to CNN in 2016 to lead the development and launch of Explore Parts Unknown, the digital home for Anthony Bourdain. I am filled with so much gratitude that the magic that sparked in that work found me again when I got the call from 草榴社区 to lead the content team at Lonely Planet.

Empowered: What advice would you give a woman just starting out in their career?

NC: Careers are long 鈥� and they can look a lot of different ways. Talk to as many people as you can about their journeys, make space for the advice they give you, and keep in touch with them as you move through your career. Invest in the development of others; there is no greater reward.

Prioritize your physical and emotional health while making space for learning and relationships that help you grow. Know who you are, what you value, and make note of the things 鈥� familiar and unfamiliar, personal and professional 鈥� that excite you, and don鈥檛 be afraid to change. Write those things down. Come back to them. Develop a personal ritual around your personal development to always have a pulse on you: the things you want more of and the things you want less of with regards to your life and career. 

Empowered: What are some of your favorite ways to recharge or favorite forms of self-care? 

NC: Spending time outside, stepping away from my devices, and going to sleep. Seriously on that last one, there are few things in the world that aren鈥檛 solved by a few hours of emotional distance and a good night鈥檚 sleep.

Empowered: What does "being empowered in the workplace" mean to you?

NC: Having a voice and using that voice fearlessly to lead teams to improve the culture and work that drive our business forward.

Now some fun鈥�

• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
  • I鈥檇 love a year with the freedom to move between a few different places - beach, mountains, city, forest 鈥� as long as I was coming home to New York.
• If you were famous, what would you be famous for?聽
  • Casting the movie version of any current event. It is one of my greatest talents.
• If you could bring back any fashion trend what would it be?
  • 70s glam: eyelashes, sequins, rollerskating 鈥� what鈥檚 not to love?

This Or That

• Physical books or digital books?
  • Physical books. Especially from Lonely Planet!
• Planes or road trips?
  • Road trip!
• Coffee or tea?聽
  • Coffee
• Early bird or night owl?聽
  • Early bird. I love that moment before the day starts when it just belongs to you.
• What's worse, laundry or dishes?
  • Laundry. Too many steps until it鈥檚 done.

The empowerment doesn't stop here - check out our previous Empowered feature with April Gibson-Fulton, Senior Director of Engineering, right here!

Thinking is a skill. The way we think about problems, both large and small, affects our decisions and outcomes. For intelligence to be activated and useful, we need to develop thinking skills. Good thinking utilizes a variety of thinking strategies. 

Moreover, thinking is a habit. So we need strategies that we can remember and reproduce in many situations.

Edward de Bono came up with this idea of thinking hats, and I have enjoyed using the technique for many years, with good results. According to some sources, the thinking hats technique has been used by folks at NASA, IBM and FedEx and many others, but I first used it with preschoolers. (So trust me - anyone can use it!)

The thinking hats help us to split types of thinking into separate, parallel tracks so that we can think more efficiently and effectively. It is an alternative to the argument system, which is more focused on critical thinking than constructive or creative thinking.

Let鈥檚 explore the six hats, and the contribution each type of thinking makes to the whole. 

The Six Hats

The yellow hat represents optimism and hope - benefits and advantages. While wearing this hat you may say things like, 

• 鈥淲hat are the good points?鈥�

• 鈥溾�橶hat are the benefits?鈥�

• 鈥淲hy will this idea work?鈥�

The black hat helps us with risk assessment. It exercises caution and judgment. It can help us foresee problems. This hat puts forth questions like, 

• "What could go wrong?" 

• "What would make this not work?" 

It helps prevent mistakes and excesses.

The white hat is neutral. It focuses us on facts and figures, and emphasizes what we know for sure. Some questions for white hat thinking are,

• 鈥淲hat facts do we know?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat information is missing?鈥�

• 鈥淗ow are we going to get the information?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat is relevant?鈥�

The red hat influences thinking with feelings. It honors hunches and intuition. Some common questions might be, 

• 鈥淗ow do I feel about this right now?鈥�

• 鈥淗ow am I reacting to this?鈥�

The blue hat controls the process. It brings discipline and focus. It is blue to represent the sky, the 20,000-foot view. The blue hat can play a role in organizing the problem into manageable sections. For example, you are wearing the blue hat when you decide what order of hats to use. You can ask questions like,

• 鈥淲hen should we discuss this?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat decision have we reached?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat do we do next?鈥�

The green hat symbolizes new ideas, concepts and approaches. It is for creative, generative thinking. Green hat questions may include:

• 鈥淲hat are some possible ways to work this out?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat are other ways to solve the problem?鈥�

• 鈥淲hat alternatives do we see?鈥�

The way I speak while using my green hat sounds like this: 鈥淚 have a weird idea that probably won鈥檛 work, but here it is. Anyone else have a new idea or want to bounce off mine in a different direction?鈥�

Putting the Hats into Action

You can structure a meeting with just a few of these hats, as needed. For example鈥�

Here are some ways I use the hats during meetings, even without calling them out as such. 

• When I want to put on the white hat, I like to use a screenshare of notes being taken or pseudocode, or draw simple diagrams. Visual presentation is powerful for making ideas concrete, bounded and actionable.

• 
  

• If I notice a meeting tending toward a lot of catastrophic black hat thinking, or sunny yellow thinking, I tend to ask for the opposite鈥� but only after giving space for the first hat to run its course.

• 
  

• I use the end of meetings for my red hat. I express my enthusiasm for the work we are doing. I express gratitude to my team. I draw an image of the goodness I see ahead as we work together for a better workflow, a better process or project, whatever it is. I put labels to feelings, and I find that it adds meaning to the work we are doing. 

You know who鈥檚 great at using the red hat?

That鈥檚 right. .

The Benefits of the Hats

The difference between argument-style, point/counterpoint, and critical-thinking approaches versus the thinking hats approach is summed up well in this little story.

Let鈥檚 say we have four people talking about this house. One is standing looking at the front side of the house. One is at the back, and two on the sides. They all have different points of view 鈥� and they are all valid points. But they aren鈥檛 going to get very far very fast in explaining the whole house to one another.

Instead, what if they all come around to the same side of the house where they can examine this part from the same viewpoint? This is parallel, or lateral, thinking. They all can now point in the same direction, and walk around together to see the whole thing. This is like putting on the same hat at the same time. The hat is just a direction, not a destination. 

Maybe you canvas all the risks, or you look just at the benefits, or pause and do a gut check on hunches with the red hat. The key is: Everyone is pointing their thinking in the same direction at the same time. This leads to more balanced discussion. Instead of making the discussion about who is right, it keeps a focus on the problem being solved or the direction being chosen.

Think, then Think Again!

de Bono said, 鈥淭he main difficulty of thinking is CONFUSION. We try to do too much all at once. Emotions, logic, hope, and creativity all crowd in on us.鈥� 

Knowing one鈥檚 own thoughts is an enabling power. Skilled thinking helps teams come to good, well-thought-out decisions 鈥� in often a surprisingly short time! As we give room for each of the types of thinking, without trying to counterpoint every point, the types tend to run their course naturally. 

Often, the experience of sequencing the hats well is that the decision, when it comes time, strikes everyone as clear, even obvious. There is more confidence in moving forward.

And now, here鈥檚 my red hat moment: Thank you for reading my post on the Six Thinking Hats! 

Now, go think on it a bit.

Source:

Loved this article? There's more where that came from - keep learning with our tech experts right here!

How do you lean into authenticity?

That was the central question posed to our speakers at this year鈥檚 Uplift Panel - an annual Black History Month capstone event led by our Kindred Employee Resource Group (ERG).

Kindred - which serves to support Black and African American 草榴社区ers - created the Uplift Panel in 2020 with two goals: to provide a platform for Black thought-leaders to share their experiences with the 草榴社区 community, and to foster learning through discourse. 

Under the theme of this year鈥檚 panel, 鈥淟eaning Into Authenticity鈥�, our speakers reflected on how being true to yourself can create lasting impact in both one鈥檚 personal and professional lives. 

But wait, what does authenticity really mean? As defined by our Kindred Co-Chairs - Laurin Mayes (who also moderated the panel!) and Erika Farmer - authenticity is about accepting who you are and living in the moment with the conviction, confidence, and courage to share your full self with the world. As a result, it enables you to perform better, take more risks, and approach tasks with optimism, excitement, and a renewed sense of intellectual curiosity.

Meet our panelists below, then explore the inspiring stories and wisdom they shared at Kindred鈥檚 2023 Uplift Panel by watching the event recording or browsing our top takeaways!

Event Moderator & Panelists

Top Takeaways

• Being your most authentic self applies to more than just your character. Self-expression can be reflected through your personal style or the ways you lean into activities and communities that reflect your interests.
  • BONUS: Being yourself will show others that it is okay to be themselves!

鈥淭he more that I am me, the more other people feel comfortable and confident coming up to me.鈥� - Jason Streeter

• Understanding yourself, your identity, the environments you thrive in, and what you need to show up as yourself helps you to be authentic in everything you do.

鈥淢e understanding what my Blackness meant, what that looked like, and how I wanted to express it, is why I鈥檓 able to be authentic in everything that I am.鈥� - Hailey Mangrum

• Be somebody that you want to work for, and be yourself while doing it. 
  • TOP TIP! To find your authentic leadership style, identify your strengths and the direct impact that those actions can have on others. If the impact is positive, do more of that! If negative, do less.

鈥淣ever forget that others advocated for you to get where you are. As you are moving up, be the leader and boss you always wanted.鈥� - Maulan Byron

• Accepting feedback is a powerful way to be your most authentic self. When you understand your limitations and challenges, or what people perceive them to be, you can be your most authentic and successful self.

鈥淎ccept feedback in the way in which it is offered: to help you get better.鈥� - Andrea Jackson

• Lift others as you climb. One of the best ways to take advantage of personal successes and wins 鈥� in your authenticity and your career 鈥�  is to share that with others and ensure that they are being celebrated for their identities and strengths.
  
• Building authentic relationships is key to finding a support system that will lift you up, open doors for you, and help you understand what you need to be happy and successful. Reaching out to others can also help you build up confidence over time to take up space and be who you are. 

鈥淚鈥檓 always trying to figure out what is this person doing, what are they doing in the organization, how can they help me, how can I help them, or do they need a friend to just talk to today.鈥� - Jason Streeter

• Do not be complacent. By making sure that you are constantly valued in your role and bringing value to your team, you will help yourself shine and ensure that your teammates are able to shine doing what you all do best.
  
• If you are struggling, you are probably not alone. Be willing to ask questions and reach out to others. Community can sometimes be the best medicine.

Loved this article? There's more where that came from - check out our latest stories from around the 草榴社区-sphere here!

The Unknown Unknowns

When we start a project or begin a new functionality within an existing system or a migration, we do a proof of concept. Everything looks great at the beginning! But, as we progress into the details, we begin to face unknowns that we never considered. We learn that not everything goes according to plan, and, unfortunately, that proof of concept doesn鈥檛 always happen word for word.

This is when the challenges start to creep up, one after another鈥� Finally, we have to decide: Pivot or Persevere?

Should we push through the challenges and get over them? Change directions or make a U-turn?

In this article, I will share what I鈥檝e learned when faced with these crossroads. I鈥檒l share how my team made difficult decisions and, hopefully, it will help you make yours.

Tip 1: Speed up your FEEDBACK loop

In the book The Lean Startup, Eric Ries says:

鈥淭he fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful startup processes should be geared to accelerate that feedback loop.鈥�

In my opinion, a new project, functionality, or migration of systems is not much different. The shorter the feedback loop, the faster the team can decide whether to pivot or persevere.

It is best to make the experience as close to a real-world example as possible. That's why contrary to popular belief, I encourage teams to鈥�

BONUS TIP: Go into the production environment as early as possible.

The sooner we start dealing with real-world scenarios, the sooner we spot all of the hidden challenges. In several instances working with engineering teams at 草榴社区, our projects went smoothly until we started dealing with the production volume of data. But, if we had dealt with the production data sooner, it would have been easier to catch the problems and progress from there.

Tip 2: ZOOM OUT

Technical challenges can be very blinding. We see one challenge and try to come up with one solution. However, as soon as we find the solution, it may cause another challenge, and then we鈥檙e busy solving the new one. Over and over again. We get pushed down a rabbit hole that is so far diverged from the primary goal.

Tech Case Study

In the case of migrating our Identity Graph to a Graph database, we couldn't leverage our existing tech stack. Most of our tech stack is in , but the chosen graph database engine didn't have an official Go toolset, and the unofficial ones were having problems that we had to roll out.

Hence, we used Serverless AWS Lambda functions to read from the main Kafka stream, processing and pushing to the Graph database engine.

After that, we faced another roadblock, with the inability of to scale more than the number of partitions in the stream.

To overcome that, we delayed the processing to another step. We created a Lambda function that reads from the Kafka writes to an SQS queue and fan-out there so the Lambda function can read off that queue. SQS and Lambda scale much better together.To overcome that, we delayed the processing to another step. We created a Lambda function that reads from the Kafka writes to an SQS queue and fan-out there so the Lambda function can read off that queue. SQS and Lambda scale much better together.

At the time, we could not see the monster we were creating. We were adding so much architectural complexity to our system, when our real goal was to simplify our codebase.

This is why technical challenges are sometimes blinding. We get hit by one, try to solve it, then the next one, and so on - death by a thousand cuts. Results contradict the goals.

If we zoom out at each step, look at our entire roadmap, and verify where we are versus what our final goal is, it will be a lot easier to see the problem we鈥檙e creating, and move past it.

Tip 3: Ask for HELP!

In difficult situations like this, you are not alone. You don't need to make the decision all by yourself. It's a team effort. Even if you're a team of one, you have external resources that can help you 鈥� like this blog post! :)

Search for experts within your organization. Others might have gone through a similar path, and their perspectives could help and facilitate decision-making.

TECH TIP: If you have vendors for services like Cloud computing, they usually offer assistance and consultation. Because they have exposure to so many customers and clients, their insight is significant and extremely valuable.

The tech community is usually very supportive. Reach out to experts and peers for feedback.

Tip 4: COMMUNICATE

As with most situations in life, our challenges are usually miscommunication problems. The same thing applies to engineering and software engineering. I believe that software engineering is more about COMMUNICATION than coding.

In situations where we feel stuck, communicating early on with leadership and production teams will help them to be aware of the problem. Then, later on, when more challenging decisions need to be made, nobody is surprised. Also, the process of decision-making becomes collaborative, leaving less room for error.

Technical leadership, product management, and project management all add different perspectives to situations that can help ease decision-making.

Tip 5: Let the PRODUCT be your ultimate guide!

All of your efforts are related to the product in some way or another 鈥� whether you are enhancing capabilities and performance, adding functionalities, or using a better service or technology.

So, the product itself is your best guide. Look up to the northern star!

Ask yourself: Are the efforts鈥�

• Adding business values?

• Reducing the technical debts?

• Aligning with what the customers are asking for?

• Within the required or desired Service Level Agreements?

Tip 6: Both pivoting and persevering can lead to SUCCESS

We should not consider a pivot a failure. When we are too engrossed in a technical challenge, we sometimes fall into the trap of cost fallacy. We have spent so much time and energy on the topic that it seems like a waste to pivot. We have invested so much into it. But, we must consider that stopping the waste and the bleeding is, ultimately, a success. It's never too late to mend.

Document your processes to help you remember why you decided to pivot or persevere. We tend to forget the reasoning behind our choices, which may cause us to fall into a similar trap again. Documenting the decisions you make is essential to avoid wasting time trying something that you have already tried and tested. 

In conclusion, roadblocks are inevitable. There will be many times when you have to decide between pivoting or persevering. But, with the approaches above, you will be able to spot the roadblocks before getting too far down the road, and, hopefully, you will feel more equipped to make a successful decision!

Interested in diving deeper into Majid's piece? Read his in-depth version - featuring helpful tech case studies - on his personal blog.

TECHnically, you don't have to stop reading here - get even more tech tips from Principal Engineer and fellow RUN. Tech Summit speaker Chase Coney right here.

Here's a look back at what we'll remember most about 2022...

Our Portfolio Evolved

But one thing remained constant: our brands and businesses helped millions of people all over the world make life鈥檚 most important decisions.

Highlights:

• CNET launched their first rebrand in more than 25 years, expanding mission beyond tech/new identity.

  • Read more about the story, people, and process behind the rebrand here!

• ZDNet launched their first rebrand in 30 years, transitioning from an online publishing platform to B2B news site focused on IT and security. 

• BestCollegesoverhauled their brand as well, continuing their mission is to make education achievable for everyone.

• We added travel planning startup Elsewhere to our portfolio.

  • (Technically, they're now part of our Lonely Planet team.)

  • • (Are you following?!)

    • We launched 草榴社区O Health.

      • It's a joint venture between 草榴社区 and UnitedHealth Group鈥檚 Optum Health, dedicated to making health easier to navigate, more accessible, and more affordable.

Chances are - if you watched or read the news this year

(including... Dr. Phil?!)

, you saw someone from 草榴社区!

A Year of Connection

We re-opened our offices (!) in March, officially entering a new era of hybrid work which (so far) has been full of collaboration, community-building, and celebration.

Highlights:

• In 2022, we hosted 29 Hybrid Events and 20 In-Person Events across 草榴社区.

  • That's 567% more events than the year before!

    • AND, that includes one rooftop PRIDE event.

      • And YES, it was a dance party.

      • It also includes:

        • 草榴社区 Women's Empowered Summit

        • Kindred Uplift Panel, featuring Michele Ghee (CEO of Ebony & Jet) and Kieth Cockrel (President of Bank of America Charlotte)

        • Versuz, hosted by Kindred

        • AAPI Month Fireside Chat with Michelle Kim

• This year we literally showed up for each other - earning more than 13 million air miles traveling between 草榴社区 offices!

  • That doesn't include countless more miles driven, walked, and perhaps - bicycled?

    • We'll count better next year.

Our Impact

Most importantly, our employees, our brands, and our teams spent the year giving back in a multitude of ways.

Highlights:

• More than 500 草榴社区ers volunteered with Road to Hire and Golden Door Scholars, two nonprofits founded by 草榴社区 CEO Ric Elias.

• Our TPG team raised money for Rainbow Railroad and several teammates traveled to Ghana to support the annual PeaceJam conference.

• Our 草榴社区 Home team BUILT 馃憦 A 馃憦 HOUSE!!

• Several 草榴社区ers volunteered with Stronger Than Ever, a nonprofit founded by CEO Ric Elias, to raise funds and provide medical supplies for the people of Ukraine.

Want to know how this year stacks up against years past? Check out our 2021 Year in Review, or go back to 2020 right here. See you in 2023!

In our new video series, "Dinner With Friends," we're inviting 草榴社区ers to share candid conversations, listen to understand, and connect as a community. Below, join a group of 草榴社区ers who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community as they celebrate and discuss PRIDE - in life and at work.

Watch more of this series on YouTube!

Notes from the table:

Ruth: "This was the first time (ever) that I sat down with a group of people like me and had a conversation about our experiences as someone part of the LGBTQ+ community. I can not tell you how meaningful this was. I鈥檓 so grateful that this conversation is part of a much larger one happening at WORK. I'm so grateful for this space."

Nathan: This experience allowed me to really think about how being a part of the LGBTQ+ community has shaped my life from youth to where I am now, and ultimately my future. It also gave me a look into both the lives and the experiences of coworkers to grow my understanding of the different facets of the LGBTQ+ community. I am so thankful for this (and future) opportunities to grow myself and others!

Jahuie: "I am more than ever connected to a group of colleagues who bared their souls about their LGBTQ+ journeys. Our voices can now be amplified to help others understand our community from multiple unique perspectives. I am proud to work for a company who believes in, supports, and celebrates diverse voices."

Tyler: "Being able to be in the company of colleagues that are so bravely authentic was astounding. It was eye-opening to hear how my personal experience intersected with my team members experiences. I am so thankful to have had to opportunity to have a conversation, with amazing people, where we had the unique opportunity to amplify our visibility."

Lisa: "This was a surreal conversation to have in the workplace. Never in my life did I imagine I'd have the chance to talk about my life as an LGBTQ+ person and have it shown to all my coworkers. 草榴社区 has made me feel seen, valued, and respected for who I really am.  This was a special experience with really special teammates and friends."

THANK YOU to all of our Dinner Guests for participating, sharing, and being great people to work with!

Want to learn more about our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts at 草榴社区? View our 2021-2022 Annual Progress Report, here.

My Career(s) at 草榴社区 features people who have experienced SEISMIC career shifts, turned their 鈥渟ide-interests鈥� into full-time jobs, or made gigantic leaps to follow their passions. All right here at 草榴社区.

Jack Sharkey鈥檚 career at 草榴社区 has spanned more than 7 years. In that time, he鈥檚 built impactful websites and experiences, he鈥檚 performed as a one-man jam band in our first company-wide virtual talent show (really), and he鈥檚 earned a reputation as one of 草榴社区鈥檚 most passionate advocates for Web Accessibility. 

In fact, Jack鈥檚 passion and work on the topic of Web Accessibility helped lead to the creation of an important new role at 草榴社区, which will meaningfully impact every team and every brand at 草榴社区.  

Jack, thanks for sharing more with us about your career and your new role! Which is鈥� what exactly? 

Thanks for having me! I am 草榴社区鈥檚 first ever 鈥淪taff Web Accessibility Engineer,鈥� which means my focus is ensuring all of the websites and tools in our portfolio are accessible and inclusive for every user, regardless of visual impairments, hearing impairments, or other considerations.  

Basically, a full-time role dedicated to practicing inclusion online?

Yes! For example, consider the process of paying your rent or mortgage online. If you鈥檙e using assistive technology, such as a screen reader for visually impaired users, but that application has not been built with accessibility in mind - then you鈥檒l likely face frustrating obstacles, like broken links, incomplete forms, or even a completely broken and inaccessible application. 

That also ties back to helping people make important decisions - which is core to what we do at 草榴社区.

Exactly. To me, web accessibility is not about adapting existing experiences for people with disabilities. It鈥檚 about building great experiences for everyone - which includes people with disabilities. 

That鈥檚 a great way to think about it. Rewinding just a bit - this is something that you鈥檝e been passionate about for almost your entire career at 草榴社区. Tell us a little about that. 

Sure, my first experience with web accessibility was several years ago when I worked on a project for one of 草榴社区鈥檚 brand partners. I think it was actually the first project at 草榴社区 that required us to meet accessibility standards, which was both a wake up call and an interesting new challenge. 

How so? 

In addition to what feels like an obvious moral obligation (to build inclusive, accessible experiences for all), coding for accessibility forces you to think about your work almost linguistically. The grammar of your code has to be perfect for assistive technology to translate it accurately, which naturally elevates the quality of your code a bit. I studied Latin in school, so I find it really interesting and have a tendency to geek out about it a bit...  

We can see how the two have a Latin common! 

[Editor鈥檚 note: Jack did not help write nor does he endorse this pun.]

ANYWAY. Back to how you became one of the leading advocates for accessibility at 草榴社区 (and beyond).

One of the great things about 草榴社区 is our emphasis on Learning & Development. I was fortunate to have many opportunities to attend external conferences (like SXSW and others). Every time I went to one, I would make it my focus to seek out all of the accessibility talks and workshops. Then, through our internal platform at 草榴社区 I was able to share back what I learned - and how it could apply to our teams - via my own workshops and internal courses.

Over time, I developed a reputation as an in-house expert on the topic, and I was often asked by other 草榴社区 teams to consult for their projects outside of my day-to-day responsibilities. I essentially started treating web accessibility as a second job, as much as I could.

How/Why did it then turn into a full-time role at 草榴社区 this year?  

While web accessibility has always been top of mind at 草榴社区, we鈥檝e always viewed it as 别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 responsibility - not necessarily a dedicated role. However, we鈥檝e now reached a scale where we have dozens of teams who are all at differing levels of maturity when it comes to web accessibility. 

Simply put, our leadership team has taken a stance that web accessibility should be core to all of our teams, so we鈥檙e making a more proactive investment at the enterprise level.

That鈥檚 great to hear! Can you share any details about where we currently stand, and how you鈥檒l approach this work? 

It鈥檚 an awesome step to dedicate a full-time role to this, but we certainly have a lot of work ahead of us. We鈥檙e not thinking about it as a race or even corrections, but rather a long-term commitment to integrate web accessibility into our culture, the way we think about web experiences, and every stage of our tech processes. 

Jack, thank you for sharing your story with us and for playing such a key role in elevating Web Accessibility at 草榴社区. 

Thank you! Looking forward to sharing more on our progress over the coming months.

草榴社区 Engineering Manager Brittany Maffesoli presenting at this year's Tech Summit

Hi, I鈥檓 Brittany. I鈥檓 an Engineering Manager, a mom, and an avid reader (especially fantasy). In recent years, we鈥檝e seen some awesome social shifts and progress when it comes to inclusion - but as we all know, we still have a long way to go.

Today I鈥檇 like to share a bit of my own personal experience and advice, which I hope will inspire other women in tech and allies to continue advocating and making space for more diversity in tech. 

Pattern Recognition

I鈥檝e worked in engineering for nearly a decade, and let鈥檚 face it - in meetings, at tech conferences, I very often have found myself to be the only woman in a room. And, while I鈥檝e had some truly incredible male managers, leaders, and peers who have genuinely wanted me to succeed, I鈥檝e noticed a pattern.

Some advice and types of coaching - while they may be proven paths of success for majority groups - may not work for everyone. New paths may need to be introduced, accepted, and supported. I鈥檒l give you a few examples. 

鈥淏e more assertive.鈥�

I was given this advice early in my career, as I imagine many people of all backgrounds are. For some, this may be effective. For me, it was not. My efforts to implement this feedback actually led to further feedback from colleagues that I was behaving rudely in meetings, and I should give everyone a chance to speak.

鈥淏e more protective/strategic with your time!鈥� 

Another common piece of advice, especially at the mid-level. However, as I practiced saying 鈥渘o鈥� more, this led to feedback that I was unhelpful and not a team player - despite my task lists actually including more unplanned support work or 鈥済lue work鈥� than my colleagues.

鈥淔ake it til you make it.鈥�

When I started leading my first team, a common piece of advice I received was 鈥渁ct confident, even when you don鈥檛 feel it." However, in practice, this came across as inauthentic, and actually may have damaged my team鈥檚 confidence in me. 

鈥淒on鈥檛 let people interrupt you when you鈥檙e speaking.鈥�

My response to this: I鈥檓 not letting them鈥� they鈥檙e just doing it! Are they getting feedback to have more self-awareness, to create more space for their teammates?

A-ha. I recognize a pattern. Perhaps we should break it.

Since becoming a leader, I鈥檝e found that I鈥檓 not the only one who has experiences like these. Many of my reports do too, including men! Together, we鈥檝e learned to be curious about why we each find certain things challenging, and to be open to new ideas on how to overcome challenges. 

Being open to recognizing and questioning patterns enables us to break them, expand them, or build new ones.

We also make an effort to celebrate that different people on our team have different strengths, because we all can learn from and lean on each other. Having a culture of curiosity about problems, questioning conventional methods, and looking for creative solutions is great for coaching and personal growth, but it comes through in our engineering work as well.

Outcome-Based Feedback

When we offer feedback framed as 鈥渁ct like this鈥� or 鈥測ou need to do that鈥� - we鈥檙e forgetting the 鈥渨hy,鈥� which is the part we really need. Regardless of which side of the conversation you鈥檙e on (manager or direct report) we should ask clarifying questions and make sure everyone understands what the actual desired outcome is. Then, empower people to deliver that outcome in ways that are authentic and effective, without the constraints of old patterns.

For example, one time I was asked to try using a more authoritative, confident tone when presenting. I tried, but it made me feel... not me. I was speaking in someone else鈥檚 voice and it was tripping me up. It made the presentation weaker. I went to a mentor and asked if she had any advice for me to be more confident. She asked me, 鈥渨hat outcome are you hoping to get from implementing this?鈥�

The (unacceptable) answer: I don鈥檛 actually know, I was just told to do it!

It turns out, my manager鈥檚 concern was that my call to action wasn鈥檛 strong enough to get the engagement and drive the change I wanted. And he was right. I took that information back to my mentor, and she helped me brainstorm ways to make my content more engaging in order to drive a better result - in my own style, with my real voice.

Once I understood the outcome my manager wanted when he gave me the feedback, I was able to respectfully say 鈥淚 can address this, but can I do it a different way?鈥� That unlocked a lot.

As an ally, be curious, not judgmental.

One of the most impactful things allies have done for me is simply believed me when I experienced something different from them, and put in the effort to learn more so they could help me. 

No one is expected to understand everything about someone else's experience, but we all have the capacity to listen and take it seriously when they share.

For example, I once shared with my manager that I felt someone was exhibiting an unconscious bias against me. He admitted he had never experienced what I was going through but wanted to help.

After our conversation, he read articles by female leaders, listened to female-driven podcasts, and came back to our next 1:1 with new advice and perspectives he鈥檇 learned from them. It meant so much to me that he got curious, went and did that work himself, and came back with new perspectives and ideas.

He didn鈥檛 ask me to teach him. He didn't push the problem back on me by simply telling me to listen to the podcast myself or seek out a woman who'd understand better. He got curious, and he sought out new perspectives so he鈥檇 know how to be a great leader for someone who faces different challenges from himself.

That鈥檚 how it鈥檚 done.

Want an inside scoop on what it's like to work on the 草榴社区 Engineering team? Check out what our engineers had to say! 

Throughout the month of March (and beyond), be sure to check out helpful resources from 草榴社区 brands, aimed at celebrating and uplifting women - like Bankrate鈥檚 article, And CNET鈥檚 comprehensive list of that celebrate the stories of strong women. And The Points Guy鈥檚 - to name a few.  

Internally, our Employee Resource Group for 草榴社区ers who identify as women, Empowered, hosted a two-day virtual summit, highlighting and celebrating 草榴社区 women all over the globe, inviting guest speakers to inspire the entire company, and providing new opportunities to build stronger connections and a sense of community among women at 草榴社区. 

Hosts of the Empowered Summit, and co-chairs of our Women's ERG, Tiarra & Jess!

To keep the inspiration going, we asked 草榴社区 women in leadership roles - ranging from media and content, to business, tech, communications, nonprofits, and more - what #breakthebias means to them, and how we all can continue to encourage, empower, and advocate for women at work and in our communities.

What's one piece of advice you'd share with women who are seeking ways to feel more empowered in the workplace?

Lindsey Turrentine | Executive Vice President of Content & Strategy, CNET & ZDNet: Try to not spend too much energy dwelling on things that haven't happened yet (true in life and at work!) We are almost always wrong when we plan against an assumed future, and that practice can spin up fears that waste our time.  Instead, focus on doing the best work you can right now and in the near term future. Thoughtful, creative work now builds a solid foundation no matter what and that foundation compounds as we learn and grow.

Courtney Jeffus | President of 草榴社区 Financial Services: Encourage yourself and find others who encourage you, too. We are often our own worst critics and that can affect how we feel, how we show up, how we lead, and our overall joy. Finding ways to be more encouraging to yourself can go a long way to feeling empowered, which in turn makes a big difference in your performance. The same is true of encouraging others - which can lead to yourself feeling more empowered and also could help unlock potential in someone else. And that's one of the best rewards you can get. 

Connie Guglielmo | Editor in Chief, CNET: Advocate for yourself: Take the time to write up a short bio of what you do and the value you believe you add to the company, your team and your coworkers. Refer to it when you need a reminder about why you have a voice that others should listen to, whether it's when you're proposing to lead a new project or asking for flexibility in your work hours.  

Kacey Grantham | Executive Director, Road to Hire: Stop thinking of power as binary.  People aren't powerful or NOT powerful.  Power is situational. Find places (even small ones) you have power and use it.  Once you've mastered that, challenge yourself to do it in situations that require even more courage AND share it with teammates who may need to borrow it. 

Leader of

Road to Hire

, Kacey Grantham

Shannon McFayden | 草榴社区 Leadership Advisor: It's important to remind yourself why you are there: you got this job (or a seat at this table) because you (fill in the blank here.)  You know something or have a skill or an experience or a perspective that is unique and that no one else has.  Not only are you expected to show up and bring "that thing", but it is also your responsibility to show up and bring it.  Only (or one of a few) women in the room?  Awesome -- that room desperately needs your voice.  Only (or one of a few) non-white people in that room?  Fabulous - that room will make far better decisions with your voice.   Youngest (or oldest) person in the room?  Thank goodness -- you bring a perspective that no one else can and your organization desperately needs.  

Maghan Cook | Senior Vice President of Communications: If you want to make yourself the hero of your story, write the damn book!  Reject narratives that aren't yours or that make you feel less-than. Who you are right now is enough; figure out what you do really well and then go out and do it as much as you possibly can. 

Lisa Shasky | Vice President of Corporate Technology: One thing that's worked well for me is to find business problems that need to be solved and you have the unique skills to help solve them. This gives you a tangible way to demonstrate your skills and builds your confidence. The other piece of advice is to "own your space".  By that I mean to speak up to share your ideas and thoughts, don't hang back because it seems more "polite".  You are here because we know you're already talented, so don't let anyone push you around or drown out your voice.

What's something that allies/everyone can do to help uplift women at work?

Connie Guglielmo | Editor in Chief, CNET:Speak up in situations where women co-workers are not being heard or given the same opportunities as others. Never refer to someone as a "woman CEO," "woman leader," "woman executive." Would you put the word "male" as a qualifier in a sentence describing someone's role or accomplishments? 

Anka Twum-Baah | Senior Vice President of Customer Loyalty & Content, TPG: Advocacy. At times it's not enough for women alone to uplift each other. There are times when greater impact is made when allies also show their support.

Kacey Grantham | Executive Director, Road to Hire:We talk a lot about making sure women get growth opportunities, which is certainly key. The opposite is true as well.  Leaders (both men and women) can make sure men are doing their share of the heavy lifting on team social and administrative type activities:  planning outings, taking notes, organizing events.  If a team is 70% men, men are perfectly capable of doing the "behind the scenes work" 70% of the time.

Sarah Soule | President of 草榴社区 Education: Call women in and ask for their opinion. Or when someone else repeats what they just said, acknowledge their contribution.

Virtual Group Photo! (Attendees of the 2022 草榴社区 Empowered Summit)

This year the theme for Women's History Month is #BreakTheBias. What does that mean to you?

Lindsey Turrentine | Executive Vice President of Content & Strategy, CNET & ZDNet: Whatever anyone thinks a woman wants/doesn't want/should do, throw away that assumption because we are all different from one another and have unique and individual motivations and aspirations.

Courtney Jeffus | President of 草榴社区 Financial Services: We all have our own biases. To break the bias starts with recognizing it, because then you can then be aware enough to break it. This can be for ourselves and for others. What biases are holding us back or holding others back? How can we push ourselves to break that mold of thinking? It鈥檚 also learning that success can look and act differently than we thought. Celebrate what makes people different and how that difference can add unique value.  

Connie Guglielmo | Editor in Chief, CNET:Equal pay, equal opportunity, equal representation in the leadership ranks. 

Anka Twum-Baah | Senior Vice President of Customer Loyalty & Content, TPG: To me, it means not following the status quo or misguided expectations but continuing to drive peak performance and showing up to the workplace with the total gifts and talents that you have, undeterred by the challenges that may come your way.

Kacey Grantham | Executive Director, Road to Hire:We have a biased belief that women choose to go into low-paying fields.  Women don't choose to go into low-paying fields.  Fields that women go into are low-paying. Teaching and social work, for example. These are some of the most highly-educated people in the workforce caring for our most precious assets:  or health and our children. If these jobs were held 80% by men, would they pay more? YES! Just because the ROI for this work is difficult to measure, doesn't mean it's not immensely valuable.

Sarah Soule | President of 草榴社区 Education: #Breakthebias means equality not just at work, but at home as well. Too often I hear women, friends, talk about providing instructions to their husbands on 鈥渉ow to do this鈥� or 鈥渉ow to do that鈥� when they are busy or traveling. Dads are equally as capable! #dadsforthewin 

President of 草榴社区 Education, Sarah Soule 鈥� at the Empowered Summit

Shannon McFayden | 草榴社区 Leadership Advisor: #BreakTheBias for me is about catching myself, and helping others catch themselves when we are about to fall into the trap of making assumptions about each other based on gender (or any other identity group).  It is human nature to make mental shortcuts to help us speed up our processing, but where we get into trouble is when we allow those shortcuts to lead us to an assumption based on stereotypes because that then leads to bias in our decision-making.   We've gotta stop that nonsense.  #BreakTheBias

Maghan Cook | Senior Vice President of Communications: To me, breaking the bias happens in the seconds between hearing information and making a judgment. That is when we have the opportunity to pause and ask ourselves, am I making assumptions?  Am I operating from a place of fear? I believe most people want to be fair and kind but their impulses and conditioning betray that. A moment to check our thoughts before taking action can make all the difference.

Looking for more? Get to know some of the leaders featured in this article even better, elsewhere on the Inspired blog:

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager and Empowered ERG Co-Chair

• Vice President of Corporate Technology

• Editor in Chief of CNET,

Plus, meet 草榴社区's Chief Diversity Officer, , over here!

Hi Grace! We know you're busy leading PR for The Points Guy, so we ap-PR-reciate you taking the time to chat with us.

"Haha, hello there! Happy to share more about my role."

How does a typical day in your life usually start?

"The fun part about my job is that every day truly is different, though every morning starts with reading through headlines to see if there鈥檚 anything we should pitch out. Once that鈥檚 done, it鈥檚 on to meetings with the PR team, the editorial team, the app team, and our UK team 鈥� making sure everyone is aligned on pitches, launches, and events we're planning and executing."

That's Grace! (In the front!)

We all start somewhere - how did you get to where you are now?

"I actually started off in fashion 鈥� I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology and interned all through school in PR. After working in PR in the fashion industry, I wanted a change and made the switch to travel PR. I was at an agency for about 2 years before joining the TPG team!"

You were in Florida recently for work... tell us all about it! 

"Yes 鈥� The Points Guy was a sponsor at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, and I was able to attend with our PR and Events team! We hosted a panel 鈥� Food Worth Traveling For: Coffee and Conversation with The Points Guy and Friends 鈥� that Brian [Editor's Note: Brian Kelly = founder & CEO of TPG] was a panelist on, alongside Emmy and James Beard Award-winning chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern and Top Chef alum Eric Adjepong. It was an amazing conversation where we all learned where to go, what to eat, and how to take full advantage of a destination鈥檚 local delicacies 鈥� I even added L'Ami Jean to my restaurant list for Paris, as it鈥檚 one of Andrew Zimmern鈥檚 favorites.

So we didn't actually hear this conversation, but our mouths are watering just thinking about it.

Brian was also a judge at one of the most epic events at SOBE, the Burger Bash with Al Roker, Rev Run, Dwyane Wade, and Ahmad Alzahabi (aka @thegoldenbalance). During the event, we got to try out many different types of burgers 鈥� my personal favorite was the Vice Burger, which won 'The Very Best Burger' at the event, but the most unique one we tried was a Bologna Ice Cream Sandwich. It was so interesting that everyone who tried it ended up eating the entire sandwich, so it couldn鈥檛 have been that bad! ;)

Center: Brian Kelly, THE Points Guy. Right: Al Roker, possibly mid-sneeze??

It was a fun weekend full of food and great company, particularly for me as it was my first time meeting a handful of the team members in person!"

When you're not traveling and exploring, what's your day-to-day like?

"The best perk of living in New York City is literally having the world at your fingertips 鈥� it鈥檚 impossible to be bored here! So, when I鈥檓 not traveling or working, you can find me at SoulCycle, enjoying one of the many museums, exploring new corners of walking around the city, and brunching with friends!"

Of COURSE a travel fanatic would live in a place as cool as NYC.

Look at that view!!

What's your advice for anyone looking to explore the PR world or travel industry?

"One thing an internship boss told me that has always stuck with me is to say 'yes' to every opportunity you鈥檙e offered and task you鈥檙e asked to complete 鈥� people notice the hard work you put in and that鈥檚 especially important in the PR world!"

Can't get enough of The Points Guy? Discover what it's like to be on their social media team!

Our Brands: Evolving Around "You"

Several 草榴社区 brands launched major initiatives, all focused around our shared purpose.

A Force for Good

草榴社区 Brands used their platform to give back:

The Multiplier Effect

And often collaborated together to make a positive impact:

Our Culture

Leaning into HYBRID

One of our belief statements is we believe everything is written in possible - but we never thought that would apply to the way we work.

Our Impact

194 草榴社区ers actively volunteered with the two nonprofits 草榴社区 supports: Road to Hire and Golden Door Scholars.

Want more 2021 highlights?

Follow us @redventures on all social media!

One of those behind-the-scenes 草榴社区ers is Alex. He is a Director of Content Design for our financial service teams and recently co-led Bankrate鈥檚 first national brand campaign since 1999.

Watch Bankrate's first national brand campaign since 1999 RIGHT HERE!

When he鈥檚 not busy heading up major brand campaigns, he鈥檚 probably eating Bojangles and daydreaming about his childhood fantasy of becoming an NBA star.

鈥淚 was never good enough to play college basketball, but I was good enough to write about it.鈥�

Q: We saw this brief backstory you shared about Bankrate鈥檚 new brand campaign (which we loved and is what brought us to this conversation). Tell us more about how it originated! 

A: It鈥檚 been a minute since Bankrate has advertised on a national scale. Well, technically, 22 years, but who鈥檚 counting? In this era of financial uncertainty, the timing was right for Bankrate to emerge from the shadows and assert itself as a brand that can guide people through these troubling economic times. 

A Bankrate ad from 1999 (we've come a long way).

Q: What was the biggest risk the team had to overcome? 

A: Did I mention it鈥檚 been 22 years since Bankrate has made a brand investment like this? Any time you鈥檙e talking about a significant ad spend, during a pandemic no less, there鈥檚 some risk involved. But you鈥檝e also gotta ask yourself: what鈥檚 the risk in doing nothing? It was time for Bankrate to take a big swing!

Q: What were the most motivating aspects of this project?

A: At the risk of sounding grandiose, a chance to solve one of society鈥檚 biggest problems. Financial illiteracy is a major issue in the U.S. and it鈥檚 only getting worse. Between our editorial content, learning courses, calculators and guided experiences, Bankrate is positioned to help address this problem in ways few others can. This campaign afforded us the opportunity to share that story and promote our extensive brand offerings on a much larger scale.

Q: What鈥檚 your biggest takeaway(s) from this project?

A: That I work with some of the smartest, most courageous and most passionate people in the business. S/O to Christina Wells, Tim Meissner, Richard Jordan, Kyle Britt, Haley Spindler, Ricky Carlton and Maks Sokolov, who was my original partner-in-crime on this big bet.

The Bankrate Bunch

(

the team behind the campaign

)

Q: How does this rebrand better represent our purpose of helping people make important decisions? 

A: Because it鈥檚 authentic and relatable. The beautiful thing about this campaign is that it鈥檚 less about Bankrate and more about the people we support. By showing these real, uncut moments of people on the cusp of a major life event and positioning Bankrate as the place they can turn for guidance, we鈥檙e highlighting our brand promise to support people through every next step of their financial journey.

Q: What led you to your career at 草榴社区?

A: I came to Charlotte mostly for the chance to eat a lot of Bojangles. I got hooked when I interned for Sporting News in 2009! That was my original career goal 鈥� to be a sportswriter. But when my only journalism job offer was to cover rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, I realized it was time to pivot. I found my footing in the ad game and bounced around a few agencies in Detroit. Great experiences, great memories. But when the opportunity to join 草榴社区 presented itself, it was a no-brainer.

Alex鈥檚 first job out of college was as a writer for a natural gas company in Texas. Here he is standing on a drill site, wondering where it all went wrong for him (his words, not ours).

Q: What type of work is most motivating to you?

A: I鈥檝e always been captivated by underdog stories. Telling the stories of people who beat the odds has always been a passion of mine. At this stage of my career, taking a brand I believe in from relative anonymity to the heights of consumer consciousness is an extremely motivating proposition. Not quite your classic underdog story, but good enough for me.

Q: Anyone else on your team we can/should shout out?

A: YES! S/O to my Bankrate creative team, and specifically to my two incredible content designers, Rachel Kauffman and Emily Bernabei. You鈥檙e only as good as the people who surround you. They are two of the best!

Discover how Bankrate can help YOU discover your next milestone by

Something you hear all throughout college is the importance of getting an internship, especially during those last few years as talk of career experience among classmates reaches its all-time high. You might get tired of hearing about it, and at a certain point, it may seem more like a requirement to getting hired or just another part of your coursework. However, if you make the most out of them, internships can be extremely valuable. As someone who went from an intern to a full-time software engineer at 草榴社区 Puerto Rico (草榴社区PR), I want to share my experience with you -- along with some key takeaways and learnings that I hope will help you make the most of your internship, too!

I first heard about 草榴社区 back in September of 2019 when I got a message from a recruiter letting me know that they were looking for talent, and would be visiting my college in a few days. So, I started researching and learning more about 草榴社区 and Forward787, now known as 草榴社区 Puerto Rico. 

My first impressions were great. I loved the idea of a company committed to making an impact in Puerto Rico with a clear focus on the development and improvement of itself and its employees, so I decided to apply. After a series of interviews I got accepted into the internship with the possibility of a full-time job offer depending on my performance. I knew this would be a very important step in my career and wanted to make it count. 

Even though my goal was to get a job offer, I focused on picturing the experience as something like a two-way, limited-time trial. 草榴社区 could see if I was the right fit for the company, and I could see if the company was the right fit for me. Workplace-related horror stories are very common in the tech industry, so I knew this would provide a great opportunity to test the waters before committing to a corporate culture I wasn't satisfied with. Worst-case scenario, I would be unsuccessful in my internship, but I would still get my first real programming-related work experience and would no doubt learn plenty while doing so. In the ideal scenario, I would get a job offer and also get a unique opportunity to lessen the dreaded feeling of "Imposter Syndrome" most college graduates have at their first job. If I got a job offer after the 10-week internship, it would confirm to me that the company truly thought I belonged, and I could know with certainty that I did belong.

The Internship

Originally, my internship was to consist of one week in Charlotte for onboarding and nine weeks in 草榴社区鈥檚 San Juan office for the remainder of the program. The pandemic quickly changed that, and I ended up staying one week in Charlotte, two weeks in the office in San Juan, and seven weeks back home.

During onboarding, my worries about being in a place that I might not want to work in quickly melted away. As I met more and more people and saw what 草榴社区 was all about, I knew I wanted to work there. Everybody was friendly and welcoming, and whenever I explained I was an intern, I could tell everybody wanted me to succeed.

I was on the "Sancocho" team, named for a typical Puerto Rican dish, sort of like a stew, consisting of many different types of meat and vegetables. The team's main goal was to support any 草榴社区PR team needing extra help and develop solutions to problems that the teams were facing, so in the same way the Sancocho dish has a little bit of everything, we too did a little bit of everything. The small team consisted of Hector Ayala, my manager at the time and creator of Sancocho, and Rigoberto Miranda, a Platform engineer, and my current teammate and manager. 

Both are incredibly talented and experienced engineers, and while my experience and knowledge were lacking compared to theirs, they made me feel welcomed. They incorporated me quickly into the team, letting me participate in the team's decision-making, brainstorming, and any programming tasks I could handle. My responsibilities started with simple modifications to a static website. They quickly evolved into fixing bugs, making shell scripts, implementing new features into sites, unit testing, creating a new deployment pipeline, creating diagrams helping in the design for a new API, and of course, plenty of exhilarating documentation. 

A lot of the technology that the team was using was new to me. I had some experience with programming languages like Javascript and Python, but pretty much everything else was implemented with tech stacks and frameworks that I had little to no experience with. Being able to adapt quickly proved just as useful of a skill as my previous knowledge. And if I was ever stuck, the team would always be happy to help out and made sure I understood. 

By the end of the ten weeks, I had learned so many new things. And for most of it, I was able to put my learnings into coding practice that went to production. I was also able to identify the things I needed to learn more about and improve on. Even if I didn't get a job offer, I knew the knowledge and perspective gained during this period would be invaluable. 

As the end of my internship drew near, the feedback I got was consistently good, and I made it clear to my manager that I would like to continue working at 草榴社区. I never asked him outright if he thought I would get a job offer, but I was hopeful. 

With about a week left in my internship, I was asked to give a presentation to the other engineers on a CircleCI workflow I had written. CircleCI was something entirely new for me, and when I was asked to create a workflow, it was probably one of the things I struggled with the most. So, it was fitting that when I got to show a demo of it in the presentation, it gave me an error! Panicking, I clicked on it, having no idea why it errored out or if I would even know how to fix it, and then I was greeted with this鈥�

Safe to say, we all had a good laugh, and I promptly accepted the offer.

During the entire internship, my main goal was to learn and grow as a professional, and as promised I'd like to share with you what I consider my biggest takeaways:

Don't try to be perfect - While it can be easy to get into the mindset that you are being constantly evaluated and that every mistake you make feels like it's amplified 1,000 times over, remember that this is a learning experience for both you and your team. You show what you know as much as what you don't know. And showing what you don't know provides an excellent opportunity to clear it up and address it as quickly as possible.

Get to know as many people as you can - The first task my manager gave me had nothing to do with a computer. Instead, he told me to talk to as many people as I could. As an introvert, a task like this might seem more daunting than any computer-related task, but it proved to be very fun and insightful. One-on-ones are a great way to make new friends, learn about what other teams are doing, and get advice from experienced professionals.

Speak up! - Again, it might be challenging as an introvert, but making yourself heard is perhaps the most important part of 草榴社区鈥檚 culture. If you're lost, confused, or overwhelmed, make it clear. If you have feedback on something, make sure it is known. These things are essential to growth.

Returning as a Full-Time employee

In my experience, being an intern versus a full-time employee isn鈥檛 all that different. Many of the things I accomplished and the challenges I faced as an intern seem similar to my current day-to-day. Part of the reason my responsibilities and day-to-day have stayed the same is that from day one, I viewed my internship no differently from a full-time job and always gave it my all. I wasn't suddenly expected to be a faster programmer because of the different titles and salary. We鈥檙e not expected to grow into our positions. Instead, our positions grow as we do. And where better to grow than in a place where everyone around you is rooting for you?

If you are interested in interning or working for 草榴社区PR, ! 

But seriously -- our employees do some incredible work, and we're amazed by their talents day in and day out. So when we heard that 草榴社区 Principal Data Scientist Joe Tenini wrote an article for Notices of the American Mathematical Society, we didn't bat an eye (but we did leap for joy, blow on small kazoos, and shed a couple tears of pride). And naturally, we want everyone to check out his amazing content!

That's Joe!

If you're considering a career in data science, Joe's article is a must-read. He shares his own path to data science (spoiler alert -- it wasn't a path he expected) and presents five questions every aspiring data scientist should be able to answer for themselves about their new career.

Check out this preview:

"... I didn鈥檛 grow up dreaming of being a data scientist wading

through piles of messy data, trying to figure out how these

eight lines of code could be so confusing, and casually

asking life鈥檚 eternal question: 'how early is too early to

start lunch?' I didn鈥檛 grow up dreaming about being a data

scientist because that wasn鈥檛 really a job when I was a kid.

It鈥檚 also quite likely that the job I鈥檒l be doing in twenty years

does not exist now. So what can we do in times of such

rapid change? How can we prepare ourselves for a career

leveraging our technical skills outside of academia?"*

Read Joe's full article from the Notices of the American Mathematical Society , and if you're eyeing a career in data science, take a peek at our openings around the globe!

Looking to start a career in data science? Learn more here:

* First published in Notices of the American Mathematical Society in April 2021, published by American Mathematical Society. 漏  2021, American Mathematical Society

Hey (waving), I鈥檓 Chris Zeiher. I鈥檓 the Melbourne-based Director of Sales & Marketing (Asia Pacific) on the print side of Lonely Planet鈥檚 business. I鈥檓 also kept ridiculously busy as our brand spokesperson over on this side of the world.

I鈥檝e been a part of the Lonely Planet family for over 15 years and have been lucky enough to contribute content in over ten of our printed products and a couple of online articles. The Melbourne-based team now operates directly out of home offices. So, I have quite the 鈥渉ive鈥� operation going on in my study, I can tell you!

Just a casual stroll around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

What are your mornings like?

When I鈥檓 not getting up at 1:30 a.m. to jump on a 2 a.m. call (yes, that鈥檚 a thing) or rehearsing answers as I drive to the studio for a live cross on the Today Show or another breakfast TV program, I鈥檓 generally on a stand-up call with the Melbourne crew at 9:30 a.m. As we鈥檙e all working remotely, we鈥檝e found this an essential way to stay connected and on task.   

Most mornings feature at least one or two video conferences with buyers or marketing teams from major retailers. In these sessions, I鈥檒l showcase our new printed products, which are generally sold to the customer 3-4 months in advance of publication and broker for advertising spots or in-store positioning for key releases. Twelve months ago, these meetings all took place in person, so I travelled extensively between Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland. The Zoom revolution has really altered the way our industry now buys and sells.

I鈥檓 also currently monitoring all the Lonely Planet press inboxes globally, which means I spend a great deal of time first thing in the morning following up requests that have come through whilst I was sleeping. This can be anything from following up on book review requests, brokering media interviews for print, broadcast, and TV, or licensing our product to be used on forthcoming television or film projects. (Most recently, season 3 of Hanna for Amazon Prime. I鈥檓 also working with producers of The Umbrella Academy, who are keen to use our Italy guidebook in forthcoming episodes).

Chris loves a blazer and lapel pin combo鈥�

... and we love it too!

What's it like to work in sales and marketing over at Lonely Planet?

There鈥檚 a very strict rhythm to sales (with each of our primary markets having slightly different time frames) on the business鈥檚 print side. Over here in Australia, I conduct sales calls to all our clients each month, showcasing all our forthcoming releases 3 or 4 months in advance of publication (known as frontlist). This has me calling on various types of retailers in the online and bricks and mortar spaces. Our bricks and mortar sector is broken into sub-categories: big-box retailers, chain bookstores, independent bookstores, and specialist retailers. We sell to each retailer in a different way as not all of these operators will take everything from our product list. So, there are lots of nuances that need attention each month.   

We're not drooling, you are.

Additionally, there鈥檚 a load of 鈥渘uts and bolts'' work that also needs care, ensuring we best represent our product in-store and online. It鈥檚 here that we broker and agree to showcase titles in retailer catalogues, ensure that the product has the correct placement in-store, deliver in-store branding experiences, upload and share book trailers or featured posts on retailers鈥� social channels, etc.

Now THIS is a book we need.

As Lonely Planet is such a well-known brand in Australia and New Zealand, I鈥檓 called on for opinion and commentary a lot鈥� this can take the form of TV interviews, broadcast media, or interviews for broadsheets. The topics and audiences can differ wildly. In the last couple of weeks alone, I鈥檝e gotten requests for my opinion on the future of backpacking for 18-25鈥檚, whether 鈥渙utdoor museums鈥� are tourist traps, and a call to arms to rescue the Australian travel sector with targeted government assistance. I can tell you鈥� it鈥檚 never boring!

Back with the blazers! Onset on Australia鈥檚 #1 breakfast TV news program, 鈥淪unrise鈥� ...

...

and New Zealand鈥檚 #1 breakfast TV news program, 鈥淏reakfast on One.鈥�

What鈥檚 your favorite part about the job?

It鈥檚 totally being on camera! My workmates will nod and laugh at this. I LOVE IT. Getting called up for an interview and going live on air for breakfast TV is exhilarating. Jumping in the make-up chair at the studio and being asked, 鈥淪o, what are you talking about today?鈥� is the exact moment the butterflies kick in. And there鈥檚 nothing more heart-racing than a live interview from an outdoor setting. That鈥檚 a total thrill where the only connection between you and the interviewer (and the live audience) is through one ear-piece鈥� there鈥檚 no visuals and no body language to read off of, so you have to be on your toes. I鈥檝e been interviewed on rooftops, in parks, in front of moving trams 鈥�  you name it, and they鈥檝e thrown it at me.   

Live to air鈥� come rain, hail, or shine!

Do you have any memorable moments you can share?

So many. Really, so, so many. One that stands out was a request to interview in a hot air balloon as it sailed across the West McDonnell Ranges in outback Australia. According to Lonely Planet鈥檚 Best in Travel, The Red Centre had been named one of the world鈥檚 top regions to visit. Someone suggested that I and the Minister for Tourism interview from a hot air balloon basket whilst the sun rose over the stark landscape. Great idea! Amazing visuals, right?   

That's hot (air).

The only problem: we could only answer questions in between bursts from the burner, which limited our speaking to 90 seconds. The cameraman was also so restricted for space that neither of the spokespeople could be in the frame at the same time. And then there鈥檚 the landing鈥�  where the Tourism Minister basically ended up sprawled on top of me as we hit the red dirt. HA!

Here鈥檚 a recent for the release of Best Day Walks Australia.

Thanks for chatting, Chris! Your job sounds like a real trip.

Lonely Planet has taken me to some seriously awesome places all over the world and connected me with communities and experiences that have enriched my life. It鈥檚 not often you find a job where you鈥檝e found your 鈥減eople,鈥� but that鈥檚 how it felt the first day I walked into the Lonely Planet office. This brand is really special and has at its core a pioneering spirit that continues to attract, excite and inspire generations of travelers. I鈥檓 beyond excited to see where 草榴社区 helps Lonely Planet go next鈥� it feels like the adventure has only just begun.

Can't get enough of Lonely Planet? Discover what it's like to be a

What are your mornings like?

It鈥檚 been almost a year since the LP office in Franklin started working remotely. In the 鈥渂efore times,鈥� I鈥檇 start by brewing a quick pot of coffee for my wife and me, and then prepare for the 40-minute journey (on a good day) from my home in East Nashville to Franklin (podcasts are huge for that trip). 

Cue a joke about the commute being much better now. These days, after helping my wife get our one-year-old out the door for daycare, plus a workout and a walk with the dog, I鈥檓 at my desk by about 8 or 8:30 a.m.

Date night goals: Hot air balloon ride!

Tell us more about being an editor. 

A typical day starts with meetings with the rest of the editorial team in Dublin and Franklin/Nashville to talk about new ideas or developing stories, as well as ongoing projects or campaigns. Through January we ran a slew of stories on digital nomadism, including advice on and , as well as updates on the countries enticing remote workers with new .

For the afternoon, I鈥檒l work on the next day鈥檚 articles 鈥� revisions, copyediting, photo research or writing 鈥� or developing new story ideas for the weeks and months ahead.

Above: Nashville, Tenne-sea

A not-infrequent order of business is acting as a brand spokesperson 鈥� usually when there are big digital campaigns to promote. A few months ago we launched our annual campaign, and I had the opportunity to promote it on several radio shows and podcasts, , and a few local news shows.

What鈥檚 your favorite part about the job?

My first experiences with Lonely Planet were as a backpacker in China. I spent a few years teaching English there, and I used the guides to explore the country and other trips around Asia. 

I can still remember sitting in dingy hostels, dog-earing pages and circling the restaurants and sites I wanted to visit, marveling about the kind of job it must鈥檝e been to visit every place and write about it. I still laugh about a rather ugly Hong Kong hotel being described as a 鈥渃arbuncle on the end鈥� of a beach but with great views of the surrounding islands and budget-friendly rates.

It鈥檚 a daily pleasure to contribute to that kind of authority and expertise. And to be a part of a company with a heritage like Lonely Planet.

I鈥檓 also hugely lucky to work with a team of passionate, smart and funny people. I love seeing my colleagues go all-in on projects like our incredibly thorough from last year (hat tip to Sarah Stocking), (Meghan O鈥檇ea) or monthly interviews with makers and shakers in travel (Alicia Johnson). 

Above: Definitely not Tennessee.

Any memorable moments you鈥檇 like to share? 

A few years ago I was in Seward, Alaska, on an assignment for LP, and I met a guy who ran standup paddleboarding tours around Bear Glacier. The following day, we went out to this huge lagoon dotted with hundreds of icebergs. Some were as small as basketballs, others the size of houses. Outfitted in an arctic drysuit, I wobbled aboard a paddleboard and we set out. The sight was incredible - unfathomable shades of blue, white and silver in the frozen ice, with the sawtooth horizon of the Kenai Mountains as a backdrop - but I鈥檒l never forget the sound. As the icebergs melted around us, tiny pockets of ancient bubbles were released into the air, sizzling like Pop Rocks.

How have you been spending your time during the pandemic? 

We have a one-year-old at home, and he鈥檚 kept my wife and I pretty busy. But while he鈥檚 asleep, we鈥檝e (quietly) taken up cooking together. Not all of our creations are wins 鈥� a few weeks ago we made pasta from scratch, and it was... not good. But the urge to relive the memories of our babymoon to Italy means we鈥檒l try again soon.

Beyond that, I鈥檝e been on a sci-fi lit kick lately 鈥� I guess because things in real life just haven鈥檛 been weird enough. 鈥淪tation Eleven鈥� was an early pandemic read, and it felt very apropos (it鈥檚 about a pandemic), and I鈥檝e recently decided that I just can鈥檛 get into 鈥淒une鈥� for probably the fourth time. Currently into 鈥淣euromancer.鈥� Recommendations welcome!

Thinking about a career switch Curious how other 草榴社区ers spend their days? We鈥檝e got you covered. Check out what it鈥檚 like to work in , or .