Hundreds have played Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders around the world – and we like to check in with people. Recently, Alberto San Pedro, from Archetypical’s Barcelona office, spoke with Debra Capua of Davis & Company in New York to get her perspective.
Alberto: Hi Debra. Thanks for agreeing to this interview. To start off, please can you tell me where you work? What is your job?
Debra: I’m a project consultant at Davis & Co, a 35 years old Communication Consulting firm (internal mainly) with a strong reputation. We have about 30 people and a strong client portfolio (pharmaceutical mainly), with clients all over the world (particularly Germany, Switzerland, etc.) .
Alberto: What is your day-to-day life these days?
Debra: I’ve been isolated at home, since 25 February. No client calls these days. I’m concerned but have hope for the future. Due to the absence of requests from clients, our main contribution is creating content and translate into marketing flow, in order to get prospect clients.
Alberto: When did you attend a Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders event?
Debra: It was in June 2019, hosted by IABC with a mixed audience of students and professionals. Stephen Welch was the facilitator. We had about 15 people, with lots of great feedback. I loved it!
Alberto: What do you most remember? Your main learning points? What did you find most useful?
Debra: Where to start? The discussion in the team. The competition. The conversations happening during the game: everyone had a take on it; a different angle. The facilitation was good: Stephen was particularly good at keeping the conversation up. Mainly I learned that, to become a strategic advisor, to take a seat at the table, is definitely worth it and there are different routes to consider.
Alberto: What 3 words would you use to describe the workshop?
Debra: Fun, interesting, valuable.
Alberto: As we are developing an on-line version, which should be 2-3 things to focus on, to ensure a great experience to participants?
Debra: Keep the gameboard. This recalls childhood games, and is fun! Be sure to give an opportunity for people to introduce themselves- find out who the other people are. Have breakout rooms discussions and then everybody shares. Oh, and keep the character personalities.
Alberto: Great, thanks for that. How, if at all, has your attendance at the Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders event helped you in your job?
Debra: Due to the fact there were several people from Davis, that has helped to have challenging conversations internally, keeping the conversation up and exploring other ways to being more strategic in our different roles.
Alberto: If you could travel in time, what advice would you give to your junior self?
Debra: Having a better understanding of how other people think, and make decisions, maybe I did not consider this while interacting with others before. There are linear thinkers (such as financial, operational people), and that gives them a perspective on how they see the world that has nothing to do with mine (more circular and transversal). This reminds me of the need of behaving in a more flexible and adaptable manner.
Alberto: Great, thanks again for your views. Bye.
Debra: Bye.
If you want to get to know Debra (we recommend it!) connect with her on LinkedIn
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