Meeting of the Minds brings together two different points of view from an industry rookie and an experienced expert.
The Mediaweek series aims to showcase their diverse perspectives, thoughts and opinions.
This month Brooke Major and Hussain Chaudry from Wavemaker Adelaide share their share the best career advice they received, guilty pleasure content and career goals for 2023.
Brooke Major, Marketplace Director, Wavemaker Adelaide
Best career advice – Diversify – the more hats the better.
If you have a passion, great! But try and stay in the know about as much as you can. Every year it seems something is “dying” or “falling off a cliff”. I’m sure there is already a new TikTok substitute that I don’t know about yet. Note to self: Must remember to learn how to use TikTok.
My favourite podcast/read – I used to listen to Casefile, a good psycho serial killer story, a while back to get me through some data entry. I think it was the dulcet tones of the narrator that got me hooked and it probably says a lot more about data entry than it does about what’s going on in my brain.
Current streaming binge – Drive to Survive
Leadership hero:
• Beth Dutton – everyday
• Moira Rose – as a mother and fashion icon
• Logan Roy – even with the little bit of crazy
• Tony Soprano – too far???
• Jed Bartlett – best US president they have ever had
I wish someone had told me – To pay more attention in Maths. I can hear my 15-year-old self now: “I’ll never need to do this in real life.”
Guilty content pleasure – Love Island UK all the way, my type on paper. Love me a Manchester accent, oi oi!
Best training course/session – While I could rave on about the benefits of a good TV Map training session, I feel like that’s not the purpose of the question. So instead I choose the day we had with Phuel for the Wavemaker Adelaide 2023 launch event. That Railroad Junction problem-solving game will haunt me forever because I’m still not sure I understand what we were meant to do, but I have no doubt it was really beneficial!
Your mentor – I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding media professionals over the years and collectively they have taught me so much at different stages of my career. I won’t rattle off names because the Adelaide media industry is teeny tiny and if I miss someone, I’m sure I will never hear the end of it!
Hot medium or show – I love a good outdoor brief because there are endless possibilities and often exciting and fun outcomes.
Favourite media event – I am quite partial to a TV Network Upfront. Getting to see everything they have coming up for the year (Rightly or Wrongly 😉) and getting to network with people from all across the country. And a good afterparty!
Wish I’d done that – Delegation is my Achilles heel and it would have been much easier if I nailed that a few years back, but that’s not my answer.
Instead, I wish I’d really pushed myself (financially) to buy a few cheap investment properties when I was 19 or 20. It would have sucked at the time for my social life, but my 30/40-year-old self would be loving her life right now.
Career goal for 2023 – They say you can’t be all things to all people.
In 2022, I took on a leadership position in the agency, I went up to five days, I work on one of the biggest clients in Adelaide and I am a mum of two young boys. By the end of the year I was absolutely shattered. I felt like a failure on multiple fronts and just felt like I had let people down in one way or another.
And that’s the reality as a working mum, we are a real-life circus juggling act.
In 2023, I can’t do that to myself again. Did you notice in all of that I didn’t once mention looking after myself? This year, I’m focusing on being the best version of myself and acknowledging that that’s enough. That’s what got me here in the first place – and I’m learning there’s strength in asking for help when I need it.
Hussain Chaudhry, Strategy Coordinator, Wavemaker Adelaide
Best career advice – Who doesn’t love a list, right? Here would be my top three pointers:
• Have a “Yes, and?” approach to everything. I feel this builds an attitude for true learning and growth.
• Fall in love with uncertainty and the mad rush it brings. Don’t stop learning, there will never be a time when you can claim to know everything! The flow of constantly keeping the search for knowledge alive, will carry you forward on your professional journey.
• Think laterally! There is always a different way to tackle a problem, there is always a different if not better perspective. Observe a lot; your morning cup of coffee brews more meaning than you think it does. Reflect!
My favourite podcast/read – I’m big on 3’s so I’ll give my top 3 reads 😊
• The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger
• I Have More Souls Than One by Fernando Pessoa
• Scramble by Marty Neumeier
Current streaming binge – Succession
Leadership hero – I feel every leader has something that’s true to them – a unique perspective that shapes how they look at the past, present and the future.
I tend to take inspiration from quite a few and the list is ever evolving. Some of the leaders whose perspective I find deeply moving and relevant to my professional and personal journey are Marcus Aurelius, Andy Warhol, Richard Branson, Phil Knight, Bob Iger and Toto Wolff.
I wish someone had told me – That vulnerability sits at the core of exceptional leadership, ground-breaking innovation and true creativity. Understanding the nuances and fragility of the human condition, and using it as fuel for decision making, baked in empathy, has been a common theme behind every great human endeavour – something that I feel needs to be highlighted and celebrated across the board.
Guilty content pleasure – Love a good cringe binge sesh! Selling Sunset is definitely one of them
Best training course/session – Hard to pick one. I go for a combination of industry specific trainings, MOOCS (Coursera, edX, Udemy) and Artist/Creative/Speaker led sessions (Masterclass, BBC Maestro)
Your mentor – I’d recommend having mentors from a range of professional backgrounds. I’ve got an amazing support network of people from various industries and backgrounds: start-ups, academia, professional services and the creative industries.
Hot medium or show
I’m a big advocate for made media opportunities. I strongly believe creativity sits at the core of whatever medium you got for. There is always room for innovation, novelty and impact.
Favourite media event – One of my recent favourites would be Launch 23 at Wavemaker Adelaide, a full-day gathering where we reflected and embraced the new year – celebrating the spirit of positive provocation that drives our way of thinking and is so deeply embedded in everything we do.
Career goal for 2023 – To continue developing my understanding of the industry and grow as a strategy professional, leveraging my creative potential to the fullest.
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Top image: Brooke Major and Hussain Chaudhry