5 Minutes With Michael Yablonski

#TeamMindshare believes in Empathy, Energy and Impact. As we adjust to working differently, we're continuing to empower people to challenge the status quo and drive Good Growth for our clients and the industry. Growth isn’t just a flash in the pan, but it’s enduring, diversified, and more sustainable over time. We’re proud to be unmistakably #TeamMindshare, and make it the place where we do the best work of our career, grow and have fun. Hear from Michael on how he's adapted, what his biggest learning is and how he stays inspired.

Biggest learning from your career?

The biggest learning from my career and something that I’ve tried to do during my 20 years is simply be available. So beyond just doing your job, I mean be present, be engaged, become part of the greater work community. Volunteer (or get volunteered) for special projects. It will help diversify your experience, showcase other talents you may have outside of your day to day responsibilities, and expand the circle of people you know - - all which can open the door to other opportunities internally and externally.

One word to describe the last year?

I don’t have one specific word, but one observation calls back to my earlier comment about becoming part of the greater work community. In the past 2ish years, I’ve met more people in other offices who I either work with every day or interact with on a regular basis than I probably ever would have had the opportunity to pre-COVID. With some work travel slowly re-emerging I had the opportunity to visit the Chicago office recently and see, hug, shake hands with colleagues I’ve known only on my laptop screen. It was kind of like when you see a celebrity on the street who you only know from TV, and they’re either taller or shorter than what you expected. 

Now, if given the opportunity, would I save the world from COVID at the risk of never meeting Nate Burstein in Chicago? Without a doubt. But my point is, there have been some silver linings to the situation we’ve all been through. The expansion of our community and becoming a truly connected (beyond servers, emails, and conference calls) network is one of them in my mind.

What is the best advice you can give for hybrid working?

Make it truly hybrid. By that I mean, for your own personal situation, figure out what the right balance is of in-person vs. in-office is and how that can accommodate your work and personal responsibilities. For me, my wife (also within the GroupM network) and I are working on deciding the right cadence and routine for which one of us can go into the office on which days, and who needs to stay home to make sure the house doesn’t implode with the needs of 2 school aged kids and a dog. 

For both of us, part of that balance is planning time to be in the office, for a few reasons. 1) To get away from the imploding house with the needs of 2 school aged kids and a dog.  2) To interact with our work colleagues and friends in-person when it makes the most sense. 

How have you stayed inspired?

Early on in my career someone told me to always remember it’s only media.  No work decision or recommendation I have made in my career has ever resulted in a death or dismemberment (that can be proven). While I still to this day try to keep that in mind, particularly when a client issue may arise or another stressor presents itself, I’ve come to also realize it’s not just media. 

I’ve stayed inspired by the multiple ideas, products, processes, and principles put in place by Mindshare, GroupM (and in many cases the broader advertising community) that have used the power of media and advertising to address societal issues, foster change, and continue to strive to make the world a little bit better today than it was yesterday. 

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