- People need people who listen.
- People need people and then
people need people that listen and then people
need people that listen and do something.
("Lazy Lover" by Common Souls)
- [Claude] When I was a kid I wanted to
be a philanthropist and a movie director
but what I realized was that I wanted to help people back then.
Way back in those days.
My job is to have relationships with the people
that I work with and that I work for.
The difference between values and strengths
as well as the difference between strengths and skills.
And so I work for 700+ people,
I work with 700+ people.
I have a wonderful team that also services 700+ people.
Any other relationships, there's a ton
but I'd love to just hear some of them between skill,
strength, values.
- [Sam] I put home for values because
I think that, you talk about this a lot,
that you want everyone to feel when they come to work
to feel like they're in a place that's comfortable for them,
safe space.
Home I feel like is a word that means a lot of these things.
It means empathy, it means inclusion,
it means trust,
you go home and that's where you're safe.
- Yep.
- [Sam] I feel like we have a responsibility to create
a home here if we can. - Yeah.
I, 1000% agree.
DRock was asking me today what my morning routine is
and so I was telling him about it
which is probably boring to you guys
so I won't tell you about it. (group laughter)
But a lot of the times I prep myself,
I might, if I'm talking to my best friend on the phone
or if I'm listening to music,
I'm prepping myself to literally
make space so that we can
make people feel safe
physically and psychologically safe
every single day to be their best selves.
That's it. That is my number one mission.
That's what Sam was talking about
in terms of making people feel at home
or creating a home for 600, 700 people.
But what that means to me is
to have belief in 700+ people
no matter what happens.
I think the belief in people and understanding that
people are choosing to be at Vayner
for a very specific reason.
They could go to any of the other agencies,
which are wonderful,
but people choose to come here,
I truly believe, because of the culture
and because of the exceptional work that we've been doing.
The past 20 years that I've spent in agency life
has taught me how to be agile.
Taught me how to embrace change and risk
and it's taught me how to seek knowledge
from all people and arenas.
It's taught me how to read a room and stay ahead of the curve
and on the right side of history rather
than paddling against the current.
So when I say, "How do we light people up?"
This is a big question for us because
we are serving other people and we work for the greater.
This is my question to myself every single day
which is how do I light you guys up? You know?
I have something up in my room right now
which says, "How do you light people up?"
And I keep it there for a reason.
I keep it there to see how many people look at that
white board when they come in and does that inspire them.
So I'd like to think I'd light people up all day.
If I do it half a day, I'm lucky, right?
I believe Gary lights people up all day.
I believe you light up people all day.
I want to know how many people
look at that white board and think,
"How can I light someone else's day up?"
How can I light them up? It's not all about me.
How can I light someone else's day up?
That's what we do.
I know what my purpose is every single day
when I come in to work and I know what my purpose is in life
so I can use all of that passion to say,
"Hey Justin, come on, what do you want to do? Let's do this."
Know what I mean?
Jo Beth, what do you want to own?
- [Jo Beth] I think the fact that she trusts me
and the team to do what she knows that we'll do
the best job ever at
is inspiring for me
to go out and kill it every day.
- We are family and beyond a family,
we are friends.
There's such a camaraderie here
and to come into the door and feel it is like nothing else
every single day. It's magical.
- So the hard thing about actually working with Claude is
that she teaches you and everybody around you
something every single day.
- [Claude] The relationship I then get to have with them
is feeling like I got the golden ticket.
I get to sit with them and
listen to them and watch them grow.
That's like the biggest honor in the world.
- [Gary] So as of today, starting on Monday,
we now have a Chief Heart Officer. Alright?
And that Chief Heart Officer is actually here.
So I think we should grab our Chief Heart Officer.
(audience applause)
("Bandaids Pt. 2" by Common Souls)
- [Sam] I think my favorite Claude moment
was when she was introduced as CHO
'cause she had been here previously,
obviously as an SVP and when
Gary introduced the name of the role,
everyone kinda started to like buzz a little bit
and then as she rounded the corner
and just kind of raised her hands in the air,
we were all cheering for her.
Just that moment knowing she was back
and knowing the capacity that she was back in
was just, it was just really cool.
We were all just so happy.
People that hadn't met her before were confused
but knew that it was a special moment
so definitely the favorite moment for Claude.
- I was on HR for a little over a year
when Claude joined the team.
And it was the best day ever when she did. (laughs)
- [Claude] So all my experiences I think throughout the years
and throughout studying and psychology and spirituality
and all these things kind of started to create this soup,
kind of this minestrone soup of
being passionate about people.
Wanting to unlock people.
Wanting to facilitate growth and change with people
and yet I was a strategist.
I was understanding human behavior
and how I could sell more toothpaste.
I knew how I could sell more toilet paper.
I understood how I could bring peace of mind
to a mom in Italy with spaghetti sauce.
But I needed more and more experiences working with people
to understand how we all
dive in the pool together.
Who swims this way, who swims that way,
who's drowning, all of that stuff.
So, that's a long-winded way of saying that
it took me a short lifetime to get here.
- [Justin] Claude's such a hybrid of understanding
the business needs because she's already a king of that trade,
a master of that trade,
but she's also a master of reading people like Gary is.
Those two, along with several other people in this agency,
can walk into a room, read what's going on
and understand what to do next in the middle of a conversation.
- [Claude] When I left Vayner,
the reason I left was because all I wanted to do,
all I wanted to do was be with people.
Build relationships, coach,
I thought that maybe I would start
my own coaching practice at 47 years old.
I thought maybe I would go back to school and
get my master's in social work.
I didn't know that I'd end up as a Chief Heart Officer.
I love it. It makes so much sense.
So much sense.
But throughout all those years,
I learned what listening does,
I learned what empathy does,
I learned that you absolutely need to take up space.
You deserve to take up space.
If you've been invited to that meeting,
you're there for a reason, so speak.
I believe in people and I see the good in the every day.
I build teams rooted in a generosity of spirit
and a belief in possibility.
I unlock people so that they can become their own champions
and I celebrate the little as well as the big victories.
I believe that there's magic in every moment
and that people need to be allowed to dream.
Truly I believe in that glimmer in a teammate's eyes
and I know how to push that glimmer until
it becomes a full-blown smile.
But there's a give and take, there's a dance and
I think in all of these years
I've learned what that dance is about and
now I'm at a place where I get to work
with 700 people-plus every single day.
I get to work like that with Gary and I get to work and grow
and foster an amazing team that's just hungry.
They're just sponges.
So it took a long time but I'm here and
I wouldn't be any other place.
- It's also so awesome to have a CEO and to have a boss
who truly cares about the people within the walls.
And I think that's what makes coming to work
so worth it and so awesome.
- You know, Claude is one of the few individuals
that I've ever met in my life that makes me feel the way I feel
and so to create this position
which is more than Mark,
more than AJ, more than James, more than Scott,
more than Segal or Mickey,
to create a position that really is me, right?
The scalable version of what I do with you guys
one-on-one in those meetings and have the autonomy
to make decisions that make no sense on paper
but make a whole lot of sense on heart.
I want to build the best, greatest,
let me rephrase,
we (audience laughter)
we want to build the single greatest human organization
in the history of times.
- [Claude] So when I think people are meeting with me
it's not to get Gary.
They can get Gary.
His door in completely open and he's available.
I think they're looking for
why am I here.
I think a lot of times people ask me what I do here.
How did I get here?
They're interested in why an old fogie like me is
running around with a bunch of Millennials.
I don't know but I complement him,
I believe, by coming at situations
in a slightly different way.
Some times more emotional, some times more heartfelt.
Some times with a little bit more vinegar than honey.
Some times calling them on their bullshit
in a different way than he might.
And some times I know that he's had a conversation
with them which has been honey
so I'll come in and look at it with a slightly different slant
to help someone or assist someone in getting
A, to the answer or the answer that we'd like them to get to.
On another level, I might need one answer for him
or he might need to tell me one adjective
and I know exactly the direction I need to take a conversation.
Gary and I speak all the time.
We're in constant communication.
And actually, we're two sides of the same coin.
In lockstep when it comes to heart and hustle.
I mean, we're really focused on
creating the greatest Honey Empire of all time.
What I've learned from working with Gary is
a completely different level of patience.
A completely different level of accountability.
A completely different level of humility.
I've learned to let go of
the 99% of stuff that you don't need
and really focus on that number 1% North Star.
Together, Gary and I, marry the heart and the hustle.
I create the strategic direction for all things people
alongside Gary who creates
the strategic vision for all things business.
And together with our team
we are building the greatest Honey Empire.
Fueled by people operating at the top of their game.
Simply put, I'm in the people business.
I touch anything and everything
that has to do with the people
at VaynerMedia and their experiences.