17 and a Half Questions With Deirdre McGlashan

We ask inspiring people 17 and a half questions. This week we have Deirdre McGlashan, the Global Chief Digital Officer at MediaCom, who shares her excitement of working in an ever-changing field! She talks about her passion for food and how being a child of immigrants shaped her perception of limitations and boundaries

17 and a Half Questions With Deirdre McGlashan

1.  What I like about my job

I get to work with a wide variety of people across a wide variety of clients on a wide variety of challenges – it’s always interesting!

2.  What sometimes frustrates me

Sometimes people treat digital like it’s a separate thing when it’s not, it’s part of the infrastructure of modern life.

3.  My secret alternative job

A bartender, I love talking with people and learning their stories and I love preparing food and drinks for others.

4.  Best strategy to survive a really bad day at the office

A session at the boxing gym or Soul Cycle followed by a nice meal out (in the before-corona times). Now during covid, a good snuggle with my new puppy.

5.  When are you in the famous flow

Everything falls into place and I see connections between the most disparate things, because everything is connected and you can learn from the most unexpected sources, sometimes you just have to look hard enough.

6.  Biggest success so far

Being able to continue working in an ever-changing field and constantly meeting new and interesting people.

7.  Biggest defeat

Oh, so many things have gone horribly wrong, I don’t think I could pick just one. But you’re never defeated if you learn something from it.

8.  Worst buzzword

Digital transformation – it’s really a business transformation, use of digital tools should be part of the solution to achieve the desired outcome, not the end goal.

9.   Best reward after a hard week at work

Spending time with friends.

10.  Home office or in-house

I’ve been working on my dining room table since March so I like to think about it as ‘temporary accommodations’.

11.   Most important traits a colleague/business partner must have

Curiosity and passion.

12. Your creative hack

Pockets. Life opens up when both hands are free.

13. First website to check in the morning

It changes daily – I look at my mobile and decide which alerts to look at first.

14. Favorite digital tool

Mobile phone, 100%.

15. In which book or series have you learned the most for your (work) life?

Malcolm Gladwell books. I’ve learned the power of getting ideas across through compelling storytelling with them.

16.  Which series, book or podcast can you generally recommend?

I’m a cooking nerd so Cooking Issues with Dave Arnold for serious cooking geeks.

17.  Most prominent follower on a social channel?

All my followers are special so prominent in their own unique ways.

17 and a half: What has always...

...made me quirky: As a child of immigrants, I have always lived between two worlds so I think that makes me sort of blind to perceived boundaries or limitations so I approach things naively with a ‘how hard could it be?’ attitude… Often times, the answer is ‘crushingly hard’ but I tried it, I learned from it and I’ve added to my very wide, strange (and often useless) body of knowledge and experiences. Quirky is how many people describe me

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