In this episode, we invite Claude Silver. Claude’s life’s purpose is to be of joyful service and unlock emotional optimism in all. The key lies in the heart. ❤️ Claude is the first-ever Chief Heart Officer working with and for close to 1,000 employees at VaynerMedia to integrate heart into their professional lives and become the best version of themselves and best leaders they can be. As a motivational speaker, thought leader, and industry trendsetter, Claude focuses on teaching people and organizations how to disrupt the traditional HR model with the use of emotional optimism and heart-centered leadership.

What you will learn:

VaynerMedia’s mission and how it is different from other companies
Claude's journey of getting started with her role at VaynerMedia
Things that VaynerMedia has done to protect culture while scaling
What is honey empire
What is the day-to-day of Claude as a Chief Heart Officer
How to help someone who isn’t succeeding
Emotional optimism and how to inject it in people around you
VaynerMedia’s alumni program
New initiatives implemented to change the landscape of VaynerMedia
How to elevate yourself as an employee or prospective candidate
How to talk to people who are skeptical about their career path
How to get a gauge of a company’s culture
How to apply if you are interested in working at VaynerMedia

Mic Drops:

🎤Claude at 22:00 - Us, humans, we are like exquisitely messy people.

🎤Claude at 24:10 - I came to New York the month later and we just hit it off. It was a Who Ya Know moment.

🎤Claude at 25:28 - Creating safety is our obsession. Removing fear, removing cynicism, people talking smack about one another.

🎤Claude at 26:40 - Honey is how we treat people.

🎤Mark at 28:20 - Not treat people the way you want to be treated but the way that they want to be treated.

🎤Claude at 29:45 - There is nothing that’s common sense right now especially in this wacky world we are living in.

🎤Claude at 30:35 - It is listening. I listen to a lot of people.

🎤Claude at 34:40 - I did it.

🎤Claude at 36:45 - I go through hard times, I go through dark times, I go through all those times. However, for me, there is always hope and some kind of light.

🎤Claude at 37:14 - People wake up every single morning without you and I know it wants us to succeed.

🎤Claude at 38:06 - It’s more like, yeah Covid is happening and work is really heavy right now because a lot of people have a lot of raw emotions, and that's really tough for me. So, I better acknowledge that, take care of myself, get to the gym so that I can be the best me I can be for my family and work.

🎤Claude at 39:30 - We have an enormous database of all these companies that are knocking on Gary's door all day long, or knocking on our door. What we promise is an introduction.

🎤Claude at 40:15 - If we have done some of our homework prior to that meeting, what I will say is like, “Hey Billy, this is not great news and whatnot. However, we know that you’re really interested in cutting video and here are three places that we can get you a network. Or I will say, “Take some time, go on LinkedIn, find three jobs that you're interested in or three companies and let's see who we know there.”

🎤Claude at 47:25 - We have really been focussing on our D E & I initiatives which is incredibly important. When I say we are creating a culture that’s rooted in belonging, the only way to do that again is to make people feel safe. And how do you do that, by not having people change their stripes. We, the culture, adapt to them.

🎤Claude at 50:30 - Who are you? I’m Claude. My business is the business of people. I love the exquisite mess that we all are. I have two young kids. And I want to make this world a better place for them.

🎤Claude at 55:22 - I think it’s really important to certainly see who you know or who your friends know on LinkedIn.

🎤Claude at 55:50 - If I can do it, I will absolutely send that to a recruiter on our team and say, I don't know but let's do this person a solid 15 minutes, that's it.

🎤Claude at 56:55 - If you’re gonna write to me, remember what we already talked about. I don’t want to be wined and dined. I want to know about you. “Hey Claude, saw you on that show. I want to be creative and I just taught myself how to edit on the phone and I would love to talk to you about the creator role that I saw you have open.”

🎤Claude at 57:30 - Six years ago when I stepped in this role, the first thing I did was I removed the need for college education.