Hawke Turns 6: Our Strength Is Our Values
Today, Hawke Media is celebrating our 6th anniversary! That means we’ve been around through 1.5 presidential terms, 13 iPhone models, 1 royal wedding, 3 royal babies, and a Megxit.
In dog years we’re practically middle-aged, and with that age and experience comes a certain amount of wisdom. In those six years, we’ve grown as a company and as individuals.
Over these six years, our values have matured and evolved with us. They’re not just words we’ve plastered on walls around the office, they’re a testament to the work, people, and culture we’ve set out to develop since day one.
Our values are present in everything we do, whether we’re launching an ad campaign for one of our amazing clients or hosting a happy hour at the Hawke Nest. It’s in our DNA.
Hawke’s values are ingrained in its people. We look for these qualities in everyone we bring into The Nest. Each one may not mean the same thing to everyone, but to be part of the Hawke Fam they have to ring true to you.
Here’s what these values mean to some of the incomparable Hawke Fam:
IQ + EQ + AQ =
Intelligence, empathy, and adaptability are the defining characteristics of our people, partners, and clients.
Tony Delmercado, COO & Co-Founder
“Intelligence is mandatory at Hawke, what distinguishes our team from many others I’ve worked with over the years is our people-centric, empathetic culture – internally and with clients. We’re a highly adaptable bunch and love serving clients and each other.
Recently we’ve been asked by a challenging client (who shall remain nameless) for what amounts to a 2020 business plan, marketing plan, product/brand direction and *literally* a playbook for running their business.
The account leader coordinated with multiple internal teams quickly to put together a ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY page playbook, custom scoped the engagement and did so while maintaining a positive, professional, respectful demeanor with other team leads and the sales lead to package and price this monster of an engagement…when smart people respect clients and each other, listen, collaborate intelligently and execute fast – there’s nothing we can’t do as an organization.”
Unwavering pursuit of growth
We get better every day and we fucking love it. We are insatiably curious in the pursuit of our mission and betterment.
Emma Taylor, Marketing Communications Manager
“One of my favorite things about Hawke is that I constantly feel like we’re on the verge of learning something huge that launches us into a new realm of growth.
Working here, most conversations introducing something new end in “how do we test this?” rather than “we’ll never do that but we don’t want to explore why we won’t.” The fear of the unknown is never a reason to stop a quest for new opportunities!”
Massive impact
We are leaders. We efficiently drive measurable results and innovative ideas – shaping the future of marketing.
Stefan Kalczynski, Director of Client Strategy
“Leadership at Hawke has always spoken of the concept of the company being like a sandbox, where if you can dream it, you can build it.
As a Director of Client Strategy, this has never felt more important when I direct my teams and put forth plans of action. No idea is too big or too small, and being able to work in an arena in which, I am not only supported, but I am rewarded for innovative leadership. It really makes being a Hawke employee extremely gratifying.”
Have Fun!
We own our happiness and find joy in the process. Our people, partners, and clients choose to see the glass half-full and have strong emotional fortitude.
David Chon, Director of Content
“We create our own reality and make the best of everything. Having the right mindset can shift your perspective of any problem into a learning opportunity for personal/professional development.
We don’t compare ourselves to others. We measure our success and self-worth by our own expectations and journey.
We take ownership of our happiness within our own boundaries, understanding what we can and can’t control.”
Build Community
We practice meritocracy, celebrate diversity, foster community, provide opportunity and live with integrity.
Lindsay Tripode, Head of People Operations
“Building community means more than just getting along with your co-workers and team-building activities (although that is certainly part of it). It’s also about understanding the values that make up Hawke and embedding our identity into everything we do. We believe that success is based on hard work, diversity, empathy, and appreciation for each other and our clients.
At Hawke, we demonstrate these beliefs and foster our community with monthly HawkeU’s, where the office gathers to introduce new hires, celebrate each other’s wins and announce our HawkeStar of the month.
In addition, we have adopted the AllVoices platform, which enables employees to anonymously speak out about our culture.
Currently, I am most excited about our values art project. Volunteers have selected the value that they feel most connected to and are reflecting that in their art, which can be a painting, movie, dance piece, song, story or any other art form that they are inspired to create.”
Communicate
Open, consistent, empathetic communication is the foundation for all of our relationships and critical to our collective success and happiness.
Marissa Jimenez, Director of Lifecycle Marketing
“Strong communication is a virtue that has never been more relevant or significant to me than throughout my journey at Hawke Media.
Working directly with Tony, he taught me the value of direct and swift communication as well as what opportunities each individual has to be a leader through their words. This knowledge has helped me immensely, both professionally and personally in the last 5 years.
Happy Birthday Hawke Media and thank you, Tony and Erik, for the half-decade of accomplishments, lessons, and friendships.”
Accessibility & Accountability
We are economically and strategically accessible so that everyone with ambition and aptitude has a clear path to success. With no tolerance for BS, we reward radical candor and are comfortable being uncomfortable.
Scott Taylor, Vice President of Sales
“Our sales team brings together pe
ople across a variety of industries, backgrounds, education levels, and work experience. The people who excel show scrappiness, intelligence, and grit rather than the quality of their pedigree.
Before coming to Hawke, some of our top team members were working in shoe stores and selling solar from door to door. They proved themselves by learning quickly, having great attitudes, and working really, really hard.”
Conclusion
Here’s to another 6 years, 72 months, 2,190 days, or 189,216,000 seconds of success with integrity, honesty, and openness. This is who we are and this is who we’ll continue to be; we’re the best and we get better every day because our people strive to get better every day.