Media Solutions Media Solutions

What is your role at Media Solutions Corporation?

Project Coordinator

What would people never guess you do in your role at Media Solutions Corporation?

I moved into project management from being a graphic designer. I have a degree in graphic design and a strong design background, so I am very involved with our designers’ work in a collaborative capacity as well as in a management capacity, and I occasionally work on design projects myself. I am also the primary designer on our multimedia presentations.

Before working at Media Solutions Corporation, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

I think the most unusual would be the time I spent working for the statistical branch of Arizona Department of Agriculture. I spent several months going out to various cotton fields around the Phoenix area to take counts of the cotton growing that year, from the time the plants were beginning to grow until after harvest when all that was left of the plants were dry stalks and dirty leftover cotton bolls on the ground. It wasn’t until many years later when I started taking statistics classes in college that I had any idea what I was actually accomplishing out there, and then it all made sense.

If you could pick one theme for Media Solutions Corporation to turn into a book about the company, what would it be?

Something about the way good leadership creates a good company culture. You see such a world of difference between working where you have good leaders and where good company culture happens organically vs. working in a place where they try to create good culture artificially with a lot of buzzwords and meetings. There’s just no substitute for genuinely good people steering the ship.

How has Media Solutions Corporation helped you in your career development?

I’ve been able to get a little more experience working autonomously as a project manager, which is something I enjoy doing. I’ve also been able to spend time researching solutions for various challenges that have come up both internally and for our clients. It’s very exciting to find something that addresses a specific need in just the right way.

What has been your favorite project at Media Solutions Corporation?

I think it would have to be coordinating the installation of the building signage on our new building. It was just a really fun combination of a lot of things that I loved.

First, signage was a career path I seriously considered in art school when I was getting my degree in graphic design. My first job out of college was working for a sign shop. It’s an area I’m fairly conversant in, and that helped me a lot with the project.

Second, it was the kind of setup that I really like—a problem I could take off of someone’s hands completely so they could stop worrying about it and focus on other things. We were getting ready to move into a brand-new building, and there were at least a dozen different logistical issues relating to the move that were being juggled. I was able to give Jim one less thing to worry about.

Third, it involved a number of different elements: taking bids, having conversations with the companies, research, reading (and occasionally making) technical drawings, creating photo mockups, visiting the site… just lots of things. I like variety. And it all turned out well, which is also a plus!

What’s different about working at Media Solutions Corporation opposed to other companies you’ve worked at before?

I feel like I have a voice in our processes. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few jobs with a really good atmosphere like we have here, but the thing that really sets Media Solutions apart from those others is that I feel both very comfortable expressing an opinion on something—it doesn’t matter what—and that my opinion is given genuine consideration when it is expressed. It’s one thing to make employees feel comfortable sharing their opinions, but it’s something else to demonstrate that their opinion matters.

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?

I’ve learned that I love running, endurance trail running specifically. I started running in the late summer of 2011 because I’d gotten into a very sedentary lifestyle and was concerned about my health. I started with 5K races, and I discovered that I really enjoyed it. Over the next several years I started increasing my distances and just kept going farther and farther. I ran my first marathon just about a year ago (February 2015) and my first ultramarathon (50K/31 miles) last December.

Least favorite food?

Uncooked or very rare meat and fish. There is a texture issue there that I just can’t get past.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I had steak sushi one time at this wannabe-trendy sushi place a couple of years ago. On paper it looked good, but there was something in the execution that just did not work at all (this is different than what I described in the least favorite food question above—the steak was fully cooked). I’ve eaten less conventional things, but that sushi really sticks out to me. It wasn’t weird because it was exotic; it was just weird and not good.

If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?

“Shane Thinks You Can’t Do It,” because that’s recently turned into a really funny inside joke as a way for my coworkers to try to trick/motivate each other into getting things done.

What music is on your iPhone/Android phone?

I listen to music a lot less often than I listen to podcasts right now, so I’ll tell you about those instead. My current favorites are Doug Loves Movies (a brilliant intersection of comedy and conversations about movies), Judge John Hodgman (John Hodgman—probably best known as “PC” from Apple’s “PC and Mac” commercials several years ago—presides over a courtroom of fake internet law and elevates mundane arguments between friends and family members into fascinating and very funny cases), and Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men (because I fell in love with X-Men comics as a kid and love the discussions this couple has about them). I have a handful of others I may or may not listen to depending on whether the episode sounds interesting, but those three are my staples.