Meet the Members of sfBIG – Brooke Shapiro
Meet Brooke Shapiro
What human quality do you most admire and also most deplore?
The quality I admire most in someone is curiosity. After years of training from Universal Mccann, the philosophy of “yes, and…” has really made an impact in all aspects of my life. I have a lot of respect for someone when they explain the “why” behind their actions and questions. Also, I love when people build upon an idea or go above and beyond.
The quality I most deplore is inauthenticity. I’m an honest person who, for better or worse, conducts myself in a transparent fashion. I also tend to expect the same from my peers and colleagues. There just isn’t enough time and energy to deal with someone who obfuscates or misguides others. We all are adults and need to focus our time on what moves the world along.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Anyone who has met me knows about my love of ice cream. I don’t know if it’s guilty, but one of my favorite pleasures is my daily pint of ice cream. I always try a different flavor every day. If you ever want ice cream flavor insights/suggestions, let me know!
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
This answer would have been completely different a few weeks ago. It would be getting, or experiencing, something extravagant and exotic in order to achieve happiness. But now that the world has changed, I realized that the things I currently have are my perfect happiness. Every night, my husband and I relish and immerse ourselves in putting my son to bed over all other responsibilities. It’s a silly routine where we put away our phones (no work calls/emails or texts), give my son a bath and read the same 3 stories before bed. It’s truly the perfect happiness where we are all together without technology, stress and just spend time together laughing and taking in the time while he is still little before he is too cool for us.
What is the app you wish someone would invent?
I would love an app to shock me when it’s time to go to bed. I can get sucked into social media, binging TV shows or just lose time responding to work emails. Next thing I know, it’s midnight or 1am and I don’t know where my night went! I may need something stronger than an app, like a robot to watch if I am capitalizing on my time, and if not, herd me (like dogs do to sheep or cattle) to my bedroom to go to sleep. That would be great!
In this short time, any tips from working from home?
I will be honest, I don’t think I have mastered this new blur of personal life/work life coming together. I feel guilty on a work call when my son is sitting in front of the TV or I have to tell him that I am busy with work. At Clorox, I started some family events to help build that bridge. We started having executive story time, where I have our leadership teams read stories with their kids to Clorox families over video. We have virtual dance parties as well. Our R&D team put together some fun science projects that we send out weekly and have video demonstrations every other week. With all that said, you just need to embrace the new norm!
Also, it’s important to remember that everyone has different living situations and they are all dealing with this differently. Some people want to just do work and sign off to be with family. Others may be alone in their apartment and need the human interaction and conversation to help their day. So I always think ahead about who I am talking to and steer the conversation accordingly to make sure they are getting whatever interactions they need to get the job done.
What is the most fun in your job?
The most fun in my job is being creative, scrappy and brightening people’s days. There is no better moment in marketing when you make that connection with the right person who needed your product/service most at that time. Marketing is also constantly evolving every day through technology. Also, I secretly get a little thrill with the fast paced and fire drills that we all face any given day.
Any secret places/hang out/food in the Bay Area that you can clue us in on?
Living in Oakland there are so many spots on this side of the bridge. I am a sucker for no frills breakfast food. I also love a place with outdoor seating so I can bring my Beagle, Beanie. My go to secret dive breakfast spot is Lynn & Lu’s on Grand Avenue. They have a giant oatmeal pancake with blueberry sauce that’s killer! I honestly have no idea what else is on the menu since I make everyone I am with order it. The only real decision is if I get an extra side of whipped cream!