The HDMZ annual summit has concluded again! Last week, HDMZers from around the world gathered in Chicago for two days of professional development, team building, and community service. This year included a particularly exciting turn of events with a sneak preview of an evolved brand story and updated corporate identity for HDMZ to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
With a dispersed workforce, the chance to get together as an organization is invaluable. In addition to giving us the opportunity to realign on our approach to work in person, it inspires us to step up in the coming year, and helps us feel connected to our remote colleagues. Check out some memorable moments from this year’s summit.
An evolving HDMZ
A highlight of this year’s summit was the exclusive preview of HDMZ’s evolved brand story and corporate identity. We’re not ready to share everything just yet, but we are building an exciting new brand position that reflects what our clients value most from our communications engagements and directly addresses the changing marketing landscape in the life sciences. It’s a strategic evolution designed to sharpen our focus and amplify our impact. Stay tuned for the official launch in the coming weeks!
Fostering professional growth
We’re strong believers in the idea that we’re never done learning. At the summit, we had several opportunities to expand our professional skills.
One standout session was a presentation from Jeff Lietz, Managing Partner at Sales Engine, Inc. Jeff delivered a compelling talk that explored the foundations of human performance (knowledge, skill, and discipline) and how discipline is the most crucial factor in driving performance. He then masterfully connected these concepts to communication, revealing the science behind why stories are the most impactful tool we have to persuade action. It was a powerful reminder that how we communicate is just as important as what we do.
We also had the invaluable opportunity to hear directly from a long-time client in a fireside chat with our CEO, Dillon Allie. This candid conversation offered a client-side perspective on several relevant topics, including the formula for great work, the evolving role of AI in modern thought leadership content development, and the keys to ensuring a healthy and productive client-agency relationship. The discussion also touched on the importance of patience, positivity, and persistence when undertaking large, enterprise-wide initiatives, providing actionable insights for our teams.
Hearing from these experienced professionals gave us the chance to explore new skills and get a new point of view on what we do every day. Our team will be able to take what we learned from these talks and apply it to our work going forward.
Coming together as a team
A big part of our annual summit is making everyone feel connected with the team as a whole, whether they live in Argentina, California, Illinois, or one of the dozen other locations where HDMZers operate. After a long day of talks, presentations, and professional growth, we brushed off our artistic skills for an evening of painting. Led by the talented instructors at Pinot’s Palette, our paintings of water lilies may not have been Monets, but we all had fun spending time with one another and attempting to follow along.
We also came together as a group to support the local community. At the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a non-profit organization that works to address hunger in the Chicago area, we packed boxes with ingredients that will supply recipients with meals for a month. While we had fun operating as a vast assembly line, we were also able to make a real difference, packing more than one thousand boxes during our visit.
As always, our team left the summit feeling invigorated and inspired. We’re excited to bring what we learned into our work as we continue forward, and to continue strengthening our team even from a distance.
