The Alpaca in the room

Hellllllooooooo! We are back, back again, guess who's back. In today's eposide we are reflecting on our own management skills, and what makes a good boss and a bad boss. We talk about psychological safety and what are the triggers for encouraging and discouraging creativity. We also talk about how bosses can have emotions, but that the way they express them is the important part. We also t...

After a summer break, Janina and Mick are back! After 17 episodes they realized they didn't have anything more cool to say, so they decided to take a break to gather more worldly knowledge, and they have done just that! As it's the first time Mick and Janina have talked in person this is officially the ultimate small talk episode with so much randomness. In this episode, Mick talks about h...

The Alpaca in the Room is 1 year old! Woop Woop. To celebrate our 1 year birthday, it's only right that we go back to our origins! Episode 1 was 'what is wrong with linkedin'. So today we ask asking ourselves 'How is Linkedin in 2025?' How is activity on Linkedin affected by other social networks? Are there any topics on Linkedin that don't reference AI? Can we all agree ev...

We are back! After a short recording break, Mick and Janina are back and this episode is all about generating creative energy. Many people right now in 2025 have found that previous channels and projects have stopped working, and for the first time in a while they are being forced to come up with brand new things. We talk about how to make group creative work, or not work, and how to find inspirat...

Its the last episode of 2024 for the Alpaca in the room!  We are going to give you 3 gifts as topics this episode! :D  Gifts in business . What is hot and not about sending and receiving gifts professionally. Do you feel pressure to share gifts on social media? When is branding too much branding? Are socks still cool?  New Year Resolutions that Mick and Janina have for 2025. What are the things th...

2024 was a little crazy for marketing, especially with our future AI overlords disrupting more than ever.  But we ask, will 2025 be any different!?  During today’s episode Mick and Janina both share their 5 predictions for 2025 for Marketing. What do they think will be a trend that continues to grow, what channels will make a comeback and what campaigns will die in 2025.  Who doesn’t want to end t...

Season 2 is here! The Alpaca in the Room podcast is back with an all new season! Mick and Janina start with the topic all around Black Friday! After years of the hype of Black Friday, what really should your business do on this very special day? Is it a day to win first time customers, or the day to convert your existing fan base? Will it be the year of fewer discounts? In this episode we cover th...

t’s episode 12! We made it!  The finale of Season 1!  During today’s episode Mick attempts to create and sing an all new The Alpaca in the Room theme tune.  If you make it past that insult to music, Mick and Janina talk all about their favourite episodes from the season. Mick also presents Janina with some surprising gifts.  Once that emotional rollercoaster ends Mick and Janina start the all new...

I have an idea, what’s next? On how to change your Great Business Idea into a side project. In today’s episode Janina & Mick talk about putting into practice all those Great Business Idea that we all have. Does it make sense to drop your job immediately, in order to become second Steve Jobs in your parent’s garage? When does it make sense to turn the idea into a side project, and what to check...

In this special episode we talk all about Pride Month!  During the episode Mick and Janina talk all about how businesses can interact with PRIDE, and the challenges that come with it.  While Janina is a lifelong ambassador of PRIDE, Mick is rather a novice so today’s episode covers both the basics and more developed approaches to PRIDE. Basically Mick is an uneducated Dinosaur, but he also brings...

Let’s talk about one of the most needed skills in the current job market… creativity! In today’s episode Mick and Janina discuss how to boost creativity in yourself (fresh from Janina's amazing presentation at Infoshare), your team and you organization, what is the key business lesson brought to us by panda bear rolling down the hill, and how to create organizational culture which will make yo...

2024 is the debate of our lives. Just how should businesses work and where? Episode 8 is all about working remotely vs in office, and why it’s such an online battle to be proven right.  Mick and Janina talk about collaboration pros and cons for both tenured employees and brand new ones.  They cover the rise of offsite meetings, why throwing people together is not enough, and Janina’s hate for Kaya...

Does personal health take a back seat when your career accelerates upward? How many times have you pushed 'through' an illness, just because you felt one more thing needed to be done? In an episode that could be sponsored by Red Bull and Seven Days, Mick and Janina share their personal stories with developing their careers, and struggling to balance their personal health. They talk about l...

As AI summarized today’s episode: “today’s gonna be a little bit wild”. Janina and Mick talk about all the awkwardness in business relationships. When greeting your business partner should you go for a hand shake, high five or a hug? Is it OK to be late to the meetings and how to handle it, if it happens? We also talk about judging one’s professionalism based on his or her clothing – both in face...

Who would you be if you were not a marketer? In Episode 5 this is the question Mick and Janina discuss. While their answers are both funny and unexpected (super unexpected), it also opens the door as to why they discuss it and why it's such a common question therapists ask. Working in marketing has changed. What was the fun, creative job of the past, has now developed into a more demanding rol...

In this episode Janina and Mick talk about building a personal brand (that’s not strange) and about going to the gym (that’s soooo strange). As the gym stuff can’t really be explained and is a mystery to both of us, let’s address some alpacas in the room in terms of branding: does everyone need a personal brand nowadays? Is it possible to build it offline or do you need an online presence for that...

In episode #3 Mick and Janina are talking about events! How to choose which you want to go to, and just how to plan, if you are an attendee, sponsor, or keynote speaker.  Can events have an ROI? Should events deliver leads or learning, or is attending events now an employee benefit with zero expectations? How much does the agenda matter? Should you prioritise the speaker or the presentation topics...

In today's episode Mick and Janina talk about her recent trip to New York and why she didn't like it. Then they move right on to why is marketing broken and how to fix it. Can we make marketing fun again? Why is it OK that sometimes your campaign fails? How to boost innovation in your marketing team? This episode will bring you some answers and hopefully help relight the joy and excitement...

This is the historic first episode of the Alpaca in the room podcast, where we talk about what everybody thinks and nobody says about business, and other topics sometimes. As it’s the Performance Review Season, this is the episode in which we offer feedback to… our favorite professional social media platform. What’s wrong with Linkedin and how to fix it? Do people on Linkedin lack a sense of humou...