Ajay Kantheti’s Post

The last 8.5 years at D5 and Song were invaluable. From Super Bowl to experiential, creative to measurement and media planning, I learned so much from all the amazing humans that have made D5/Song a powerhouse. UFA is an end-to-end creative marketing firm focused on helping growth stage brands graduate from niche to mass market competitor. Many companies at this stage are rapidly expanding through new product and service offerings or expanded distribution channels or geographic footprint. As the ambition of the business grows, the game changes and it becomes clear a new marketing playbook is necessary to succeed. My ambition is to be the best partner in the world for brands as they navigate these major mindset, strategy and executional adjustments. Chubbies Shorts is a great example and I couldn't be happier to be partnering with Rainer Castillo marie malette and team. They’re poised for incredible growth and already taking the steps to elevate how they compete in the broader lifestyle apparel market. They’re a bold brand with strong values, world class product and talent. We’re only just getting started but I’m thrilled to see our partnership develop. It’s a season of change in the marketing world. I hope to influence how the creative industry evolves to create better outcomes for the talent behind the work and also the brands who commission it. If you’re a founder or a marketer and think this sounds like where your brand is today, let’s connect. If you’re freelancing, looking for a new gig, or an old friend and want to say, Hi, hit me up. More to come.

Never forget what made you…you. I’ve kept and still wear most of the polos from the teams I worked with and for ranging from college to my most recent baseball front office role in 2021. Why? Am I nostalgic? Yes. Too frugal to buy new shirts? Mostly. The real reason I kept and wear this team gear? To remember what and who helped make me the person and professional I am. Every team, every leader, every coworker, every stressful tarp-pull memory, every ticket sales win or on-field promo that went right or wrong were personal and professional lessons. For better or worse, I loved my career in baseball front offices. Who knows if/when I’ll gravitate back toward the sports industry? Until then, I have polos and memories. So, what’s your favorite piece of team/company gear and a memory to go with it?

Leadership

Anything is possible

The post below contains the spirit and essence I aimed to capture with my every-week #fridayflowers when I started them a few months ago. Everyone would agree that thankfulness, gratitude, and encouragement are valid. However, we tend to express these big feelings in really small (and over-simplified) ways. "Thanks for doing that"... "I appreciate you"... "Great job". Thanks for doing what? What things are you appreciative for? How is it a great job? I don't personally know Neal Stewart, but this is a beautiful note we can all learn from -- that captures the heart of why expressing these sentiments -- thoughtfully, intentionally, and in-detail -- is so important. #encouragement #thankfulness #gratitude #employeeexperience

Farewell to Grayson!✨ It has been an absolute joy having you as part of our team. Your hard work, dedication, and positivity have made an impact on all of us. While we will miss you greatly, we are so excited for you as you embark on this new chapter💫🥹 Wishing you all the best and much success in your future endeavors!🌟👏 #TheScottLawFirm

What’s your Super Bowl? Like millions of others I stayed up late to watch Super Bowl LVIII 🏈 It’s arguably the biggest sporting occasion on the planet and the pinnacle of a player’s season and even career. So what’s your / your businesses Super Bowl? The pinnacle of your journey? Your long term goal? Go 👇 #Superbowl #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner

The finest creation of my life so far — a true testament to our culture at Circle, The crystal-clear brief, the spot-on feedback, the support, the space & freedom to just be me — they’ve trusted me with everything, and it’s made all the difference. This isn’t just work for me, it’s a piece of my heart. So proud of this one, and many more to come! (I can write a whole chapter on this, but will let you watch our video)

I was waiting for this session for about two weeks but unfortunately, I missed it. The topic was interesting to me because it would have allowed me to hear some other opinions from a different audience/ experts. In 2018 I conducted a research paper about (Postgraduate learners’ perceptions of factors that support their autonomous motivation to learn in online contexts), when I did my 1st master's degree in New Zealand. I used the self-determination theory as the analytical framework to explore the factors perceived by online learners as supportive of their autonomous motivation to learn in online environments at a postgraduate level. The semi-structured interview findings that emerged from the inductive thematic analysis indicated that factors perceived as supportive of learners’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, are more likely to enhance online learners’ autonomous motivation and promote the process of internalization allowing more self-determined types of extrinsic motivation to exist. Anyway, if anyone is interested, there is a copy of my research in my profile here on Linkedin if you want to check it out. Thanks, Dr. Miranda for keeping doing these kinds of interesting workshops and sessions.

The future faces of baseball operation management are right here.