Maverick Indonesia

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

*From The 5th Anniversary Maverick Movie Award*
Best Movie: Melting Pot - a production of team F: Riri, Rommy, Ruli, Fenny, Adhi & Fahrur
Best Actress: Ocha - Aku Bukan (Lagi) Koboi Cengeng
Best Editor: Shilla - Aku Bukan (Lagi) Koboi Cengeng
Best Scriptwriters: Shilla & Nia - Aku Bukan (Lagi) Koboi Cengeng
Best Director: Nila - Blessing in Disguise

The celebration of Maverick’s 5th Anniversary was definitely one of the most unforgettable nights the Mavericks ever had - so far. Unlike previous years, we wanted to have it simpler and private, only for the istaff. So we came up with a small, yet creative competition. Divided into 6 teams of 6 members, Mavericks were required to create a 5-minute movie about Maverick. The only condition was that it had to reflect one of maverick’s values. The rest was up to our creativity and imagination.

This didn’t make things easy as the more options you have and the simpler you have to make something, the more difficult it gets.

It wasn’t easy, at least for my team and I. We had to do everything ourselves. And I mean, everything! From writing the script to editing the movie. With only 3 weeks deadline, we had to demonstrate our creativity, talent and teamwork to the judges - the partners of Maverick Ong Hock Chuan and Lita Soenardi.

The criteria for us to win the ‘prestigious’ awards are:
1. Creativity, worth 20 points
2. Teamwork, worth 20 points
3. Interpretation of Maverick’s values, worth 30 points
4. End result (enjoyable to watch), worth 30 points

Ong and Lita weren’t joking about the project. We weren’t allowed to discuss our movie with other teams. The results remained confidential, to the point where Ong and Lita agreed to handle some preparations themselves. In a way, I was quite happy as the person in charge of organizing the event. Afterall, it isn’t every day that your bosses would take up some of the responsibilities for you …

The grand announcement was held at Cilantro Resto & Lounge on Thursday, 5 July 2007. It was a dinner reception conducted privately for Maverick. Everyone looked so lovely in their formal attire. After cutting the anniversary cake and plate after plate of great food, we finally got to watch all the movies. A cute basket full of snacks to nibble on was also prepared on each table for us. So Lovely!

Maverick was interpreted in 6 different ways. And trust me, they’re all great!

With What Happens if Maverick Gets a Partner from Hell, team A tried to say that in Maverick, everything is about balance. Clients and making money are important, but having your own time is also as important!

Through Blessing in Disguise, team B interprets Maverick for its integrity in executing its responsibilities and the extended service provided for the clients

In Aku Bukan (Lagi) Koboi Cengeng, Team C tried to capture the can-do spirit instilled in all Mavericks from Day #1

Maverick to Team D’s entry was Metamorphosis. It tried to capture the opportunity Maverick creates for people to reach their full potential

Team E’s entry The Avenger, decided to parody the day-to-day work of the Mavericks

As for team F, Maverick is interpreted as The Melting Pot. The place where people from different backgrounds and with different characters and temperament can find a “home” and be a solid team.

For their impressive creativity, team F was awarded with Best Movie. I can understand why. It was very creative as the entire movie consisted of shots of legs. Not a single line of dialogue but it conveyed a powerful message nonetheless. Exquisite!

Despite some technical problems we had, it was truly a night to remember for all of us. The partners spoiled us with a number of surprises. Ida, Uki and Zaenal, who have been dedicating their professional lives in Maverick the past 5 years were given special prizes for staying with Maverick through its nascent years. Each of us also received a copy of the compiled movies in a DVD format, with each cover personalized with our personal caricatures.

And just before we end the night, Mb.Lita reminded us that every once in a while, it’s okay to pamper ourselves after the long hours at work. She then distributed a Kit Kat bar for each of us, which wrappers are redeemable with vouchers from Metro Department Store, Roger’s salon, Poise salon & spa and also Carrefour. How fun is that!!

Once again, it was a great night. Congratulations to the winners, and…thank you so much Partners!

Those of you who want to see the Best Movie, go ahead and click the link below. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0KhJ5VdWUE

Maverick wants Mavericks

In our 5th year of operations, Maverick has grown immensely from a staff strength of six to 38. We have been operationally profitable from launch and are now more ready than ever to expedite our business growth.

We currently have an opening for two junior-level consultants (fresh graduates or those between entry level and three years of working experience). We like book smarts, but we are more interested in hiring street smarts. It’s an advantage to have experiences working in PR, but we also like to work with young people with knowledge, lots of energy, drive and a can-do attitude.

Why should you consider working in Maverick? Because we are unorthodox and enjoy taking on unconventional challenges. Merely executing conventional PR practices well isn’t enough to keep us happy. For a relatively young firm, we have been able to implement innovative practices that even more established firms can only talk about. We were, for instance, one of the first companies in Indonesia to start a corporate blog and built a web-based media monitoring service that enables clients to measure their PR output and share of voice in editorial space. We have also been championing Corporate Social Leadership instead of Corporate Social Responsibility for both our clients and ourselves.

So if you think you’ve got what it takes to be a Maverick, send in your resumes and a cover note to maverick@maverick.co.id.

Short-listed candidates will be called for an interview.

Invasion of PR students

We at the Orange House, as we fondly refer to our office, aren’t used to many visitors at one time so it was a bit of a departure from business as usual when 36 Public Relations students from the Diploma Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gajah Mada University (UGM) visited us last Tuesday.

It was not the first student visit to Maverick but we were no less enthusiastic because we welcome any opportunity to help people understand PR and sharing our experiences with younger minds. Who knows, we may influence them to make a career decision that could affect the rest of their lives.

The visit started off with Maverick partner Lita Soenardi highlighting Maverick internship opportunities for students. She spoke of the challenges interns would face working in a professional services firm and also the opportunities they would have in learning new things. She also explained to them the rigorous selection process of selecting interns. The students, all coming up to their third year of study that requires them to seek internships in companies, were all ears for this section.

Anyway, next to speak was Associate Hanny who talked about the similarities and differences between PR consultancies and In-house PR. Hanny also explained the advantages and disadvantages of being a practitioner in the two areas. Hanny’s presentation was concluded with what she does best: Marketing PR.

Another associate, Indri, then shared with them her experiences in Corporate Communications as well as Corporate Social Responsibility/Leadership. The session was rounded off by Riri, who’s in charge of our media monitoring department and online media monitoring and PR measurement service called Gauge, provided her insights on the importance of media tracking activities in a PR consultancy.

During the Q & A session, the UGM students seemingly could not get enough answers and kept peppering the Maverick speakers with an endless list of questions. They were most interested in Crisis Management that we had accidentally left out in our talks and peppered all the speakers with a stream of questions, forcing Hanny, Indri and Riri to recount our experiences with crisis-situations for clients, with their names left out when appropriate.

Eventually, the discussion ended up with Mavericks sharing tips on how to get about and around the profession. The students were most curious about day-to-day activities and wanted to know how the theories they had read about in their text books stacked up against reality.

Very interesting questions, especially when most PR text books are written by Westerners about Western situations that have very little to do with reality in Indonesia.

Lets support press freedom!

Following protests and complaints from journalists about the proposed amendments to Press Law No. 40 (1999) the Parliament’s Commission I and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh met on Monday and reassured journalists that their freedoms would not be compromised. They also announced that they would consult journalists before proceeding further in the passage of the amendment.

The Press Board member Bambang Harimurti said objections to the amendment after anonymous sources in the Information Ministry sent a copy of the draft amendment to the board, which has yet to decide on its course of action where this is concerned. Another Board member, Leo Batubara, and Indonesian Broadcast Commission Vice Chairman Fetty Fajriati together with the Independent Journalist’s Alliance and the Indonesian Television Journalists Association rejected the amendment, saying that it would only have the effect of pulling the Indonesian media back to the suppressive Old and New Order days.

Maverick went cooking in Jak TV

Cooking live on TV? why not! It’s even more fun…

Last week, five Mavericks: Shilla, Nancy, Riri, D and I were invited to be the guest (stars ) in Jak TV cooking program, Sendok Garpu. A one-hour cooking program hosted by Rinrin*, a newcomer host in Sendok Garpu, turned out to be a great experience for Mavericks. Aside from late schedule that was first set up at 9 pm to 10 pm, it could only end at 11 pm, fortunately, the rest of the taping process was full with big laughter, jokes and great chat.

Rinrin led the show in casual, communicative and fun way, and the born talented Mavericks, acted so natural, as if it wasn’t a show at all. Rinrin prepared for us breakfast set which consist of bruschetta, apple truffle, and magenta juice… all yummy!!

After the show, Jak TV handed us goodie bags and a parcel of food & beverages as a token of appreciation. Surely, we want to do it again. Jak TV, we look forward to your other invitation…as guest star The show will be aired sometime in the next three weeks after the taping, hopefully by then it will be accessible in Youtube.

* Rinrin, third from left.
Before, Sendok Garpu was hosted by three male chef.
Sendok Garpu’s aired Monday to Sunday at 9 am and 5 pm.

“Anyone know who was the guy on the far left?”

Away to develop my bones

“The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.” Elaine Agather

Early this month I was in Singapore to attend a leadership training at the INSEAD Campus.

It was a pleasant experience. The training facilitators, Dr. J. Stewart Black and Dr. Hal Gregersen were two of the most communicative, experienced and resourceful management coaches I have ever met. They have known each other for so long that they complement each other impeccably. Together, they wrote a management book titled Leading Strategic Change.

The program organizing was flawless. INSEAD employs only the most helpful staff. The campus is also supported with sufficient facilities: library, cafeteria, lots of desktop computers, and wi-fi enabled areas to name just a few. INSEAD also has its own adequately sized residence within the complex so that people traveling from overseas could stay there for a few days without having to worry about commuting.

There were lots of wonderful things about my three days training, but if I have to single out just one, it has got to be the shared experiences from all of the training participants. It has never ceased to amaze me how people from different industries experience almost similar obstacles and challenges in working life.

Talking about training participants, there were 29 people from 20 different countries in my class. I couldn’t believe that most of my new friends actually flew over across more than four time zones to undertake this course. I even made friends with people from Russia and Kazakhstan!

All in all I must say that INSEAD really lives by its motto to be “The Business School for the World”. The program fee is far from cheap, but it’s worth every single penny [of your company’s money ^_^]– and I’m so thankful that I was given the opportunity to do this. It only goes to show that the company is serious in terms of developing its people.

Here’s a group photo taken on the first day.

I swear on John Lennon’s ashes that I did not wander off and gone shopping on day two and three…

The Gypsy Night: Maverick’s 2007 Media Gathering

What’s a party without good companion?

Last Thursday, the Mavericks enjoyed the good companion of our journo friends in a Gypsy-themed party, held at Rumahlima, Jl. Iskandarsyah, Jakarta.

We normally meet up with our journo friends on our client’s events, and so this annual media gathering was conducted to know them better and subsequently deepen our relationship with them.

About 80 journos attending the gathering excitedly participated in the games.

Some of them also unleashed their undiscovered modeling talents in our Gypsy photo booth

While some others challenged their luck in tarot reading

***

Our regular blog readers must have read about Maverick’s ‘click of the week’ where we choose one good quality journalist blog every week to be featured in our blog. On this occasion, we also announced Andreas Harsono’s blog as the 2007 Maverick Click of The Week.

“This is an iseng-iseng project,” commented Andreas, a previous The Jakarta Post journalist, about his blog. I’d say this is a pretty serious iseng-iseng because out of 11 other eminent journo blogs previously featured in our ‘click of the week’ Andreas blog really stands out.

Congratulations again, Andreas!

***

By the end of the night, our journo friends had this to say about the event

“Maverick keren!! Sukses ye jeung, Cup ah” Ardian, Cakram
“Thx Maverick for the grand prize.”  Iwan Ungsi, Jawa Pos
“It’s good to meet old and new friends here.” Yos Mulya, Metro TV
“A night to remember.” Heri Eko Prasetyo, Rileks.com

It was indeed a night to remember for us.
Thanks again for coming. Hope you had fun as much as we did!

Kongko-kongko* with Andi Sinulingga

Last Friday (23/03) we were honored to have Andi Sinulingga of Komite Nasional Pemuda Indonesia (KNPI) coming to Maverick for another sharing session. Having been an activist as a student in Universitas Jaya Baya and member of Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam (HMI) Andi is very experienced in Indonesian Political world. But what impress us so is the fact that he is very much equipped and understands the history of our country.As for the Mavericks, well we know very little on KNPI. Fortunately Andi is a very lively speaker, or spokesperson to be exact. He explains that KNPI was established in the Soeharto regime as a breeding ground for future Indonesian leaders. KNPI was the umbrella under which many of the country’s youth organizations comes together. Initially KNPI was funded by government, but not anymore.

After the reformation era, KNPI has become independent, both in its visions and funding. KNPI now must work harder and more creative to generate funding to support their activities. This would mean that the organization would be a strong competition for organizations alike in promoting better program for the community. What a strong competition indeed. J

Talking with Andi on the young generations would truly reflect his passion and hope for the future generation. His book entitled “Hope for the Young Generation?” that he generously presented to us, also a proof of his concerns.

Well, it was a very motivating conversation. A two-hour-sharing-session would never be enough when you are kongko-kongko* with Andi.

* hanging out