It was 1997 – in a whirlwind 30 years – when Elena Miguel joined as Project Manager to the team of Grupo Intercom one of the first and most important Spanish .coms, pioneer in many aspects and promoter of more than 50 mythical start-ups such as Infojobs, eMagister, SoloStocks, etc. In Spain, at that time there was nothing on the Internet. Technologically and digitally speaking, there was almost everything to do and to learn.
After this first foray into the world of work, and thanks to all she has learned and experienced, and to the many other experiences and stories she has been passionate about throughout her professional career, for almost 5 years now, she is Business Developer at Nousmedis, where she brings her passion for project management, team organization and customer service to make sure that all of our catalog automation projects are successfully completed.
Do you have a morning routine or habit that prepares you for the workday?
At Nousmedis we telework most of the week, except for one or two days that we attend the office in person, so my morning routine, as the hipsters say, is a little different depending on the day, this is especially noticeable in the bottom part of my outfit 🙂 But I would say that one constant is to dedicate the first ten minutes to the coffee ritual and, if I’m in the office, I accompany that coffee with a greeting to all my colleagues and a little chat to start the day with the good mood and energy that they transmit to me.
What is your role at Nousmedis?
I joined being the Projects Manager and I was in charge of following up all ongoing projects from start to finish, planning production, coordinating the necessary teams and checking deliveries to the client on time and on budget. But, at Nousmedis we do not define ourselves or “tie ourselves” to the title that the corporate signature exposes. Since my incorporation, one of the things I enjoy most is that I know that every year we set goals and challenges in internal and strategic projects for the company and, sometimes, I get away from the day-to-day projects, delegate to my colleagues and immerse myself in interesting plans such as the one I am involved in right now, which is the launch of our new commercial office in the USA as a Business Developer.
What 3 professional skills or qualities do you think are most valued at Nousmedis?
Productivity, teamwork and versatility.
What is your secret superpower at work?
I know how to keep my colleagues motivated because I bake them brownies, alfajores, biscuits… Sugar is a very powerful poison that, used in small doses, makes day-to-day problems evaporate.
What is one of the projects you have enjoyed the most in the company and why?
I couldn’t choose one and I don’t want to make any of our customers angry 😉 For me they are all like children that I am equally fond of, no matter if they are small or big. In general I would say that when I enjoy the most is when I learn something new or when it involves the collaboration or effort of everyone. I love the feeling that we all row at the same time, that we all contribute something of our own, that we reach the finish line and feel proud of having made the client feel satisfied with the result.
Which catalog would you like to automate?
Call me vintage or old straight up, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to get an updated catalog of the series and movies from Netflix? A bit like the IKEA print catalog strategy with its categories, its novelties, to put a lot of post-its and not get lost when you consult it on the platform, or spend more time deciding what to watch than watching the movie or the series itself… How wonderful! What a great project!
Do you think that the days of printed publications are numbered?
Hahahaha. No, and I refer to my previous answer. Or I refer to the post on the subject that Javier Gómez, our CEO, wrote in this same blog.
What do you envision the future of catalog automation to be like?
I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue to apply artificial intelligence to catalog automation. I believe that we will be able, in the first instance, to recognize patterns of behavior and presentation of product data in our customers’ catalogs and, subsequently, to be able to rely on this new technology and develop our own tools that will allow our technical team to optimize and verify programming and, consequently, to shorten production times and reduce verification iterations.
Can you share a recent accomplishment, either personal or professional, of which you are particularly proud?
After a health mishap that kept me out of the game for a few weeks, and that has left me some sequels that at some point made me think that I could not perform my job as before, to see that I have recovered almost 100% and have the support of my company and my colleagues. It makes me feel grateful and very proud and happy to be where I am.
Tell us a funny anecdote you have experienced at Nousmedis or a favorite moment.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we organized an online event on Fridays at the end of the day that consisted of one team member each week offering a video call activity to keep spirits up. I set up a stage and, with the invaluable collaboration of my children and my neighbor, we did a Primavera Sound mini-concert, sponsored by Corona beer brand (“in honor” of the virus), and we did the best cover of ‘Cumpleaños Total’ by Los Planetas that has ever been broadcasted on video call. All very fake and a circus. But a lot of fun.
If you could swap roles with anyone on the team for a day, who would you choose and why?
I can’t choose. It would be Virginia, Jesús, Clàudia, Jan, Fran, Tomás, Erik, Eduard, Javier… because they all have skills that I don’t have and that they use daily in their work and I would love to be able to be in their shoes, learn, and see what a day in their work means.
When you are not working, we can find you…
Eating, cooking and traveling with my family and friends. The more people and the louder, the better.
Recommend a book, podcast, series or movie you’ve been obsessed with lately.
‘Mindfullness for Killers’ by Karsten Dusse, the book I’m currently reading. A lawyer representing the interests of a violent and abusive mobster signs up for mindfulness classes because he is unable to deal with his life and is completely unhappy in both his work and personal life. It is very crazy but, by posing such a hyperbolic situation, the author manages to make us all recognize ourselves to some extent and to make us want to apply or practice the principles of the here and now, to avoid killing, among other things 😉
What is the best advice you have ever been given and who gave it to you?
I would say it was advice not explicitly said, but implicitly given by teaching and example. My four grandparents lived their entire lives and supported the family based on three very simple principles: love, effort and gratitude. They lived by loving, striving for what they wanted and giving thanks for the little or much they had. And I have found that if you surround yourself with people who apply those same principles in all areas of their lives, if you do everything with love, effort and gratitude, nothing ever goes wrong.