Name: Karen Deutsch
Role: Director of Creative Strategy and Planning
Company: Target
Karen is a 2017 panelist at this year’s Women’s Leadership Panel. For tickets and more information, be sure to check out our events tab.
What’s on your desk?
My desk is a source of inspiration. I like to keep books close by (Happiness Project, Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, Creating the Perfect Design Brief) to reference whenever I need encouragement. You’ll find sticky notes posted around to aid in my inspiration, my most prominent one read “unbeknownst to you, what you tolerate, you endorse.” I believe it’s extremely important to write personalized notes if someone is doing an excellent job, so you’ll find a box of thank you notes and cards next to a box of tea, since I love a hot cup of tea. There’s also a hint of peppermint in the air around my desk, as I use the essential oil to help keep calm, or to invigorate my day.
What’s the most important piece?
My computer, which oddly enough can also be the most problematic!
How did you get to this desk?
Out of college, I started in a retail department store called Younkers as an assistant buyer. This is not only were I fell in love with retail, but where I realized the importance of your customers’ motivations and behaviors. Rather than being worried about buying the right clothes, I spent most of my time on the floor, trying to gather informal captures of guest reactions. How do they feel about these clothes? From there, I wanted to leverage what I studied in college (communications), in a way that makes sense in business. I found myself at Coca Cola, where I ultimately learned how to be a great marketer. Moving from Coca Cola, I had a few friends who told me that Target is great, and that I’d love the atmosphere and the people, so I found myself on the strategy and negotiations team within Target, and then flipped to my roots and moved into the marketing department. I’ve had a variety of roles in marketing, from marketing planning to experiential to guest insights and research, all of which have lead me to my current position.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Not one, but two things come to mind. One, I work with an incredibly talented group of people on my team, and I get to learn and grow from them every day, as I watch and help them create solutions for our guests. From innovation to new platforms to insights to brand communication, I would herald my team as some of the most creative and strategic strategists in the country. Second, would be creativity – I’m in an environment where we solve problems through creative ideas, which in turn helps fuel the inspiration and creativity needed for future projects.
We all know that every day looks different in this industry – so tell us, what did you do today?
My day today was split into two separate avenues. As I am a member of the intern and recruitment committee inside Target marketing, I spent most of my time interviewing marketing students at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business. Prior to meeting with potential candidates, I spent my morning with my team, hosting a workshop to discover the best tools for strategy and planning that can lead us to a consistent product.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
First of all, there are so many pieces of great advice. You gather them over the years, and keep them in your toolbox to pull out whenever you need them. The top three that come to mind are:
- What you tolerate, you endorse.
- Don’t let your insides match someone else’s outsides.
- Understand that there is a massive difference between what people need, and what people want.
Lastly, everyone talks about the importance of empathy. One of the most important and hardest things to do is to have empathy for someone without having judgement. This has turned into a daily walk for me, and I strive to meet people where they are and to support them, free from judgement.
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