Brand Strategy New York
Elevate your brand strategy skills in New York

Making Better Bets: A Field Guide to Product Strategy with Andrew Skotzko
Thu, Oct 29, 11:00 PM“Be more strategic” is advice every product leader has heard. But knowing what to actually DO? That's the hard part. Join us for an early look at *[The Strategy Cycle](https://thestrategycycle.com/)*, the new book from product leadership coach [Andrew Skotzko](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewskotzko), which is a practical guide to turning a messy set of research, goals, stakeholder opinions, and competitive pressure into a real product strategy. Andrew frames strategy as a theory of winning, expressed through a cycle of bets. Plans, roadmaps, and goal lists all have their place, but a real strategy gives them direction and makes planning season suck a lot less. Mind the Product founder Martin Eriksson says the book shows you what to do on Monday morning—and “what to do in week 7 when the strategy is quietly falling apart.” Andrew will walk through the two halves of the cycle: **Craft the strategy.** Start with a two-page strategy sketch, distill what’s really going on in your market, name the challenge that matters most, and define why customers will choose you and keep choosing you. Then turn that into a portfolio of bets with a clear line between what’s in and what’s out. **Live the strategy.** Crafting the strategy is only about 40% of the work. The rest is deploying it, keeping it alive when shiny new things start arriving in week two, and evolving it as you learn. You’ll walk away with: * A practical way to frame strategic choices as bets * A starting template for your own strategy sketch * Tactics for keeping strategy alive after planning season ends This session is built for anyone responsible for setting direction in a fast-moving environment. Bring your hardest strategy questions. **Sponsored by:** * **[Askable:](https://www.askable.com/)** the UX research platform that grounds fast product decisions in real human evidence * **[Pendo:](https://www.pendo.io/)** Product Context for your Apps and AI Agents

Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders
Tue, Oct 20, 10:00 PM**Tuesday, October 20th, 6:00-8:00 PM EDT** **Presentation & Discussion** **Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders** Presented by Misha Energí **Event Description** As service designers mature into senior leadership, our mandate shifts from advising on customer experience to defending headcount, budget, and bottom-line impact. This transition can feel jarring: leadership politics often seem counter to our core values like empathy and collaboration, while our classic defense, “the work speaks for itself,” no longer holds. To keep growing, we need to evolve how we position our work and our roles, and mastering peer advocacy is a key driver in this shift. But winning support doesn't require a ruthless posture. Nor do we need to abandon our human-centric values. In fact, as service designers, we already hold the tools for strategic leadership; we simply need to redirect our empathy, systems thinking, and co-design methods toward internal dynamics. This interactive session introduces **Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders**: a practical advocacy framework to align user-centric goals, complex stakeholder interests, and our own aspirations. Aimed at senior contributors and team leads who are thinking about “what’s next” in their careers, the session will unpack four leadership personas: **Visionary, Driver, Partner, and Diplomat**. Interactive exercises will show how inspiration, persuasion, collaboration, and consultation come together to reposition service design seniors as valuable business partners. **About Our Speaker** **Misha Energí** Misha Energí is an executive coach, facilitator, and founder of Speak Human Studio. They partner with professionals in tech and media to transform high potential talent into impactful leadership. With almost two decades of advisory experience in organizations like Google, Deloitte, and Cognizant, Misha’s coaching empowers under-represented talent to navigate corporate politics, claim authority, and prevent burnout. Misha’s "full-stack" coaching method combines advanced degrees in psychology with trainings in applied emotional intelligence, and evidence-based adult learning. Beyond their coaching practice, Misha runs The Queens Well (a wellness studio in Ridgewood, Queens), is a professor at Parsons School of Design, and serves as Donor Relations Lead for QARAVAN, an NGO supporting LGBTQ+ refugees. **Agenda** * 6:00-6:30PM Meet & mingle over food and drink * 6:30-7:30PM Presentation * 7:30-8:00PM Discussion & Networking * 8:00PM - ? After-Party **Address** Intuit 51 Astor Place New York, NY 10003 **After-Party**: Cuna Bar The Standard 25 Cooper Sq **Financial Transparency & Scholarships** As a non-profit, we do our best to strike a balance between making our events available to all and ensuring we keep the lights on. For this event, we are charging $10. * If this amount is prohibitive for you to attend this event, please email [Barr](https://www.meetup.com/sdnnyc/members/267573171/)y at sdn.newyorkchapter@gmail.com as we may miss messages on this platform. * If you’d like to **provide** scholarships, please message [Barry](https://www.meetup.com/sdnnyc/members/267573171/) at at sdn.newyorkchapter@gmail.com and he will follow up with you. See you there :) David, Francesco, Yasmin, Lynn, Nicholas, & Barry

Free Funk Rock Jam Sessions Mondays - Random Strangers Jam at Shrine Harlem
Tue, Oct 27, 12:00 AMBring your instrument. Be a stranger. Join the jam. Mondays from 8-10pm with Random Strangers Jam at Shrine World Music Venue in Harlem! Online RSVPs get priority and in person sign ups start at 7:45pm. RSJ is a fully improvised psychedelic funk rock jam session led by Sky Demetri and his band. Come prepared to create new music on the spot - every 5-7 minutes, half the band takes a seat and is replaced by musicians from the audience, the new group of random strangers jams on a fresh key and concept - and the rotation continues! Join the email list at [RandomStrangersJam.com](http://randomstrangersjam.com/)! All jammers must sign in on the official sign up sheet in person. The sign up sheet becomes available in person 15 minutes before the jam. *Drums, keys, mics, amps, and a PA/DI are provided, please bring all other instruments.*

Beers & Data
Tue, Nov 3, 11:00 PMWE ARE BACK IN PERSON!

Games with Strangers
Sat, Oct 31, 11:00 PMLove board games? Looking for someone to play with or something new to play? Come play games with us! Every Saturday night we run Games With Strangers. Grab a drink or dinner, meet some new people, and learn a new game. Our game expert will teach you our featured games for the night and make sure that things are running smoothly. Come be a part of our community!

Autumn Glow Party (Cocktails & Connections)
Sat, Oct 24, 11:30 PM**\*TO ATTEND GET TICKETS AT**: [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/glow-party-cocktails-connections-tickets-2001707307441](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/glow-party-cocktails-connections-tickets-2001707307441) (Limited # of ladies save $5 by using the discount code 5 at checkout. This event is being co-organized and promoted by multiple groups. This page only shows a very small portion of the actual attendees. Based on pre-sales, we expect to have a good # attending.) Imagine walking into a room and instantly spotting people you already have something in common with—before you even say a word. That’s what makes our Glow Party such a fun, relaxed way to meet people in NYC. Join up to 100 friendly members and guests from a variety of social groups for a night designed to make coming solo feel comfortable, natural, and fun. Whether you’re looking to make friends, expand your social circle, network, or simply enjoy a great night out, this event is all about connection—your way. Finally a party where you will meet others who are interested in the same things as you before you even say a word! This a fun and unique way to navigate the social scene! We use our glow bracelet color coding system as just one of the ways for you to identify and instantly connect with others who have the same interests as you! How it works: **We will have 6 different colored glow bracelets at the check in table. Each bracelet represents something that you are interested in (Green=outdoor activities, Red=singles events, Blue=arts/culture, Yellow=travel, etc). You will choose up to 3 colors that best represent things that interest you.** What to expect: * **Tri-state professionals looking to mix, mingle, and connect** * **We will have a private area reserved exclusively for our party** * **Ice breaker games with prizes** * **Our color coded system for finding like minded people** * **Hosts on hand to welcome you and introduce you to others** * **Music played at conversational levels** * **Full food & drink menu available including speciality drink specials** FAQs: **Can I come alone?** Most come on their own. If you don't know anyone, the ice-breakers will help you meet others. Come alone or bring a friend - either way you'll feel comfortable and have a great time. **How many members will be attending?** This is a multi-Meetup group event. This page only shows a very small portion of the actual attendees. **Is there a dress code?** No hats, sweats, t-shirts etc. Jeans ok. **Ages?** All welcome 21 and over. For more fun events follow: [https://www.eventbrite.com/o/new-york-city-social-events-10797526283](https://www.eventbrite.com/o/new-york-city-social-events-10797526283)
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