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Nadia Bassett

All things Digital: Strategy | Communication | Client Whisperer | Social Media | Project Management

 

I named my company TLATSOI – an acronym for “The Long And The Short Of It” – because I like to get to the bottom line and get things done. Crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s pleases me. 

 

I strive to work on results-oriented, customer-centric projects, where I can utilize my fifteen plus years of focused experience in communications and project management; turning strategy into tangible delivery. My approach encompasses developing and taking strategic marketing direction to concrete deliverables that yield optimal business outcomes.

Activator

Need something created, guided, organized, managed or put back on track? I get things done.

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Client Whisperer

What are your clients thinking? More importantly, what are they saying? I care, and I do the research.

Digital Paramedic

Software or programs won’t co-operate and no time to figure it out? I offer one-time and ongoing support packages.

Strengths

These are my top 5 themes according to the GALLUP CliftonStrengths assessment. I concede it’s pretty accurate.

STRATEGIC

People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

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It’s very likely that you are known for your ease with language. This ability serves you well when you need to talk with newcomers or outsiders. Your vocabulary probably allows you to tell stories or express your ideas with great clarity. Chances are good that you usually feel satisfied with life when your innovative thinking style is appreciated. You automatically pinpoint trends, notice problems, or identify opportunities many people overlook. Armed with this knowledge, you usually devise alternative courses of action. By evaluating the circumstances, available resources, and/or the potential consequences of each plan, you can select the best option. Instinctively, you work diligently to invent alternative courses of action. You notice new as well as unusual configurations in facts, evidence, or data. Others, however, can see only separate, unrelated bits of information. You are fascinated by problems that puzzle, confound, or frustrate most people. By nature, you have a knack for identifying problems. You spontaneously generate alternatives for solving them. You probably consider the pros and cons of each option. You often factor into your thinking prevailing circumstances and available resources. You feel life is good when you sense you are choosing the best course of action. Because of your strengths, you can reconfigure factual information or data in ways that reveal trends, raise issues, identify opportunities, or offer solutions. You bring an added dimension to discussions. You make sense out of seemingly unrelated information. You are likely to generate multiple action plans before you choose the best one.
 

ACTIVATOR

People exceptionally talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They want to do things now, rather than simply talk about them.

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Because of your strengths, you relieve people of the burden of having to figure out what you think, feel, and need. How? You simply tell them. Your plainspoken approach enhances their understanding of you as a person. Your straightforward expression of your needs and desires usually eliminates any confusion. Instinctively, you typically take the lead. You seldom wait for orders or directions from people in positions of authority. You probably operate on the premise that it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Using this approach, you have delivered impressive results and reached important goals. It’s very likely that you undertake projects on your own. This is apt to occur when individuals delay decisions, block approvals, or continue meeting without finalizing plans. You probably help them overcome their objections and quell their fears by starting to work. You simply intend to prove to them that the impossible is possible. Chances are good that you like to make your own choices. Once you have settled on a goal, you are eager to reach it. By taking charge, you probably notice that various parts of your life become more interesting or satisfying. Driven by your talents, you are naturally open and honest about who you are, what you have done, what you can do, and what you cannot do. Your straightforward explanations and stories help listeners see you as you see yourself. You reveal your strengths and limitations. You are forthright and plainspoken. People generally seek your company and want to work with you. Many are impelled to move into action by your words and examples.
 

INDIVIDUALIZATION

People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

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Because of your strengths, you are compelled to help people. You yearn to leave the world in better shape for those who will follow you years, decades, and centuries from now. Driven by your talents, you derive much joy from assisting people in need. By nature, you enjoy befriending newcomers. This explains why you regularly step forward to introduce yourself to new classmates, coworkers, teammates, or friends of your family. You usually ask questions that are guaranteed to stimulate discussions with people you are meeting for the first time. Chances are good that you gravitate to situations where you can help youngsters explore their world and discover their talents. You probably think they are more interesting and yet less complicated than adults. Instinctively, you appreciate frank, candid, or blunt comments about things you need to do better. You probably have a reputation for being able to handle criticism. Actually, you go to individuals who will be truthful with you about your shortcomings. You really want to hear their comments. Why? You think you can make more progress when you concentrate on overcoming your flaws and mistakes.
 

ACHIEVER

People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

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Because of your strengths, you likely have a reputation for being a hard worker. This explains why you tell individuals they can accomplish a lot more than they think they can. You repeatedly pressure people to excel rather than settle for mediocre results. You probably have a very difficult time associating with people who do only what is expected and who whine when they are challenged to do much more. It’s very likely that you usually spend hours assessing the reasons why you failed or missed a goal. In other instances, you carefully examine why you were caught off guard by a crisis, stalled by a problem, or stymied by an obstacle. When you arm yourself with the right answers, you probably do things much better. You probably break through barriers and succeed. Driven by your talents, you earnestly evaluate problems by identifying the basics facts. You normally let reason rather than emotion guide you to the proper solution or the correct conclusion. By nature, you are an enterprising person. You effortlessly launch new ventures. You are likely to measure your progress on a regular basis. This information probably inspires you to work even harder. Chances are good that you invest a lot of time, effort, and energy in winning followers. You probably aspire to leadership roles. You already realize the backing of loyal individuals is essential.
 

RESPONSIBILITY

People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

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By nature, you automatically trust your sense of what is right to guide your decision-making and govern your actions. Your core values and quality standards probably give you lots of reasons to feel very optimistic about the direction your life is taking. Because of your strengths, you conduct yourself in an exceptionally mature and orderly fashion even when your teammates, classmates, friends, coworkers, and colleagues are acting childish. It’s very likely that you are quite comfortable being honest about yourself with others. You harbor very few illusions about who you really are. Furthermore, you can openly acknowledge your mistakes and shortcomings. This is apt to distinguish you from most people. Chances are good that you are consistent in your core values and predictable in your actions. People are likely to know that you go to great lengths to do things right and to behave in an ethical manner. Driven by your talents, you are known as a reliable and dependable person. You are motivated to work diligently. You cannot rest until you have completed what you told someone you would do.
 

Traditional Resume and References

WORK PROJECTS and FUN STUFF

  • Delivered the Oprah Magazine’s “Find Your Balance” women’s workshops and project managed as well as the winner’s trips to the Oprah Show in Chicago
  • Selected as 2005 Sanlam and SABC/3 Talk National Business Owner of the Year September Winner
  • Featured in Oprah Magazine – read “A Brilliant Short Story” here
  • Relaunch of the TELUS Cloud & Managed IT Services segment
  • As Senior Product Owner, I project managed the migration and relaunch of the TELUS Business website, the development of a quoting tool for a key product, and the enhancement of the content management system
  • Project managed the development and hosting of webinars for The Mentors Circle for Canadian Women In Technology
  • Delivered digital production planning, including website marketing and social media activities, for e-books on Canadian peer mentoring for business owners, sales professionals and entrepreneurs
  • Successful program managed the launch of NDEAM (National Disability Awareness Month) Canada’s “Hire Awareness” campaign with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
  • Developed Environmental Education Programs for The Ministry of Education in South Africa and Old Mutual United Kingdom
  • Project managed scoping and delivery of complex large scale web-based tools for financial services industry; online calculators, self-serve web environments which included personal assessment tools and dynamic interactive surveys
  • Co-wrote and produced the short film “Underwritten” during the 48 Hour Film Project. Underwritten won 3 awards.

SKILLS and ABILITIES

  • Passionate self-starter that can adapt and work well with ambiguity
  • Unapologetically dedicated to inclusive design
  • Excellent analytical skills – ability to re-orientate plans quickly given new information, and confidently make decision
  • Ability to influence a broad spectrum of stakeholders to gain alignment on product vision and roadmap
  • Proven ability to write user stories and groom and prioritize a backlog
  • Highly organized individual with ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks and deadlines
  • Strong leadership, facilitation, and mentoring capabilities
  • Innovative thinker with broad industry knowledge
  • Hands-on experience leveraging Waterfall, Scrum, Agile, Lean, Lean UX, Kanban and a combination of those
  • Customer-facing product experience, including customer research, customer interviews, design thinking
  • Usability and Customer Validation principles
  • Excellent communication, analytical skills, and ability to develop relationships with key internal and external contacts

TECHNOLOGY

I use a multitude of awesome apps and browser extensions.  Here’s some of the tools I use most regularly

  • Microsoft products
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Axe by Deque
  • Salesforce
  • Domo
  • Google Analytics
  • Google docs
  • Basecamp
  • Trello
  • Slack
  • Wireframing software
  • Vision Critical customer intelligence platform
  • WordPress + WordPress plugins
  • Mailchimp
  • SurveyMonkey
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Toptal Colorblind Web Page Filter
  • Image Alt Text Viewer
  • SEO Inspector
  • WAVE accessibility evaluation
  • Tomato Timer
2016 onwards

TLATSOI

  • Multiple web development projects
  • SoftChoice: Web/Content Strategy and Project Management
  • TELUS Business: Content Strategist
  • Startup support: discovery and strategic planning for a new mobile app
  • Full-stack web development training
  • Non-profit web redesign and social media strategy

See LinkedIn Profile for more detail

1995 - 2015

TELUS digital

Senior Product Owner role and responsibilities:

  • Through collaborative methods, define strategic vision for the B2B product
  • Develop & execute dynamic web strategy
  • Online campaign enablement
  • Ensure a customer-centric experience
  • Consistently monitor adoption & engagement metrics
  • Work across a broad stakeholder community
  • Implement and evolve adoption of Lean & Agile thinking and practices
  • User research, design thinking exercises and work with design partners to create wireframes and prototypes
  • Coach junior members of the team

The Mentors Circle for CanWIT (Canadian Women In Technology)

  • Design and production of webinars for The Mentors Circle for CanWIT (Canadian Women In Technology).
  • eBook project management with Elizabeth Verwey – concept, design and production of the website as well as marketing, social media and the technical publishing of the eBook.

National Disability Awareness

Project and campaign management for standing up NDEAM (National Disability Awareness Month) for Canada’s “Hire Awareness” campaign – working with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, The Honourable David C. Onley

TLATSOI and Unjani Communications – owner
TLATSOI Events Management (Events Management Company – Southern Africa and Europe)

  • Developed and grew my events management company from a team of 1 (myself) to 8 full time staff and a sizable compliment of part-time support staff, operating on a national and international basis.
  • TLATSOI was considered one of the top Event Management Companies in South Africa and we hired interns from local colleges to assist with their onsite training and development.
  • Assisted blue chip clients to achieve their business objectives and PR targets. In our first year (2007) of working with our top client (a division of a blue chip company), they grossed a higher PR value for a single event we orchestrated than their entire group did for the year. Please see the client reference letters at the end of the resume.
  • Managed annual project budgets of over $1 million for clients and was most often the client’s representative to not only the vendors, but also the media, PR and Advertising Agencies, sponsors and stakeholders.
  • Instituted socially responsible procurement for our clients – we found and nurtured community based projects to help them create quality products and services that our corporate clients could use, thereby growing the community projects and ensuring our clients became valuable contributors to the South African disadvantaged society.
  • Assisted select blue chip clients listed on the UK and South African exchanges with strategic planning in addition to providing the full events management services.
  • Events ranged in size from small groups (high level top executive team building and strategic planning sessions) to thousands (company launches and staff functions).
  • The nature of the events included; team building, conferences, strategic planning sessions, fundraising events, road shows, activation campaigns, online events, banquets, gala dinners, awards functions, training sessions, client appreciation events, product launches and many more.

Old Mutual – Marketing Consultant

  • Developed and set-up their online presence and traditional marketing collateral production
  • Project management of product launches; worked with the actuarial and legal teams on product and material development and arranged client and intermediary functions

Various contracting roles (South Africa & Europe)

  • Financial Administrator for Peninsula Times and Newspaper Leaflet Distributors, divisions of NasPers Newspaper Group (3 years 1992 to 1995).
  • Admin, PR and sales for Courtis Rutherford & Sons (we launched the Juta Electronic Online Encyclopaedia – the first CD ROM based Encyclopaedia).
  • Sales, marketing and admin for a golf pro shop in Antwerp, Belgium
  • Served as chairperson of Pupils United for Peace and Awareness (P.U.P.A) – an anti-Apartheid high school student organization in South Africa actively involved in spreading awareness of atrocities and in combating segregation.

 

Nadia has played an invaluable and essential role in enhancing Pure Motion Golf Academy’s online visibility and growing its business over the past year. I have had the privilege of experiencing first hand her phenomenal skill set which includes long term strategic planning, search engine optimization, client-centric online systems, time and database management along with exceptional communication. She is wholly focussed and driven to deliver the very best results for both my business and my clients.

Nadia designed and maintains my company’s website and social accounts to meet web accessibility requirements – meaning that the website, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can: perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with our website.

Some of the process changes Nadia recommended were uncomfortable to start with, but her conviction that no business can develop if they adopt a ‘we have always done it that way’ approach has proved both persuasive and worth its weight in gold.

Nadia’s encouragement to me and my team to strive for excellence has been exemplary. Her role in our development cannot be overstated.

Lana Orgovanyi

Director of Golf and Founder, Pure Motion Golf Academy

I love bragging to people in Canada about my LA web-SEO-content-business-strategist-magician. Nadia has helped me transition from a single-discipline therapy practice to a multidisciplinary group therapy and training practice with growing reach and influence.

Her extensive experience, knowledge, and skills, have enabled her to take me to places I could not have even imagined alone. With Nadia’s magic touch, I am actualizing my social and business vision and making a world of difference.

SITES > WendyMcGuire.com and ScattergramCC.com

Wendy McGuire [MSW, RSW, PhD]

Registered Social Worker and Founder, Scattergram Counselling & Consulting

Our wonderful Spoken Lives Women’s Speaker Series website was set up by Nadia in 2015 and she continues to maintain and improve it. We have been delighted with her services! Quick response times and Nadia has also offered ideas that have thrilled our followers.

Elizabeth Verwey

Founder, Spoken Lives - Stories Women Share

5 Star Google Review: TLATSOI provide amazingly detailed analysis of websites content, ease of used and overall layout & SEO highly recommended!

SITE AUDITED > DeTech US

Mark Langley

President, National Public Safety Drone Donation Program

I have worked with Nadia going back many years – initially when I was in a senior corporate role and more recently in my capacity of being self-employed. She adds tremendous value to any project she tackles and is smart, innovative and goal driven. No task is ever too much and she has an optimistic “can-do” attitude which is rare my view.

I love working with her and have no hesitation in recommending her to any organization fortunate enough to be able to utilize her services.

Sylvia Walker

Speaker, Author, Financial Planner, SW Sylvia Walker

Nadia’s TLATSOI is the top notch ‘one-stop-shop’ for web development from design to brand and content creation, social media and online marketing strategies.

She developed several websites and online identities for our corporate group and continues to attend to the maintenance, security and visual appeal.

Nadia is always a call away and gets the work done, the long and the short of it!

SITES > iSiTech  |  IOTI  |  IMT Health  |  Integrat  |  ActiveData

Diana Cezar

CEO, iSiTech

Nadia is knowledgeable, efficient, cooperative, creative, helpful, reliable… she delivers on schedule and truly, is everything you want in an independent worker. She supported our team on a specific technical project and was a huge asset.

Janice Waugh

Publisher, Solo Traveler and Full Flight Press

Nadia is a dedicated, strategic go-getter who can mobilize team members to deliver quality deliverables within tight timelines. Her knowledge of digital, thought-leadership, content and demand generation coupled with tight project management skills were critical as we overhauled our B2B website and optimized content for 100’s of products to mobile ready, SEO enriched format in less than 6 months. She is an asset to any organization she supports.

Puja Subrun

Director, National Business Solutions Marketing and Brand , TELUS

Nadia is a passionate and engaged individual. She has a strong desire to make sure that customer experiences are exceptional and is personally invested in ensuring positive outcomes. Knowing that Nadia was working on something meant a great deal of assurance that the work would be completed on time and with quality.

Jennifer Refvik

Director, TELUS Business

I had the pleasure of working with Nadia on several projects over many years. I found her to have a very clear and concise idea of what can and should be done and achieved. Her project management and people skills are exemplary and she constantly pushes people to deliver results to the same standard that she sets for herself. Nadia loves to learn and is always open to new ideas and different ways of improving things. In short, I would not hesitate to recommend her as a valuable addition to any team.

Gareth Bowers

Software Director, Silicon Overdrive

The Long And The Short Of It

I will always insist that we...

  • always put customers (end users) first because they pay the bills and deserve respect
  • ask customers what they want and need, regularly
  • address customer needs and ask them if we’re meeting their expectations, consistently
  • make everything fully accessible #designforall #inclusivedesign #a11y
  • measure what we do so we can learn and adapt
  • re-assess and measure again and again and again
  • treat external vendors and agencies with respect
  • have an open mind to new ideas and are willing to take calculated risks

Don't hire me if...

  • you are looking for a cookie-cutter project manager who only does what’s on the to-do list. With every project there’s always challenges and opportunities that pop up just begging to be explored.
  • you want someone to be physically in-office all the time. I get things done when you’re sleeping or playing with your kids/dogs, sometimes because I am in a different time-zone, and sometimes because I wake up at 3am with a solution to a problem we’ve been trying to solve. I work remotely mostly. Hangouts/Facetime/Skype works just fine and the occasional physical meeting is great too if it makes sense.
  • you’re planning on letting deadlines slip – I don’t miss deadlines unless the whole project has to unavoidably shift. I do what it takes to get it done, on time.

HEALTH WARNING!

  • I am not able to shrug off or explain away disrespect, apathy or discrimination in any form.
  • I am not someone who “works nights only from my basement”, but sometimes I do, and it’s not to make the team feel bad – it’s because it works for me and therefore for the project.
  • I am a coach who prefers to teach and grow people. If I am not teaching, then I am also not learning and growing.

Hire me if you are looking for a mutually rewarding partnership based on results and respect.