Comments

Hey Steve - Let us know when you get the email where she locks the doors until the person who leaked you the cleaning email turns themselves in. That should be a good one.

FINALLY. Someone knows the madness that exists within the walls of HB.

Hopefully this will get some press and someone will get her out of there.

Should block out the affected employee's names not to cause any additional trauma.

Nice work.

I don't know what was scarier... the fact that she would send the email, or the fact that as a former employee it's not THAT surprising...

Way to go Dawna!

Karma is a bitch - you never know when it is going to come back to haunt you. Having to explain this one to Chuck Porter at the next MDC creative council meeting will be a tough one for Dawna. (For those that don't know - henderson bas is owned by MDC, the same holding company that owns Crispin Porter + Bogusky, kirshenbaum bond + partners, Cliff Freeman and Partners www.mdccorp.com/partners). Good luck dh, something tells me you are going to need it - your old friend karma.

The really sad thing is that this doesn't phase me in the least having worked there. The only difference is that this was caught in an e-mail for prosperity rather than her usual verbal diarrhea.

I can't believe it took this long for one of her infamous 'beat-downs' to be leaked out. Her and her crappy management team need to be let go (are you listening Miles?). This company has always had potential and some great people working there, but those buffoons have managed to let it stagnate. The turn over rate is ridiculous.

I smell a rat. I think Adrants has been fooled.

Reading that made made my skin crawl. No amount of "cleaning" can change an environment that toxic.

holy crap.

what kind of person treats their team like this?

If you're a recruiter, I'd get in there and contact those on the negligent 'round up' list as I bet they'd be happy to leave.

Was she wearing the leather zipper hood when she was writing that email? Jeesh.

Not only do we have a cleaning staff any my agency, we don't have to use our URL to get people to think we're nice.

THIS IS A REAL EMAIL. I Received it and I work at HB.

Dawna's "BEAT DOWNS" are well known in the industry.

Someone should take a look at their mail server.

Or email her boss at mnadal@mdcpartners.com...

THIS IS A REAL EMAIL. I Received it and I work at HB.

Dawna's "BEAT DOWNS" are well known in the industry.

Someone should take a look at their mail server.

Or email her boss at mnadal@mdcpartners.com...

OH BTW HB has CLEANERS and a Round up is a company "show and tell"

I worked there for a while recently and I think Dawna is great and actually cares about her employees. Sure, she has her moments but don't we all?

There are some great people that work there.
However, there are also some squeaky wheels (whiny bitches) that complain every time their incessant internet surfing is interrupted by "real work". I believe this email is the real deal, but what it doesn't say is the number of times Dawna let stuff slide with the staff.

When I worked there, I came in @ 11 and left @ five when it wasn't busy. No one ever said a word. Wiping a counter every four months is a small price to pay for that kind of freedom. Where else do they have dance parties on the boardroom table?

hb rocks.

I worked at a place like that once. Except those emails came weekly, or even daily if clients or new business prospects were visiting. It was much more extreme than the one posted here - window shades had to be the same height, post-its removed from workspace, books put away, etc. - we were supposed to stop working in order to clean our areas.

I left within 6 months. Snax, I'd be surprised if most of the employees haven't already contacted recruiters.

uh ok kk.

hahaha, dawna sounds like a royal pms'n bitch who needs to check herself before she WRECKS herself

Why doesn't the bitch hire a cleaning lady?

THIS IS HILARIOUS. They have a cleaning staff. This was punishment.

I love that one person came on to do damage control.

Is that what you'll tell Miles too?

You know every employee who's left has all kinds of emails of the same tone and manner, and how about all of the people who have been FIRED without cause.

Unbelievable. You don't deserve to run a business and have the kind of talent you have managed to hold on to whilst behaving like such a mad cow.

dance parties on the boardroom table?

is that supposed to be a good thing?

Henderson is President & Managing Partner of henderson bas, an agency that focuses on interactive, sales promotion, direct marketing (bull crap), and campaign integration. Recognized as a leading agency by Marketing and Strategy magazines, henderson bas is renowned for developing superior creative that works. henderson bas discovers interactive and direct opportunities for great brands like, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Honda, Molson, Nike (not anymore), Levi�s, and Schneider Foods.

One Degree: Why �the Nice Agency�?

DH: Well, we�re not the best looking agency, but everyone here has a really great personality.

One Degree: Many of the campaigns you work on (like Nike�s runTO) are done in conjunction with other agencies. From the client�s perspective, what are the challenges and benefits of bringing in best-of-breed agencies instead of handing everything over to one shop?

DH: We are asked this very question often. Instead of the standard, padded answer everyone expects - let�s just put it this way - would you rather buy peaches from a farm-fresh fruit stand or a large grocery chain? Great, now I�m craving fresh peaches.

One Degree: We recently asked Gurval Caer, CEO and President of Blast Radius about the difference between interactive agencies and web developers and he said in part �Interactive agencies are great if you want interactive billboards and ads. Otherwise, its web developers who are doing the heavy lifting to transform businesses - to open up new channels, to better manage customer relationships and increase satisfaction.� I�ll put the same question to you: How should a client decide what type of vendor to select and how best can they find a right fit for their needs?

DH: It depends on the department doing the search and the corresponding objectives. If the client is in marketing and they are looking for opportunities that affect the marketing and sales P&L based on actions like; acquiring, retaining, and growing the customer base or increasing customer brand awareness - they should absolutely look for an Interactive Agency. If the client doing the search is in IT - looking solely for tech solutions - they will likely want web developers. We work with marketers - we primarily create, develop and support marketing opportunities

The debate is similar to the term CRM. For marketers - CRM is marketing. It�s strategic marketing that drives customer interactions based on share of wallet, loyalty, and propensity. For IT - CRM is process and software.

Although, there is no clear line of demarcation because we have a strong, seasoned web development team that supports our marketing and advertising efforts.

One Degree: People seem to be pretty optimistic about the Internet industry these days. Any fears of us creating another bubble or is it different this time?

DH: It is not different this time. I live, breathe, sleep, and eat fear. Should people be optimistic about the Internet? Absolutely. You�d have to have your head in the sand to ignore the power of it now. But (and here comes the reason for fear) because the Internet is something to be reckoned with - everyone wants a piece. So I don�t see the Internet bubble bursting. But I do see people trying to take a piece of our bubble away - which can cause it to burst.

One Degree: Increasingly we�re seeing CEOs of technology companies using blogs to communicate directly with the market and to establish better transparency. Have you considered joining the ranks of executive bloggers?

DH: What�s a blog? Kidding - no, not yet. But I agree blogs can provide great insight. I wonder if blogs work for new business development. Hmmm.

It's hilarious that Gurval Caer was mentioned in an article with Dawna, those two should be married. The only difference in the emails would have had you replace all "work stations" with "this company" if you worked at Blast -- oh and it would have come with a french accent and some quote of either Napoleon or Steve Jobs.

HA! They deleted the thread on ihaveanidea.org

Guess DH knows people...

is this a hoax??? check out their site now...

http://www.theniceagency.com/

BOO! BOO!

She reaps what she sows!

Theres nothing nice about her half truths and lies that she uses to build herself up.

No disrespect to her staff though - They do the great work. Shes just the mouth piece.

C'mon people, surely she isnt that bad

lets hear some words of support

*sound of crickets*

The Shirt should say: "I survived the sadistic tendancies of DH, now I work where they treat me with respect."

What a clown show. Seriously, I mean you go out of your way to make a joke out of an insulting, abusive piece of corporate communications. Ever heard of battered wife syndrom.

Slap. Baby I did it cause you asked for it. Okay, baby I'm sorry, you know how angry you make me. Let's have a laugh at that big black eye, don't you look ridiculous.

Ohhh, and I am glad iggy has no balls and removed your post on Ihaveanidea -- it just makes your stupid shirt rant look even more retarded.

What;s that I hear? Ohhhh, the sound of agencies poaching your staff. Promising a life of good work and fair treatment...what a concept.

Live by the internet die by the internet.

ATTENTION HENDERSON STAFF.

Here's a great start in your job hunting.

http://www.criticalmass.com/careers/hiring.do

http://www.blastradius.com/careers/index.jsp?lid=careers_home

Im sure theres a lot more boutique shops in Canada that are great also!

Keep your chins up high - you don't need to be a victim! Do what is right for you!

There are tons of great companies with great creative opportunities and wonderful leadership that has real creative and design experience!

That homepage posting is so Dawna/Kathy. Trying to get the most positives from Dawnagate. She thinks that by poking fun at it she'll walk out of this unscathed. Not this time.

The problem is where else can these poor canucks turn to? Donna claims Henderson is the best of the north - what other interactive Canadian shops are there?

Maybe we need to start a releif fund for their staff. Or a job fair. Or a mutiny...

Bring in the MDC Board of Directors who will make her walk the plank! Too bad she created all the blood thirsty sharks that are going to devour her.

Who will be the next captain of the sinking ship!

"Sadistic tendencies" you say? Call Amnesty International! The UN!

It's "Dawnagate" -- call the RCMP! You must really have the inside scoop because I'm sure your ego wouldn't be overblowing what really happened.
The employees had to clean their desks during a period set aside for a company meeting!? Outrageous! AND other parts of the office?! No WAY! The humanity!

These me-too/pile-on/one-sided postings smack of the collaborated howling of ex/fired employees, so I doubt I can counterbalance _this_ clown show, but I know for a fact that there are lots of happy people working there.
Oh right, they're all "battered wives' waiting for your truth-filled wisdom to save them. Please help them oh wise ones!

Whatever...

Henderson bas is so far from being the best it's ridiculous...how about Tribal DDB, Blast Radius, Critical Mass, Diesel -- all of these do infinitely better work, have infinitely higher revenues, better client lists and are much more respected. On the smaller side there is Dashboard, Trapeze, Decode.

The only thing HB thinks it has going for it is dancing on the boardroom table -- who the hell wants to do that? If I worked there I'd piss on the boardroom table.

Wow some bitterness...maybe that was Donna posting...wow a star in our midst. We are so honored.

Its not about the cleaning - use your head for once.

Its about exposing the bull that she causes and then she hides behind her big smile and champagne.

This just gives people a peak at the tip of the iceburg - nobody ever gets to see what lies under the surface of water.

If this was just about a simple email - staff would not have sent it out - this was the hair that broke the camels back.

Watch out for her forked tongue - its followed by a nasty bite.

"The employees had to clean their desks during a period set aside for a company meeting!? Outrageous! AND other parts of the office?! No WAY! The humanity!"

Ya, only in the most unprofessional amateur-hour tone. For the two people that love the company -- aka Dawna and Kathy -- there are 100 that thinks it stinks uh ohhhh.

Well, it seems that the 'Nice' Agency has fired the person who they think leaked this email. How is this justifiable?? Do we not have the right to share emails sent us by our employers?

Nice job DAWNA, I LOVE THAT you are using this as a PR opportunity.

I love that you think this is a marketing op.

MAKE THEM WORK HARDER. Design ideas to get you out of being such a fucking retard.

Nice job, Congratulations.

If this had been a one-off thing, it would have been funny. But it's just an example of the crap that she throws around there. She got rid of anyone who didn't like how she does stuff (as in, they knew what they were doing).

As for their idea of "damage control", you have got to be kidding me. It's as juvenile as the original e-mail.

Nice attempt at a PR opportunity Retard.

Everyone knows what you're doing and everyone knows you're a fucking asshole.

Making people work even harder to fix your mistakes?

I hope this goes all the way to the top of MDC.

Making people who've previously resigned take the fall for 20 employees sending this email out as a cry for help is shameful.
It's time Dawna Henderson apologized for all of the things she's done to the phenomenal people who helped make her shitty name mean something.

If Miles Nadal doesn't do something about this, he'll have lost ALL credibility.

Dawna it's time you paid your dues, and that you paid for all of the times you've made people feel small and worthless.

It's wrong. and you know it.

Am I the only one anticipating the drunken posts of DH and KK tonight once they get home from a night 'boardroom table dancing'?

Round-Up???? Isn't that a pesticde????
Sounds like she might need a squirt or two....

As an hb'er I want everyone to know that Dawna Henderson was the best president of an agency I've had the opportunity to work at.
From her fun sexual/racial banter to her positive just do as I tell you to do attitude. We recently got rid of some dead weight. You know lazy dirty people that don't know how to clean properly. Henderson BAS is the best place I ever worked and I'm glad we could get rid of the dead weight. I think you'd love it here too. - Kathy Kohn

She only grabbed my crotch and called me the wrong name at 2 parties, which isn't that bad. I only worked for her for 6 years.

She also treated us like gold and always referred to me in a respectful group called "the design people".

I can't believe she sent out an email like this, normally she just screams stuff like this at us.

Only 6 people have sued her for wrongful dismissal in the past 12 months, that's normal.

In support of all the abused HB-ers out there who are hurt and scared.

We have set up a store to raise funds for you.

In case you are wrongfully dismissed by Henderson Bas, you can drop us an email and apply for a short term loan that will carry you until your next job. Hopefully somewhere safe, away from toxic cleaning chemicals that will devour your creative brain cels.

Please buy and save a fellow agency person.

http://www.cafepress.com/theniceagency

I have no idea where this email came from, or who wrote it, but I do know that I have never had a better mentor or boss than Dawna Henderson - and I worked for her for over three years.

Does she demand great work? Yes.

Does she continually push her employees to strive for excellence? Yes.

Is she passionate about the work her agency produces and the clients she works for? Yes.

Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not.

It sounds like there are a lot of disgruntled employees out there who didn't have the ability or talent to live up to her expectations. Glad it's your career and not mine.

I support Dawna Henderson 110% and think it is terrible that people would post such awful - and untrue - remarks. You definitely don't have to be brave to post such cruelty behind the mask of hidden identity.

Lastly, I applaud Dawna for taking such a horrible situation and turning it into something better. But that's just like her, isn't it? That girl makes lemonade when she is handed lemons - she always has and she always will. And that's why she is the President of one of the most successful agencies in Canada and you are all spending time posting awful remarks behind hidden identities.

This was highly entertaining, but tragically depressing as well. This is because some good people, I am sure, are actually enduring this appalling treatment.

You supporting, protective fools (the overwhelming 2 so far) are prolly Dubya supporter too aint ya.

Good peeps @ HB - get out. You deserve better than that.

EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED HENDERSON BAS EMPLOYEES:

Straight-up... here are three WORLD-CLASS companies that are hiring right in your backyard:

Blast Radius
Critical Mass
Organic

Get on it. Put a lame horse out to pasture.

I've met with DH twice over business and this does not surprise me at all. It's very consistent with my first impression of her. I came away from our meeting wondering how this women is able to conduct business.

It's like a car wreck you can't pull your eyes from. What's next?

Shes not a mentor. Shes at HBAS because MDC bailed her out. She's the result of a bad business getting floated by a vulture (MDC) and carrying them out of bankruptcy. She caused a ton of amazing talent to leave over the years. Many times good people left for great reasons and she stabs them all in the back. And she does the same to her ex clients and all of her competitors. She has no respect for any other company within the industry and bad mouths them to clients so she can steal their business. No Class. Its always Dawna's way or the highway.

Shes a sleazy socialite BULLY with only herself to think of.

the only reason people cover their name up, especially in this rant is because its not beyond dawna to send in the lawyers.

I currently work at henderson bas and am in complete agreement with the person who supports DH 110%. She is amazing ... and this rant reaks of jealous, lazy, untalented ex-employees that couldn't cut it at an agency that produces only top quality work. It's your loss, not ours.

You probably had to say that or you'll get fired...lol

If your so proud use your own name, unless your name is Dawna Henderson.

Kathy and Dawna obviously are posting to provide some damage control to the sinking HB reputation.

Bottom line. Dawna loves to send out the "legal letters" to her former employees and several of them have taken her to court.

Just because you package people out because they don't agree with your ridiculous, angry, tyrannical management style.

Whomever posted the comment about Dawna bad mouthing her ex-employees, competitors, ex-clients, etc. is spot on. Anyone who's ever set foot in her office knows that's 110% true.

Dawna is supportive alright. Supportive of lying, yelling, treating her employees like shit, calling her employees the wrong names, making racist remarks, singling people out to make them feel useless and not giving a shit about anything but awards and her clients money. If Dawna ran her business ethically and she was "a great boss" she wouldn't be getting dragged over the coals right now.

Dawna doesn't care about what anyone has to say but herself. She's lucky she's been able to keep her reputation this long.
Her name means something because of the blood sweat and tears she squeezes out of people, not because she knows how to run a business.

Nice try guys. Half the people at HB leaked that email. It's because they're sick of being scared and are tired of working for someone who doesn't give a shit about them.

DH & KK, Your practices are wrong, unethical, and give this industry a bad name. You take advantage of people who have made you who you are. Maybe you should just APOLOGIZE to everyone who you've stabbed in the back, packaged out because you didn't "like" them. Maybe it's time to realize that you've been a jerk. Every single person who walks out of that building when you let them go, walk them out, or force them out is an ambassador for you. None of them respect you. Not one. Maybe it's time to say you're sorry and stop with the bullshit.

This email was a cry for help from your employees. I can't believe you don't understand that. It's their right not to be treated like maids because they didn't plan a meeting. You should have stuck to screaming at them. It wouldn't have been posted on the internet.

She is amazing ... and this rant reaks of jealous, lazy, untalented ex-employees that couldn't cut it at an agency that produces only top quality work. It's your loss, not ours.

I think this person is in the wrong thread. The only person who thinks Dawna is amazing is Kathy because she's crawled so far up Dawna's ass she believes it... She couldn't get a job anywhere else.

That is so funny. Most of your so-called "untalented ex-employees" are at bigger better agencies now who don't even know what HB is. You think that you'll get any more pieces of recognition with the skeleton crew you have in place? you're mistaken.

You lost the only client who got you any recognition, and hopefully the rest of your clients will get wind of your business practices and leave you as well. It will be terrible when you're looking for work one day one of your "lazy untalented ex-employees" makes sure you don't get the work.

You're not a big as you think. No one gives a fuck about HB. It's over.

to 110%: I am actually not one of your 'jealous, lazy, untalented ex-employees'. I have never worked at HB and you could blow my eyes out with the compressed can of air that your PMs/AMs used to clean the goddamn keyboards, and I would not step foot in HB. In fact, I am friends with a number of people who 'couldn't cut it' at your agency. I wonder why they are at bigger, better places, where people hadn't even heard of HB until these guys started bitching about it.

Why not use this golden opportunity to take home a lesson?

Start treating people with respect. You may get some in return.

Was DH a kindergarten teacher in her last life?

Dawna's email is the best viral Email campaign that henderson bas has ever put out.

Dawna whatever you're selling, I'm not buying.

Here's mu two cents. If any of you have ever owned a business, been responsible for making payroll, meeting investors' expectations and demands, pleasing clients/employees ... and on and on it goes - you know the tremendous pressure associated.

I happen to think Dawna made a mistake by sending 'the' email. I happen to think she'd under a lot of pressure. I happen to think she has inexperienced and unprofessional advisors who talked her into trying to spin this thing into something funny or positive.

Nevertheless, here's the bottom line: Dawna is an excellent business woman. She doesn't please all of the people all of the time, but she's built this business from the ground up. Make no mistake it is HER who has built this thing -- and she's sacrificed a lot to do it.

Like lightening -- it's awesome and fear inspiring to watch, makes the grass greener, provides needed nitrogen however sometimes it scorches -- Dawna and all of us have good and bad qualities. In BUSINESS I'd want her at my side. So should you.

Nice people never finish first.

Slick Dick....

About your comment "You lost the only client who got you any recognition"

Just to set the record straight on this one. Nike was let go by Dawna, not the other way around. Nike gave HB a nasty BlastRadius type reputation for being a sweat shop. Nike, with junior marketing managers without a clue on how to manage pro agencies' work (and very little experience in the ad world), they (Nike) absolutely ran the most hardworking and talented people into the ground. Dawna heroically ditched a major client worth a lot of money to save her staff.

BTW - most recently Nike's interactive work was let go by the al-mighty Taxi for the same reasons. Coincidence? Nope. Get the facts straight.

nike=sweatshop, interesting you should call out blast. the way i see it ninedots, whoops dh screwed that one up, hb is a mini version of BR. the only difference really is revenues which are 10x higher than hb's. oh, and what hero dawna is, she didn;t dump them for the people/// my guess is it has more to do with margins and overages. how noble.

it's business?

Wow. As someone with over 15 years experience in "Business". Specifically Agency experience. This is NOT how businesses operate.

Using heroic as a term which describes DH is assinine.

If MDC wants to make any money off of that investment they should clean house of the management team and rebrand.

People are free to speak their minds. Especially if it's true.

How many Dawnas does it take to screw in a light bulb?

None of your business, punk. Get back to work before i make you dance

The more I read the more "positive" emails regarding HB, I start to think: is this one sided and are people being unfair to Dawna?

But then I remember my years at HB, I'm reminded of the unwarranted and underhanded firings, the singling out of employees for humiliation and lastly the racial slurs and jokes and then I think to myself - People don't really KNOW how bad it really is inside those walls. And until you do, just take the word of the ex-HB'ers.

-S

There's two kinds of people who work at HB.

1) Those who agree with DH's reign of madness. (See their posts here)

2) Everyone else who lives in fear of being fired.

Great Idea KK/DH spinning this into something that you think is funny. Have another drink.

Good news to everyone speaking out.
You can't fire people who don't work for you.

HBers why don't you schedule a "round up" with DH/KK and tell them what they should be cleaning, or better yet, call in HRDC to do it for you. Better yet - a nice old fashioned labour lawyer to represent everyone who thinks this is bullshit?

MUTINY!

More than one person forwarded this email to me.

When I was at hb the "Dawna Beat Down" was considered a funny joke by the senior team. I don't find it very funny at all, and I would have quit on the spot (I also would have walked out had I been present for the "spring cleaning" email). To be fair, in person Dawna always treated me well, but the group emails were enough to regularly infuriate me. I feel bad for the people who think it's normal in the industry to be treated like dirt. I hope that the person who got fired over this realizes how lucky they are when they find a new job.

The staff turnover rate says it all... Does MDC even know about the turnover rate?

And for the record, at my new agency they posted the Dawna rant on the wall.

Hey,
I like Dawna, yeah, I've had arguments with her but so what
Perspective and passion and craziness is actually good in this business
Does anyone that is complaining have a biz of that size or her position
I actually wonder how many managers out there are wishing they could send that email
LOL

I actually wonder how many managers out there are wishing they could send that email
LOL

Like HB is a big shop? Gimme a break. You must be on the propaganda band wagon.

Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

Struth, it’s like primary school when I always had a messy desk. Didn’t master it till Form II, by which time I was off to high school.

"I actually wonder how many managers out there are wishing they could send that email"

I'm sure some do, but they don't, because in most organizations you would get fired on the spot -- how completely counter-productive and demotivating. This is an example of a meltdown, not of management. As a manager of a team probably larger than HB, this email disgusts me. Dawna, instead of making light of the situation should have apologized to her staff for losing her cool.

I don't know her personally and don't really know the company. But, let's gain perspective -- regardless of who it came from, this is an example of bad business.

Obviously she's a tyrant.

if she wasnt a tyrant - this email would have been overlooked.

Bitchy and Badbusiness comments are fine. But to call someone a racist without evidence is a bit heavy.

Anyone have anything to back up her Racist comments.

Cuz if they dont - it disqualifies the rest of their post

If she is a racist - MDC should call for her resignation immediatley

Hey Dawna: clients will come and go but your employees and the way you attract, retain, and challenge them is your #1 priority as owner. Do that, and the rest (like meeting targets, juggling cashflow, bringing in great business) will naturally fall into place. Do that and you won't have the obvious stresses of micromanaging the business down to the cleaning of the kitchen sink which was obviously just the final straw in great dissatisfaction on the job. How to turn this around? Seriously, a little self-examination goes a long way and instead of a clever post on the website to make it go away, prove that a new day's a dawnin' and change things, step in or step out of the business, get help ... but for god's sake do something to show your employees why the decision to work at the Nice Agency was a brilliant one (hey, getting rid of the URL might be a start -- it's kind of like Telus' 'The Future is Friendly' as the strikes mount all around. As for my own dealings with HB? Let's just say 'karma.'

To racism sucks
As someone who is well acquainted with DH in both personally and professionallty, I've been privy to some of her racist, ignorant, unkind and offensive banter. She is not someone who has a "filter", she doesn't think twice about asking someone if they "speak mexican" or commenting on Asian employees accents or backgrounds. Bottom line: Dawna doesn't think before she speaks and is surrounded by inexperienced and equally unethical middle management who have proved bad advisors. They should all be dismissed.

It seems now, all of those comments, emails, wrongful dismissals and Dawna & her team's "my way or the highway" "you're what you are because of me" attitudes have finally backfired.

I hope they get a management consultant in there quick to save some of the only talent they have left. If MDC knows what's best for retaining the clients & talent that make them the money, they'll clean house of the mgt team and change the name. They should issue a formal apology before they have to shut it down due to the departures that are sure to follow. I know some of the previous staff have already been contact by the media for interviews.

This will be an interesting next few months. I'm shocked to hear that anyone was fire over that email. That is just plain wrong.
This was a cry for help. Shame on you.

.

This would be a far more effective way to promote your self if it didn't cost 100US a year to keep going.. most of the people who would want to use this facility are students or have just graduated who don't really have $100 spare just to have their website posted.

Wah! DH has some serious issues.

I've seen her tell bold face lies about people and competitors just to secure new business and turn her staff away from potentially jumping to that company.

She also bad mouths everyone under the sun to their backs and smiles to their face.

She is the biggest hypocrite in this business.

There is no turning from this Dawan. Your getting what you deserve.

You've damage good people and good companies reputations to help yourself.

This is truly a good example of Karma.

My god, i am glad i dont work for this bitch!

With regards to Dawna's racism I can emphatically say that I found many of her comments to be inappropriate and racist. I feel a certain amount of shame for not saying something about it when I had the chance. (That old ad campaign "if your not part of the solution you are part of the problem" wore at me for years). As a former employee I can recount numerous incidents where Dawna made comments inappropriate enough that it would have resulted in her being fired at any fortune 500 company.

One Word: BULLY

As someone completely unaffiliated with HB or Dawna or any competitors or whomever, I've read this story, this email, & these comments every last one of them.

Here's my completely unbiased take on this:
1. If there are THIS many "disgruntled former employees" ... there's a problem.
2. If the President of a company sends out this sort of immature, unprofessional, demeaning email to all of his/her employees ... there's a problem.
3. If an employee - even just one, even if it's otherwise as it seems to be several - feels the need to "leak" this email out to AdRants or any blog or media for that matter ... there's a problem.
4. If a company then has to "spin" a leaked email into a self-deprecating website cover ... there's a problem.

Bottom line? There's a problem ... & someone needs to fix it.

I'm nothing to do with this, but I do wonder (as someone who's suffered repeatedly at the hands of bad management) whether there would be quite some many people ready to pile in and take this woman apart if she was a man.

I don't agree with the content of the email, nor some of the allegations that have come up afterwards, but it seems to me that everyone in this industry has at some point put up with a male boss who ranted. Who was sexist. Who was racist. Who talked down to his employees and treated them like worms. Who took credit for other people's ideas. Who fired people without reason, after systematically undermining their self-esteem.

How many men do you see outed for this? Neil French. One. And even then, that was dismissed by certain parties as a canny and knowing attempt to start debate. Any more...? Anyone?

Bueller?

I have a horrible feeling this localised little witch hunt may say more about the whole industry in which we work than the agency under the microscope. If you've ever had a male boss who treated you badly, I'd be interested to hear about it. I wonder how the figures would stack up if we were all a bit more outspoken.

These are the kind of idiots that run a lot of different companies. Companies that could be great with the right leaders. This woman is pathetic and power-drunk. I hope she gets a wet J-cloth in the face.

I've just read through all of these comments. And I've noticed a thing or two... the majority seem to be written by the same couple of people.

How can I say this... they use the same catch phrases in their rants.

Look, I've been in those walls and agree with everything posted about KK, she's nasty, and I'm not just talking about her teeth. She should go. Perhaps we could hold a contest to see who wins her.

As for Dawna, she's all right. I think this has been blown waaaay out of proportion. Disgruntled employees? Every agency has them. Show me one that doesn't. And given the opportunity to blast a former employer given bait like this, I'm sure they'd all come crawlling out of the woodwork to voice their opinion.

Listen, perhaps you should start doing a little more work and a little less whining and you'll be able to walk up to the podium next year and say your piece about DH and HB. But then again, you probably won't.

Wow. Sounds like another one of the managers got on adrants to give their take.

Due to the sheer volume of comments, my gut tells me this is a lot more than just a few people.

Bottom line. Sounds like something needs to be done about DH, KK and HB.

It's a sad state of affairs when employees feel that the only way to get help is to get the media involved.

Good Luck HB'ers. Hang in there. There is life after bad management.

I've been following this the past few days.

I'm a designer and work in the industry and my cousin works at Henderson Bas and says Donna is a total asshole.

He told me they got an email today from the guy who owns MDC saying that he supports Donna.

My cousin is now looking for another job.

He said Donna didn't even apologize or anything. But everyone had to sign a card for her about how they feel bad.

why should they feel bad. should be her apologizing for her bitchy attitude.

On her own, Dawna is tolerable. Despite her total lack of "filter" or diplomacy, she isn't malignantly evil as she's portrayed here. She absolutely has her moments - but they pass, and in the end her good side balances out her bad. She's the first to praise, acknowledge and reward good work. Yes, she can be brutal, but it passes quickly. Most of her inappropriate comments are misdirected humour (again, no filter). As long as she had a great management team working for her, it was easy to take her simply as a "character" in a colourful industry.

However...

Many of her decisions in the past few months have been been clearly driven other people in an inept management team. I could name names, but I think we all know who they are. These are the people that will alienate HB from their clients and employees, and in the end could put HB out of business.

Dawna: learn some diplomacy and clean up the management team. You'll thank yourself in the end.

I cant beleive MDC is supporting this crap.

And making staff sign a card...Why? To feed her ego some more.

If DH has bad management - fire them. Do something proactive other than sit on your lazy ass and look for sympathy to get you over this.

She tried spinning this with humour, now shes trying to do the sad Dawna route...poor poor Dawna. I feel so bad that everyones picking on the bully now.

Reminds me of when a kids pretends to cry and you can see behind their hands that they are actually laughing.

Damn shes a wicked manipulator.

gonna take a ton of schmoozing to get your way out of this pickle.

As much as I disapprove of Dawna and KK's complete lack of respect for the entire hb staff (including the rest of the management team), some of the postings here reflect poorly on those criticizing.

Someone called her "fat", and there was talk of "dumping" on her desk. Frankly, those comments make the posters look like the biggest idiots of them all. Please, civilized dialogue gives the truth of the situation much more credibility.

As much as I disapprove of Dawna and KK's complete lack of respect for the entire hb staff (including the rest of the management team), some of the postings here reflect poorly on those criticizing.

Someone called her "fat", and there was talk of "dumping" on her desk. Frankly, those comments make the posters look like the biggest idiots of them all. Please, civilized dialogue gives the truth of the situation much more credibility.

What type of hallmark card did they buy for dawna that they all had to sign.

Sorry you're a bitch.

Happy Bitch Day!

Sorry your company died.

Hope you're feeling better, you lying bitch.

---my other question is - who in their right fuckn mind would sign a card like that. What the fuck!

This is insane - anyone who signs that card should have their head examined.

Whos idea was that - Kathy....

Wah...this keeps getting lamer and lamer.

End it Dawna. Resign or Apologize or do something that proves your still a part of human kind and that you still have a spine or a heart...or a soul.

prove it to those outside the organization looking in.

Watch My Name is Earl...make a list...go and make atonement for all your bullshit.

or go work at Crispin where your allowed to beat your staff and admit that your a slave driver and its ok, cuz the staff love to work there and they do crazy wicked shit that makes up for the nightly beatings.

Your not Crispin...you cant do that shit.

I appreciate everyone's comments but let's keep them business-focused and not fecal-focused, OK? Now, who has a copy of that card? Someone scan it and send it in. That outta be a hoot:-)

DH sounds like another well-known "bitchcuntwhorefromhell" agency owner: Lesli Arbuthnot (of the ridiculously named Arbuthnot Entertainment Group - uh hello? Does 1 person make a group?). While never quite stupid enough to send out emails that could be saved and forwarded to clients to show what a complete waste of skin she was, the screaming fits about innane shit were neverending.

And yes, there was serious turn-over there too. Why does the interactive industry tend to attract such bi-polar nut jobs?? Low self-esteem? Start an agency and take it out on your employees! Maybe someone should look at getting Prozac into DH's diet coke supply.

My advice to anyone working for DH is to quit. There are better jobs out there. You don't need to tolerate that kind of behavior for a paycheck. Battered Wives Syndrom it is. Leave now!

Looks like they took down their attempt at spinning this on their site.

Morons.

Maybe an apology next?. Doubt it.

Did someone way up there say:

Tribal DDB, Blast Radius, Critical Mass, Diesel -- all of these do infinitely better work, have infinitely higher revenues, better client lists and are much more respected.

Are you fucking insane? I've recently replaced Diesel and BR as an independent! Yes replaced, as in the whole agency, as in Your Fired shit ass rip off agency.

HB does some really killer work. See levis.

Does anyone have a screenshot or anything of the spin BH made on this? Id love to see it....

My take: I dont know DH however as a leader and potential role model it sounds like the situation couldve/shouldve been handled with more tact.

real leaders lead by EARNING the respect and admiration of their employees and that drives great work and productivity - creating a strong, vibrant agency in the long run...

weak leaders lead by ABUSING smart people and using fear and intimidation to make them produce which in the long run creates a weak, vulnerable agency - nobody will be there when the shit hits the fan... right dawna??

"HB does some really killer work. See levis."

Ya, Levi's was good for 2002. But, pretty substandard from here. Look, maybe because you and your $20,000 budget seemed to be a better fit for HB, doesn't mean there isn't better work out there.

Compare Blast's world class work on Nike Jumpman with HB's Canadian class Nike work for Run TO. Not even comparable. From a design and marketing concept standpoint, Diesel also does it for me before HB. Is HB even an agency? I think they're just a production shop.

Hey, the recent runTO shit was done by Taxi, not HB.

shit in, shit out.

HB repurposes creative from the good shops.

They're totally a production shop,

What was the last good idea they had?

They always seem to take their creative direction and assets from the big agencies who manage the AOR for the client and do all the offline, then HB takes the credit for it. They also whitelabel highend boutique companies for the special work and take credit for that also.

When theyre not taking assets and direction from a Canadian Agency directly, theyre taking all the US based campaigns from their client and repurposing and running them in Canada - then they call that their own.

Sad to say, but thats the life of an interactive agency in toronto - be other peoples bitches. Now when you work at HB you can be the clients and Dawnas bitch. Double Bitch Whammy!

I wish I could win awards for my banner ads like they do.

I compare HB's creative to an old 80's band that is still trying to tour these days without changing their tune.

They have not progressed one bit interactively over the last 3 years.

Its all the same formula stuff. They never try anything new, nothing over the top, nothing viral.

A real interactive shop, especially of size and with cash from MDC supporting it should have some great experimental work or new ideas to deliver online. Thats what should win you best agency awards. Of course you also need to account for strategy, ROI and client satisfaction etc. but they are missing the biggest piece of being an interactive agency...the interactive.

these guys do great websites, but they dont make great brand experiences. Powerpoint on steroids - some great design work.

They might as well be attached to a large agency and be inhouse considering the work they do.

Try pumping up the creative and innovation in your shop...but fix Dawna first.

Maybe dont be interactive AOR's - that means you'll drop your shorts for cash. That means you'll deliver what the client wants you to deliver. Clients will never leave their comfort zone doing that kind of work.

As many of us probably expected, Dawna will escape relatively unscathed from this whole situation. Miles has forgiven her, at least publicly, and her clients will probably do so as well. Many employees cannot realisticly quit immediately, and therefore Dawna can bide some time finding new employees as they gradually leave the company.

The hope I have for those good people that remain at HB is that Dawna and Kathy have learned something about how people feel about their style of management -- that dictator/intimidation-style management is outdated and in the long-term company suicide.

Good luck to those still at HB.

Have we forgotton what this post is about? why has this turned into a HB bash post. There are a lot of good people at HB that are trying to get through this - hard enough without adding insult to injury. As for bashing the work - let me see what kind of amazing work you're pulling off for the tiny budgets HB has. Post a few to add credibility please, otherwise can it. This is a small industry people, we all end up in the same agency one day. Unless your an owner of a firm and posting these nasty notes, we're all in this together.

Careful what you say.

This entire fiasco reminds me of the eventual demise of Neil French formerly of WPP. He claimed "Death via blog". This isn't far off

hello. it seems to me that there is a lot of anger and passion out there regarding DH... i personally dont know anything abt her, but this is not the first time i have heard negative comments.

i was considering applying for work at HB, what would your advice be in that regard and im asking people who work for HB ...

please be honest and beyond the DH syndrome when you answer.

someonelooking for work - Look for work somewhere else.

find an agency that treats its people with respect. people who work and have worked in places like HB will tell you the truth.
find an agency where the majority of things you hear are good, and then go see it for yourself.

companies like HB give this industry a bad name. there are some amazing, well run shops in toronto - try those.

You know what - client's won't give two sh-t's about this. They just care about results, and not being overbilled. They'll see this, and just go "yeah, she's a beyotch, but she gets it done, we've got enough to worry about on our own." Saw it before at a company I worked at where the owner was completely psychotic. So long as she didn't got nuts with a client around, it didn't matter to them. We brought in millions in billing, and had turned over almost the entire staff every single year, but nobody really cares, so long as things get done. Sad, but true. So don't honestly think that -
1. The corporate umbrella company's going to come in and tell her to "be nice." They'll just say "oh, bad press, it'll blow over. Just keep bringing in new biz"

2. Clients will run away. Unless the entire Internet somehow bands together to start a "This woman is evil" series of sites, the clients are going to laugh it off and move on.

HB is at it again. At our last roundup, our "fun" event was to assemble furniture for one of the managers. After finishing, that same manager sent out a company wide email giving the employees words for not cleaning up enough after.

Sounds like the exodus has begun... will there by anyone left to clean up after the Christmas Party?

So yeah shit is going down at HB LOL... I used to work there, but you know what i found was the worse things about HB is the fact that they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to developing serious websites... all they know what to do is kitschy crappy marketing and games stuff. And the way they promote their staff LOL someone could be a 21 year old punk drone one day and then become a director the next day.. as long as they kiss the bosses behind enough times. At HB its a never ending line of ppl quitting and new hires.

So yeah shit is going down at HB LOL... I used to work there, but you know what i found was the worse things about HB is the fact that they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to developing serious websites... all they know what to do is kitschy crappy marketing and games stuff. And the way they promote their staff LOL someone could be a 21 year old punk drone one day and then become a director the next day.. as long as they kiss the bosses behind enough times. At HB its a never ending line of ppl quitting and new hires.

So yeah shit is going down at HB LOL... I used to work there, but you know what i found was the worse things about HB is the fact that they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to developing serious websites... all they know what to do is kitschy crappy marketing and games stuff. And the way they promote their staff LOL someone could be a 21 year old punk drone one day and then become a director the next day.. as long as they kiss the bosses behind enough times. At HB its a never ending line of ppl quitting and new hires.

I found this post because I am doing some research on interactive agencies. I worked for Lesli Arbuthnot for a while when I was living in LA. Anyway, I don't know about the other post but yeah we worked hard but they al,so paid pretty well and I had flex time which was great for my family. I don't know what they're doing now but they had some pretty big clients like microsoft, xbox and nvidia. anyway I'm still looking for referrals to interactive agencies if anyone has direct experience

I worked for lesli arbuthnot@ the internet agency Arbuthnot Entertainment Group. Please contact me at game_zee@yahoo.com if you can refer me to a similar agency.

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