Culture Corner

Fernando Flores wears many hats and lives the value of FUN By Fernando Flores, Vice President, Universal Parks & Resorts Vacations  I recently celebrated my 7 th anniversary as a Vice President, Universal Parks and Resorts Vacations®.  One of the things I love about my job is that I get to play many roles, whether it’s customer service, sales, vacation package marketing or travel operations. I’ve also had the fortune of being surrounded by many colleagues that share a passion for putting a little fun into our work lives. So when it comes to letting lose and having fun, I’ve also had the opportunity to wear many hats, no pun intended.  Some of you might also remember me as Bullwinkle from the 2013 Youniversal University program, “MacGruber” from the 2017 Sales Kickoff and as the guy dancing Salsa with Alice Norsworthy to the tune of “Moves like Jagger”.   I’ve had my face painted like a Zombie (thank you Deb) and have worn more silly hats than I ...

By Craig Evans, Sr. Director Global Brand Management When someone asks me “How’s it going?” when I pass them in the hall or even on the street, my standard response is “Never better!” This response often stops people in their tracks. Some look confused; some want to find out more; and some literally congratulate me on what seems like a unique answer to such a routine question. Is it always true that I’ve never been better? Probably not, as, for example, sometimes my back hurts, or perhaps I’ve just been given some feedback on my work product that maybe was a tad humbling. Nevertheless, the core concept of “never better” is at the center of who I strive to be and it powers my positivity. Dictionary.com defines positivity as “the state or character of being positive by accepting the world as it is.” The key insight to me here is that this implies that positivity isn’t just something you are, but rather something that you do. That’s likely why “positivity” is one of my Top 5...

  Cubes of Abomination is planned for October 24th from 2:00pm-4:00pm at Exchange Drive - everyone is invited By Dan Donovan, Sr. Director, Park Sales In October of 1998, a co-worker and I had an unconventional idea to celebrate Halloween in the office. We encouraged everyone in our B-110 workspace to dress in costume and decorate their cubes. Then we invited peers from other departments to wander through this improvised, silly and disjointed maze. We did not know it at the time, but this spontaneous event which we playfully named Cubes of Abomination , would become the longest running cultural tradition within Universal’s Marketing & Sales division. This year, Cubes (that’s what the cool kids call it) will be celebrating its 22nd annual performance. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, a band of T eam M embers will once again converge within a designated space, hang some tarp, dim the lights and bring the value of fun wildly to life for all to embrace....