We caught up with the brilliant and insightful RA Cook a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi RA, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I wanted a name that would not limit me and allow me to work in all the areas that are important to me. Cookie Productions was formed to include all my areas of focus; consulting and coaching, writing and my books, my podcast Well Done You and community involvement. Knowing me there will be other avenues I will want to explore in the future that I have not thought of yet. Cookie is a longtime family nickname for my last name Cook. My cousins and I refer to each other as Cookie and our parents did that too.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have worked in a variety of business and industries and gained valuable skills and insights from each and every one, from small business to large global companies. The majority of my career has been in corporate America, working in Human Resources including recruiting, employee relations, leadership and development training, leadership coaching and senior leadership positions in people strategy. I like to know everything about my client’s business, how they make money, who their competitors are, what are the industry challenges and what does the future hold. I want to be able to provide the best advice and counsel for their most valuable asset, the people that work with them.

I am working on a new book, about workplace strategies. We spend so much time at work, it should be the most rewarding and enjoyable it can be. My work in HR has given me a front row view to where people struggle and why some people get the most opportunities, promotions, rewards and have leaders fighting over them. There are definite strategies that can be used to improve your work life, whether you are building your career or need a reset button. I am excited to share this book, planning now release end of 2025 or early 2026.

I am also working on a book that will be the 3rd in my “Good To Be Me” Series for children for release this summer. These are interactive books that encourage kids to discover what makes them special and unique. It is different to be a kid & to raise kids today. We are bombarded with wide ranges of information non stop. We need our children to have the strongest foundation and these books are a fun way to work on that. I am so proud of our 5 star reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I like to promote my books at events that also support important causes like child literacy, children’s hospitals and the Ronald McDonald Houses for families.

My popular podcast “Well Done You” available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon and all major podcast platforms is based on the concept that the people we meet along the way are the best part of life’s journey and everyone has a story. With each guest, we have a causal fun conversation about their life, work, challenges and triumphs. Our listeners share that they love these conversations, learn something from each guest and leave excited, inspired and wanting more. A favorite part of each episode are the Well Done You Wrap Up Questions.

The focus of my work, whether it is books, podcasts, advising, coaching or community involvement is to raise people up, laugh when we can and put some good energy out into our world.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The most successful leaders surround themselves with the best people and learn all they can from their direct reports. Hire people that think differently than you do and look for those that have different experiences than you have had. You want people that are smarter than you and you want to create an environment where they will challenge you and make the team and the results better,

Leaders must adapt their approach depending on what an individual needs. If you have someone that wants to stay in their role and do the best job they can every day, you need to support them in a different way than someone who is trying to grow their career and always wants new opportunities and challenges. Sometimes the best opportunity for someone is not on your team, demonstrate your commitment to them by helping them achieve those positions too. I am very proud of my colleagues that have soared past me in their careers.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was assigned a new client group of leaders for a particular business line and was working with their Senior Vice President to meet her team and attend one of their leadership meetings. She had no interest in me or my role and kept me at a distance for quite a while. She would invite me to a meeting and cancel the day of, letting me know it was not a good time. This happened 17 times. It became a little bit of a joke on my team, someone would ask if I was available at 2pm and I would say I have another meeting but they will be canceling me any minute now.

I had a really full client load and my leaders did not have a lot of expectations for success with this business line. I tried a couple of different approaches, and still did not have any luck. I was in other leadership meetings she attended and I was determined I would win her over little by little in those interactions. One day she called me on on a speaker phone with one of her direct report managers in her office. They were frustrated and shared the details and she told me how they were going to handle it and wanted to know what I thought. I could have agreed with her and gone on with my day but I had different advice that I knew would give her a better outcome. She did not agree with my approach at all . I talked it through with her and was thoughtful about the why behind it and they ended up trying it with a good result. I slowly over time built her trust, one conversation at a time. We ended up working closely on some complicated major business transformation projects and we became a great team. She was smart and savvy and I learned a lot from her. I was able to add a different expertise to her plans and we developed a great partnership.

Sometimes being resilient is staying committed to doing your best work. You may not see the results you want right away, don’t change your dedication. Keep putting that good effort and energy out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.racookieproductions.com
• Instagram: @racookwriter
• Facebook: @ra.cook.2023
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-ann-cook-0609768
• Other: Podcast – Well Done You – available on all major platforms

  Tik Tok – @racookwriter

Image Credits

First photo, Patrick Booth, Photographer

Good To Be Me Books
Illustrator & Well Done You Logo Artist
Mike Quinones G.