Every year, Noga Halperin Sher spearheads and delegates a $150 million-plus marketing budget for the global social gaming powerhouse SciPlay, a subsidiary of the gaming corporation Light & Wonder.
An exciting challenge in itself? Absolutely. Add in Noga’s multi-time zone team, two children, husband, Guy, and dog, Juno — and the idea of “balance” amidst the distractions starts to look a bit trickier.
“During my journey, I had to pave my own way, and it took a lot of self-motivation. I learned to stand up after falling time and time again,” Noga told us during our Empower Her: Advancing Women in the Workplace & Beyond summit. “Motivation and self-drive are things that I’ve built over time, and I really understand and appreciate the importance of both.”
Through the challenges and curveballs, Noga has created a system that helps her harness her inner drive to achieve goals, maintain productivity, and overcome common pitfalls in today's fast-paced world. During Empower Her, we asked Noga to share her top four tips on finding success amidst a myriad of distractions. Here’s what she had to say.
Tip #1: Align your goals with your company
SciPlay has a small and mighty team, where around 800 team members produce more than $750 million in revenue.
“Every person has a lot on their shoulders, and we get to do more in our roles. And that’s important. Find a company that matches what you’re looking for,” Noga said. “If you want to expand, work in different areas, and have your day be more versatile, it might make sense to work in a company that can provide that for you, like SciPlay.”
Noga appreciates the fast-paced energy of the gaming industry, and she finds that her personal goals tend to naturally align with the company’s trajectory.
“I'm always looking for ways to achieve my personal goals while simultaneously contributing to the company's success. Sometimes this means dedicating personal time, other times it involves finding ways to adjust my work scope for a mutually beneficial outcome.”
Tip #2: Connect with your company’s mission
At times, Noga finds herself wanting to call her husband and tell him how much she loves her job. Those are the moments that affirm just how energized she feels inside SciPlay.
“Be a part of a team and a company that you want to win with, where you connect with the core values, and where you believe in your manager and your team.”
Another experience that reaffirms Noga’s commitment to her work is SciPlay’s quarterly leadership retreat. Four times a year, the leadership team rents a home and ideates on strategy for the months ahead. It gives them time to connect, strengthen relationships, and boost morale.
“We leave that week feeling very, very motivated.”
Tip #3: Structure your day
With so many competing priorities, Noga relies on a system of assigning stones, pebbles, and sand to her daily tasks.
“Every day, I ask: What are my large stones? What are my anchors for the day? And I make sure that those are the ones that I put in first.” After the stones come the pebbles and then the sand, or low-priority tasks.
Noga also relies on various task management applications to help her stay organized — but her greatest tool lies in a simple computer setting: “Do not disturb.”
“My phone is also always on silent mode. I don’t want to hear all of the push notifications and get distracted,” Noga explained. “Even within Slack, I’m not added to every channel. I’m in the ones that I need to monitor. It’s important to be cognizant of where you’re spending your time.”
Tip #4: Strike the right work-life balance
Noga realized early in her career that she had to take responsibility for her own work hours.
“I remember, as a junior employee, I kind of expected my manager to say, ‘You worked enough. You can go home now,’” Noga chuckled. “I learned that no one else is going to control your time except you.”
At SciPlay, Noga’s international team presents an added challenge, as she manages people in both Israel and the United States. Her workday starts early in the Israeli office before she heads home to prepare dinner for her family. She then starts her night shift with the United States teams.
“I try to balance it by understanding that, first of all, if I’m not cognizant of my time, no one else will do that for me,” Noga shared. “I block times on my calendar so I can think and complete tasks without being in meetings. And I take my days off; I know how important it is to use your PTO.”
She also leans into multi-tasking, like listening to a book when driving or taking a walk during calls.
“I realize I’ve taken it too far when I start to assign tasks for when I’m in the elevator,” Noga laughed. “That’s when I’ll take a step back and just breathe. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
To hear the full conversation with Noga Halperin Sher, you can watch “Tips for Being a Self-Starter in a Distracting World" here.
And if you’re interested in joining the global social gaming powerhouse SciPlay, a subsidiary of Light & Wonder, you can explore the career opportunities here.
