December 23, 2011
Lessons on leadership are all around us. You know I saw Moneyball earlier this year. And there have been dozens of movies and books written on the topic. But, there was a recent article I read that ignited this blog. It’s about how Andy Bernard, a fictional character from the television show The Office, makes [...]
October 6, 2011
With the creative job market opening up and graduates entering the workforce, I thought I would spend a little time talking about a variety of steps you can take to land a job at a creative agency or as an in-house creative professional. The advice below is peppered with my own experience, as well as input from a variety of agencies, including AKQA, JESS3, Code & Theory, and Mekanism.
April 21, 2011
First and foremost, team leaders must stick up for what their teams do. Marketing, creative staff, and designers seem to get the short stick of the deal more often than not. I am unsure what people think we do all day. Color in coloring books?
March 3, 2011
Let’s face it, creative people like to brainstorm. We are idea generators and dream makers. We love to think outside the box, color outside the lines, and call our own shots.
So when I attended a brainstorming session in January with a room full of linear thinkers, it got me thinking about certain techniques people use during brainstorming session. One in particular came to mind—D.U.C.K.—Don’t Use Creativity Killers.
January 31, 2011
I work in the financial services industry. I must say, as a marketing pro with a serious creative bent, financial services is not as sexy as some other industries to work in.
January 6, 2011
As 2010 comes to a close and we reflect upon what took place not only in this year, but also throughout the decade, I must say, I never thought I’d actually come to hear or read, in this case, the following:
“According to a recent survey of 1,500 chief executives conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, CEOs identify “creativity” as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future,” from Nicole Skibola’s blog “The Social Responsibility to Generate Employee Happiness.”
December 2, 2010
The other day I was reading an article from Inc. magazine about how to hire for creativity. Now this is a no-brainer for those of us in the field. Am I right Maybe. Maybe not.
November 4, 2010
My office location recently changed and we relocated to a shared-office space. Prior to the move, my supervisor asked the senior marketing team to join her for a meeting. During our meeting, we talked about the new/revised dress code for our staff. Once finished, we were to share the information with our teams.
October 7, 2010
A few months ago I was reading an article about companies not being a democracy. The author is a self-proclaimed “turnaround ace,” who offers solid advice to employees about how employers “see” them. After reading his article I’m not surprised he feels the way he does about leadership. “The most effective leaders are benevolent dictators who hold employees accountable,” he writes.
September 2, 2010
ecently I was reading an article Ideacide (14 Ways to Kill Creativity) and thought, now this could lead to something good. But, let’s spin the concept a bit to see how we can overcome the death threats to creativity. In the article, Youngme Moon, author of Different: Escaping the Competitive Heard, shared thoughts from her video, “My Anti-Creativity Checklist,” on how to stifle creativity.