Essays on creative leadership,
culture, and the human side of work.
Becoming
These are personal essays about growing up as a fostered, then adopted child — and about what that does to a person over the course of a life and career. The passivity you develop to survive. The shame that shows up uninvited in elevators and conference rooms decades later. The moment you finally recognize the bully pattern, in a boss, in a father, in yourself.
The most-read piece opens with a meat cleaver. My wife, coming down the hall. Me, curled under the covers at thirty years old, having just been fired and not yet told her. It’s not a comfortable essay. But by the end, it explains — more directly than anything else I’ve written — why I understand what happens to people when they’re made to feel small at work, and why that understanding is the foundation of everything I do professionally.
These essays aren’t separate from my advisory work. They are the source of it.
Advisory Notes
These are essays about the emotional realities of creative professional life — the anxiety of leadership, the psychology of negotiation, the particular ways creative people get in their own way, and the particular ways organizations let them down.
One of the most-read pieces, “Why Creative Firms Break Differently,” argues that creative firms don’t fail from bad strategy — they unravel from the inside, through fatigue, misalignment, and a gradual loss of trust no one can quite name. That piece captures what all of these essays are reaching toward.
I write from four decades of experience inside creative firms, but I write the way I talk: directly, without jargon, with stories. Each piece includes one of my own illustrations. If you work in a creative firm and ever feel like the game is rigged against you, this series is for you.
I dedicate this chapter to my good friend and our Marketing community organizer, Larry Coffman. His support has helped me gain confidence in my writing over some of the more difficult times in my life. Thank you, Larry. Tinder Boiling-hot days. Sweat-soaked nights. Thousands on the streets. “Nearly half of American workers don’t earn enough…
The city had changed. “We’ve only been gone a few weeks,” thought Brie as she watched the smoke rise from the homes burning above Shilshole. They’d heard about the rise of violence from others anchored around them in Gig Harbor. But it really didn’t sink in until they’d rounded West Point on their way to…
Late for my flight. Holding the wheel of the rental way too tight. It’s hot. The AC barely able to keep up. Damn car’s been sitting in the midday sun; the seat is still hot. My shirt’s stuck to my back with sweat. Leaning forward, to separate my shirt from the hot vinyl. Or is…
Change is underway. Brie and Tommy were sitting on the big bench in Miss Ann’s pilothouse as Arial skillfully guided them through the maze of small boats, past the breakwater and into the Strait. Gray skies reflecting into large glassy rollers. Sea and sky joined in Paynes Gray monotone. Bright enough that squinting was required…
More smoke. No visible flames now, but that didn’t mean anything in this hilly landscape. Fire could be in full force just beyond the ridgeline. “Wind must be turning,” Brie said to Arial as she grabbed another wet gunnysack to beat out the embers on the line. “If it does, we’ll have to run for…
Blue sky, sun and low swells were a welcome relief from the night’s storm. Brie, her hands curled around a warm cup of coffee fresh from Miss Ann’s galley, sat on the foredeck, back against the salon windows, enjoying the ride while considering her next steps. Arial on the wheel. Diesels purring away below. Brie…
It wasn’t only the wealth gap that had gotten her attention, confirming that things were out of whack. There was also alarm over the warming climate. And what really scared her was when she noticed the insects were mostly gone. **** The impact almost threw Brie out of the bunk. “Arial’s boat. I’m on Arial’s…
New essays, every week.
With an illustration.
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Also available on Substack.
You never cease to amaze me with your willingness to make your life an open book — especially the more hurtful parts. And I'm amazed by the lessons you draw from all of it.
— Larry Coffman, PublisherYour writing has revealed some very intimate, powerful lessons. You are a source of inspiration both professionally and, increasingly, on a personal level.
— Rick GoreWe can discuss the ugly, uncomfortable truths while always circling back to what matters: the people, the underdogs, the work we get to do, and the magical existence we get to share as creatives.
— Sarah EskandarpourI loved your article about how clients' emotions affect briefs. It's a huge part of the creative industry and it's always good to see somebody so knowledgeable write about it.
— Vuk Bojovic, JKR Account Director, Singapore