Essays on creative leadership,
culture, and the human side of work.
Published weekly, with an original illustration. Two series: Becoming and Advisory Notes.
“My partner of five years just left to join another firm.” That was the first thing he said as our Zoom window opened. We’d been connected by a mutual colleague. A couple of emails back and forth resulted in the Zoom call and an engagement. My view of how to gain new clients has changed…
Branding ins the Age of Cat Videos, the power of leveraging intimate connections, was presented to the Marketing Executive Roundtable on October 27, 2021. Let’s start with branding Branding is the process of building an emotional relationship between the consumer and a product, a service or an organization. Branding derives from recognizing needs and expectations.…
It was my first opportunity to win a truly global client. One headquartered outside Seattle. A very big deal for our small firm. In my initial conversation with the client, he described their needs and we set a date to meet. During the call, I learned that they had been going through a period of…
I’ve made every one of these common mistakes… 1. I’ve waited for the “right time” to talk about money 2. I believed what was offered was non-negotiable 3. I settled for the first offer they made 4. I was so uncomfortable with silence that I lowered my ask 5. I was so happy to be…
The Seattle Creative Directory Three things that always pique my interest in something: It’s new. It’s cool. And it helps us connect as creatives. Check out Jonny McConnell’s Seattle Creative Directory. Within the directory, Jonny hopes to list all the professional creative businesses operating in our area. Links to more than 200 firms are currently…
Negotiation in the age of Covid-19 I could see that he was already flipping through a document when the Zoom window opened. Then he took off his glasses as if in deep thought. Must be my proposal, I thought. Shit. I could feel the perspiration beginning to form. I’d planned to walk him through my…
We’ll need a new model if we want to come out of this alive. MI5 Boss Says Russian and Chinese Threats to UK Growing in Severity The Guardian headline was the last of the news before I lost my connection. First the power had gone out, then both cellular and Wi-Fi went down “Maybe a…