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.
“Why do you want so much fucking money?” The fantasy continues… The meeting had been going since mid-morning. Brie was exhausted. The conference table was littered with the remnants of turkey sandwiches and chicken salads. She thought, “You’d think GM would serve a better lunch to their senior executives. This must be a part of…
Brie was working from home when… “Mom, Mom! There’s soldiers in the streets.” Looking out the window. Seeing nothing. “Honey, where did you see them?” “Just outside the school. They were unloading from those huge, slick white buses. The ones you see at Facebook and Amazon.” Jamal’s 13, and deeply into dystopian novels. I pushed…
Three shots. I think it was three. Then the man with the gun ran. The crowd panicked. Some hit the deck. The rest of us ran for it. It was supposed to be a peaceful rally. I wouldn’t have come if I’d thought otherwise. There had been CEO shootings elsewhere, but Seattle? I thought it…
Our official name is Overture Creative Cooperative. Our url is Overture.coop. We view ourselves as “shooting for the stars:” Creating a democratic organization owned by creatives dedicated to helping creatives achieve sustainable income by providing creative services to clients who are helping people have better lives and the planet have a sustainable future. We’re in…
Thanks to Larry Asher we’re at SVC Seattle on Saturday Join us 10 to noon Saturday, December 15 at SVC Seattle, 7th and Bell Google Map here So many of you signed up for our Mentor Morning on the creative co-op that rather than keeping the attendance to 10 we moved to SVC. If you haven’t…
I walked into the office and immediately realized how good the place felt. Somewhere in the back people were laughing. The doors were open to the patio and sunlight streamed though. The drapes flowed with a light breeze. Nancy, my prospect, was out there with a small group. They were sharing a tablet and chatting…
Why not just start another creative services firm and put a bunch of freelancers on the payroll? Actually, I’ve done that. And yes, I made a good living building a traditional brand-design firm. But times have changed. My understanding of what the right thing to do has changed. The world has changed, and I think…
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