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.
Sometimes, we are so scared of failure that we inevitably invite it into our lives. Here’s how to stop that from happening. The time was tight, the date near. I had an upcoming meeting for a much-needed new business for my design firm, and I knew that I needed to prepare. The thing is, we…
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…
The co-op movement is alive and well in the Seattle area. REI, PCC Community Markets are two famously thriving local based co-ops. Credit unions are also thriving. Seattle’s own BECU is the fourth largest in the nation. And co-ops are thriving in the U.S. according to the recently published Everything For Everybody, by Nathan Schneider…
Chapter 1: Outer “The first thing I noticed was the fork with five prongs.” Teams need to feel a sense of camaraderie before they are able to fully collaborate. As team leaders in the workplace we’re subtlety negotiating with our group to improve group cohesion, collaboration and work flow. Simply demanding more performance doesn’t work…
Marketing, advertising, design and public relations employment are going through dramatic, wrenching changes. Yet we are creatives, after all; we can reach down deep – when forced to – and become what we need to be to thrive. Walking down the hall, checking the numbers of the small conference rooms. E-223. E-223. Jane hadn’t spent…
I’ve always believed that compelling case studies are one of the keys to negotiation success. Great case studies give prospects a reason to consider working with you. And without consideration you’ll never get to the bargaining table. Thanks to Bryan Schaeffer for asking me to write a case study for him that dramatized his work. Thanks also…
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