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.
Couldn’t exist sanely with things as they were. Couldn’t stand the pain. Not knowing another way, I braced myself and prepared to run. Home from Easter service, I leap out of the car and open the garage door in a rush. Then into a desperate dash for my room and freedom from the itchy suit.…
He threw the first plate, and it hit the floor, exploding like a shotgun blast. Fear shot through my chest, and I froze. *** Over my fifty-plus-year career, I’ve worked as an employee, manager, and owner. I’ve been an illustrator, designer, salesman, strategist, and marketer. And I’ve managed others in those roles. I’ve worked as…
I interview Kevin Veatch, who has led a multifaceted creative life. Kevin Veatch is a creative who started his professional life as a fourth-grade teacher. An excellent beginning for a creative career that includes being a teacher, graphic designer, photographer, retailer, environmental designer, home and interior designer, electrician, songwriter, musician, and sound engineer. You can…
Unrestrained pride in your abilities or achievements can lead to shame, humiliation, and—without correction—disaster. Excessive pride can sabotage your career. But unfortunately many of us experience a similar pattern: First we are strivers, then we are achievers, and then hubris takes hold. I’ve experienced this pattern more often than I care to admit. Maybe you…
When an unexpected blow opens up possibilities “…and I’m reducing your salary 25%.” I could see that he was extremely uncomfortable. He spoke in a voice that didn’t sound like him. It was lower in tone, almost as if his throat was restricted. I knew it was nerves. I knew things weren’t going well when…
“Now, honey, I’m sure we can find a way to reduce the rent.” It was late. Maybe around ten, my boss’s voice drifted back through the empty office. I was alone and finishing my work when I overheard his half of the conversation. All ears now thinking that it must be sex he was expecting.…
In order to negotiate better, freelancers need to learn to love the fear of asking for more. (It’s not bravery or some magical power that helped me become a better negotiator; it was raw fear.) Fear can make us unable to think, unable to move. I’ve been so gripped by fear that my feet felt…
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