This is your hub for everything I write—whether you’re growing a brand with The Creative Brief or navigating the business-of-one life with Solo(ish). Explore by topic or follow the content stream that fits where you are now. Both are here to help you work smarter, show up stronger, and stay aligned with what matters most.
I was interviewed by Melissa Mazzoleni for HOW recently about leading in-house teams, and how in-house creatives can get their careers moving forward. Below is an excerpt, and link to the original article. "...Managing a design business – or any business – just isn’t...
I'm honored to have been asked to judge the 2014 In-House Design Awards for HOW Magazine. "...As the deadline for this year’s In-House Design Awards is just around the corner, we’re excited to announce the outstanding in-house experts who will act as judges for the...
I've been selected to be the co-program director for the 2015 HOW Design conference, In-House Managers program. With friend and colleague Ed Roberts, we'll be working with the directors of the other programs to develop a strong topic and speaker list.
I was interviewed by Bryn Mooth for HOW magazine about how In-House is changing. Below is an excerpt, and link to the original article. "...The in-house industry is maturing on a couple of different fronts. One, we’re seeing (especially now that the economy is...
I've had all kinds of bosses during the last twenty years. Some were great, while others...not so much. As my career progressed and I decided that I wanted to get into management, I naturally thought to myself "When I get there, I'm going to do it better." Sound...
The 5 past and present InSource Presidents recently got together to talk about their experiences leading InSource, and reminisce about how they came to join the organization. The two-hour conversation lead to brainstorming, and reminiscing, and will be the topic of an...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 12 No, the title is not a mistake. Sometimes, you have to let things fail. I have started and lead 3 creative businesses in my career; 2 in-house, and 1 agency. I have also be part of a few business re-organizations in both...
I've been named to Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2013″ list! More here.
I’ve been named to Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2013″ list! More here.
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 11 For many in-house employees, year-end reviews are typically followed by an announcement of merit increases (AKA raises) and incentive payouts (bonuses). As managers we often wrestle with the balance of following the corporate...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 10 How many of us set new years resolutions around December 31st only to forget them by January 3rd? Last month I journaled about performance reviews and measuring your work for the past year. The only way to do this is to set...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 9 Well, it’s that time of year again for many corporate creatives… the year-end performance review cycle has begun again. Unlike many of my colleagues on the outside, I need to follow a prescribed process whereby I self-evaluate...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 8 “Steve jobs would never have done that” I thought to myself, as I read the open apology by Tim Cook regarding the new Maps app in iOS6. As I said those words I realized that I don’t actually think that Tim Cook was wrong to do...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 7 Any in-house creative services leader knows that process is important. From how clients initiate new projects, to how the team gets work done. It’s a very important way to manage workflow, effectiveness, productivity, and...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 6 Like any business that is launching new products or services, all of the planning and development we have put into the new creative services department will have been for naught if we don’t announce the launch of new processes...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 5 After a couple months of planning, the time has come to institute the plans that I have been developing since the day I started. I’ve built some key relationships, assessed a few situations, identified needs, designed...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 4 The first task I undertake when starting a new creative services leadership job is to assess the situation. After about a month I typically have a good understanding of what’s going on, and can start putting together my big...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 3 After a few weeks on the job I have heard more airing of dirty laundry than I would have expected. But, this is actually par for the course at any new job, as people begin to get comfortable with me being on the scene as a...
I'll be facilitating the Design Career Path Roundtable: Boston, at HOW Design Live.
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 2 My first few day on the job typically include meeting lots of new people including colleagues, clients, leaders, and direct reports. Along with the usual and customary “welcome aboard” hand shaking, I’m also asked about my...
In-House Business Startup Journal Part 1: I’ve had the privilege of starting a new job 11 times in my career if you include the part-time after-hours teaching gigs. As such I have seen a pretty wide gamut of orientation and on-boarding programs. Some have been great,...
As the day approaches for my new hire to start working with the team, I’m thinking about how important his first few days on the job are. These first few days are my only opportunity to make sure he has a smooth transition to his new position, and get him to want to...
I'm honored to be nominated for President of the board of directors at InSource. Read more.
I was interviewed on the HOW IN-HOWse designer blog by INvangelist Andy Epstein. To listen to the interviews, click the links below. You can read part one here, and part two here.