WORK LIFE LESSONS
SMALL-AGENCY OWNER. LARGE-AGENCY PARTNER. NOW HIRED GUN.
Consistently, and painlessly, producing nationally-recognized work from my neighborhood coffeeshop.
Here’s the most important thing I learned while running my own nationally recognized “boutique:” An agile, well-directed creative team can stand toe-to-toe with anyone. Years later, when I helped lead the largest BtoB agency in the world, a similar lesson took hold: Our best work was often produced by creatives smart enough to squirrel themselves away from “processes” that only managed to dilute strong ideas, complicate simple ones – and needlessly drive up costs along the way. Today, I’m betting (everything as it turns out) that small is more valuable than ever.
WHAT I BELIEVE: SERVICE & PASSION
Maybe it’s because I’m doing the whole bootstrapping thing – again – and have little time to noodle over the perfect mission statement. But even if I had all the time in the world, something tells me that I could never sum up my own approach to work, and life, better than these guys.
There are two paths, really:
“I will serve just enough to make the maximum profit” or,
“I will profit just enough to provide the maximum service.”
– Seth Godin
“Working hard for something we don’t care about
is called stress;
working hard for something we love
is called passion.”
– Simon Sinek
MY VITALS
200+
Awards
C0-FOUNDED…
…one of the most decorated small B2B agencies in the country. The Fergus/Peters Group surprised a lot of people with the caliber and reputation of our work. Me especially.
LAUNCHED…
…the Chicago office of the largest B2B agency in the world. gyro was named large agency of the year five times while I was there. As the architect of some of their best-known work, I like to think I made at least a small contribution to that distinction.
LED…
…one of BtoB’s most consistently awarded creative teams. Hands-on development of: Ad Age’s B2B campaign of the year, Addy event of the year, EFFIE winning campaign, Grand CEBA, multiple Best in Shows at the NAMAs, B2s, and Towers.
See Some Thinking
And if perhaps we think alike.