Sharing articles and trends constantly via an instant communications tool is not leadership. It’s the opposite and quite frankly it's lazy. Some CEOs and Supervisors feel like everyone must have the same information at the same time. It’s ok to do this once in a while, but a constant barrage of "read this!," "Lot's of great stuff in here," "Let's discuss!" leads to confusion and frustration among the team.
Creative Management: People Are More Important Than Technology
As you look to retain and expand your in-house creative team, you need to understand that people are much more valuable than any technology.
All the technology doesn't matter if you don't have the right people. Once you find them, don't let them go if at all possible.
Bullies Do Not Own You
Enjoying life and career at 10,000 feet on Sandia Peak, Albuquerque
You sad little man...You are quite honestly not that important to me.”
Those words were directed at me by my former employer.
The words and the personal attack are supposed to hurt and humiliate me, but they simply sound like the taunts of a schoolyard bully. Words like those might have affected me when I was 10 or 11 years old on the playground, but as a 30 year veteran in the creative field, they strike me as sad.
It’s a fact that in your career you are likely to… no scratch that. You WILL interact with people who are self-important.
Workfront LEAP Conference - WOW!
Building on the launch of Workfront at Georgia-Pacific in January, I was fortunate to attend the annual Workfront LEAP Conference in Nashville this past week at the world famous Opryland Hotel. I simply knew Workfront as a job tracking system as it relates to creative production. A central job tracking system to hold all communications, notes, documents and centralized proofing of all work. So I was not prepared for just how extensive Workfront truly is.
Price Waterhouse Cooper offers a lesson in responsibility
The 2017 Academy Awards offered proof of the classic television adage, “Anything can happen on Live TV.” And it did, in absolutely incredible fashion. The wrong envelope was presented to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, and while it’s obvious from the video that Mr. Beatty sensed it was the wrong envelope, the incorrect winner was announced. Confusion and chaos ultimately led to the category winner being corrected and “Moonlight” won Best Picture for 2017.
Talking Entrepreneurship, Cocktails and Cruising
Well, ok, it’s now tape replay, but I spent a wonderful almost 2 hours chatting with Sean and Stefani Mullen of Rampant Design Tools talking video production, entrepreneurship, 4k, 3D, the new Contemporary Living Network, Cruising, Cocktails and much more. It was a lot of fun and I thank Sean and Stef for the invite!
"I'll Do The Work If You By the Tools" What?!?
There’s a trend I’ve seen developing, at least I see it here in Atlanta, whereby video editors will agree to take on a project, but ask the client to pay for the tools. I don’t mean going to work for someone else in their shop, I mean as an independent freelance editor, they will ask the client to pay for the tools because they don’t have a system big enough to do the work. And the clients do it! As in the client purchases the system, the editor edits on it, and when the project is done, the client has a video editing system they’ll never use again. When in the heck did this become acceptable?
What is the Purpose of your Video?
On the other end of the phone is a very smart, intelligent marketing leader for a corporation. “I really need a video as soon as possible.”
Me: “What’s the purpose of the video?”
Silence, and then….”Um what do you mean, ‘the purpose?’ It’s a marketing video is that what you mean?”
All videos should have a purpose just like every message a company puts out has a purpose. Read the Rest of the story in my Post on LinkedIn.
Whatever Happened to Common Courtesy?
We have more communications tools available to us than our forefathers could have ever dreamed of. Within your pocket and on your wrist is more computation power than what sent astronauts to the Moon. Yet despite the ease at which we can communicate with each other at any point on the globe, I find that Common Courtesy has declined, especially in business.